As a general rule, if possible, absolutely no shared hosting environments. For best live chat experience, if you must deploy on a shared enviornment, get a hosting package with the most resources available. The server resources needed is directly related to few factors:

• Website Traffic - Website traffic plays an important factor in server resource usage. The chat icon does fetch data from the server, which will matter when you receive a lot of website traffic. The more RAM the server has available, the better your live chat system will perform during peak traffic.
• Anticipated Live Chat Usage - Each live chat session requires server communication during the chat session. The more chat sessions you receive will require more server resources (RAM, CPU).
• Operators Online - A typical modest server environment with at least 2Gigs of RAM should be able to handle 4 operators online at the same time, or more. However, if you receive thousands of traffic a day, more than 2Gigs of RAM may be needed to limit potential resource issues.

• Server Requirements

  
  • Server OS
  • UNIX, Mac or Windows

  • Web Server
  • Any web server with PHP and MySQL enabled

  • PHP
  • PHP >= 5.4, 7.x, 8.0 (tested up to 8.0)

  • Database
  • MySQL >= 5.6 or MariaDB

The software files are around 22Megs of disc space. However, the database disc space needed for the system will depend on your website traffic and chat volume. As a safe measure, at least 25Gigs of free disc space should be ok for few years of live chat usage for websites that receive 100-5000 visitors a day.

It all depends on the server resources. The more server resources (RAM, CPU, disc space), the more chats the system can handle. Also, the web server must be configured properly, including the MySQL configuration. There has been verified systems with over 500 chats a day and few systems have reported over 1,000 chats a day. If your server has the resources, then the system can handle more chats without issues.

Yes. The option to switch your account to the Enterprise Download can be done at anytime from the client area. Starter to Enterprise account switch is , the difference in price.

A purchase of the Enterprise Self-Hosted is required to remove the "powered by PHP Live!" link back. The Enterprise Self-Hosted includes the "Debrand" key needed to remove the link. The "powered by PHP Live!" link back cannot be removed on the Starter (also known as Standard) Self-Hosted.

The software does not expire. If server PHP and MySQL is running properly, PHP Live! should function indefinitely.

PHP framework is not required. PHP Live! does not use a PHP framework.

Yes. PHP Live! is a complete on premise live chat solution that functions 100% on your server, your network, your domain. There is zero third-party communication. However, if you are planning to use the Mobile App, the mobile push notification does require third-party communication to send the push alert to the mobile device. If you do not use the Mobile App, there is absolutely zero third-party communication.)

General tech support will always be available. However, some incidents that require extensive troubleshooting will require a purchase of Escalated Tech Support Service. Escalated Tech Support could be possible server configuration or other issues that could not be fixed with common solutions. Escalated Tech Support Service is $150 (up to 3 hours) for most situations, per incident. Tech support will determine if Escalated Support will be required based on the situation. Before any type of troubleshooting begins, your PHP Live! system must be the latest version. Upgrading your PHP Live! system is the first step in the troubleshooting process. Please reference the Knowledge Base for most common solutions.

No. The PHP Live! License is per company use. Providing a service with PHP Live! to your clients is not allowed. Each of your clients will need to purchase a License.

No. The PHP Live! License is per company use. Each of your clients will need to purchase a License. If your clients have a valid PHP Live! License, you can provide an installation service and install PHP Live! for them.

Yes. The same download can be installed on a development server and a production server.

On average 3-10 new versions are released in a year.