How to Create a Free Chat Box

A chat box can be a fun, interactive element to add to your blog, personal website or social networking profile. A chat box is a self-contained chat room that allows visitors to chat in real-time directly from your webpage without the need to visit an external chat server. If you're not a programmer, don't worry; there are many sites that will allow you to select certain options and generate the code for your chat box automatically.

Instructions

1. Navigate to Xat.com and click "Make a Chat Box" in the blue navigation bar at the top of the page.

2. Click on a picture to change the background of your chat box. The white icon will let you sign into your Photobucket account, if you have one, and select a custom picture from your albums. You also can click on the blue "Photobucket" icon to search the Photobucket library if you want to find a different image for your background.

3. Select a size for your chat box by click on the "Small," "Medium" or "Large" buttons. You can create a custom size by entering the dimensions into the "Width" and "Height" text boxes.

4. Click "Update and Get Code."

5. Scroll down to the text box labeled "Embed Code." Click on that text box to automatically copy the code for your chat box to your clipboard. You can now paste that code in the HTML editor for your website or blog, or use it on your MySpace or Friendster profile.

Tips & Warnings

• Xat.com is just one site that allows you to create a free chat box. Several other sites also allow you to make a chat box, with varying levels of customization.

Resources

• Xat.com
• Spinchat.com: Free Chat Box
• Chatster.org: Free Java Chat Box Maker