Tag: CSS

New Feature: Customize your Mobile Chat using CSS

Since we launched RumbleTalk HTML chat service for websites. We tried to give our customers a full control over their HTML chat room look and feel. The service was built as a JavaScript chat on the client side with light HTML5 and CSS.

Back then the chat looked exactly the same in mobile and web. However, since mobile has special features and behavior, we found out that web view was causing many mobile users to leave the chat. We then built the Mobile chat version of RumbleTalk which made a huge difference for customers and mobile usage.

When we started RumbleTalk, we created an “Advanced design” feature, where people could change colors, backgrounds, borders, fonts, font size, and more.

However, after a while, we understood that for advanced users and web designers, this was simply not enough. The requests for additional customization options came too often. So we decided to add the option to let customers design the entire HTML chat room look and feel using CSS. It meant back then that users would control any aspect of the chat design simply by letting them control the CSS.

Web Design
Web Style Web Chat Design

In the example image above, we loaded a new background using CSS. This is basically what a customer sees when he/she is using a PC or laptop (using a web browser).

This was a big boost for RumbleTalk as web designers and website developers started to design special customized HTML chat room skins. It was a unique, fresh approach for designers that let them actually, design. It also meant that they could avoid using off-the-shelf flash-like chat room software that always looks strange with respect to their website design.

One more important point, web designers have the option now to design the chat room for customers with the exact look & feel of their website without compromising on the quality and look and feel. This made RumbleTalk very popular with web designers that expressed themself easily and were not forced to use a 3rd party chat software that has none or very limited customization options.

Mobile, here we come

When we were done with the Web CSS feature (Control the chat design for web browsers). We understand that the work is not finished. We knew that in order to give a complete 360-degree solution, we would need to allow customers to change their mobile chat CSS as well.

We are happy to announce that this feature is now released. Yehaaaaee √√√

So, the mobile CSS feature was launched last week. You can now create and customize your mobile chat design. Note, that we gave some technical CSS tips in here to help you start the process of changing the most common items that customers often ask us about.

Quick Example of CSS design option.

To explain it better, let me start with the original idea, RumbleTalk comes with a default mobile theme that was not editable till now.

You may see below how we transform in 3 steps from the default mobile theme to a custom chat room theme.

mobile chat CSS design for websites

So, what do you see here in this example above?

  1. First, you see on the left, the default design that is part of every chat room created.
  2. Then we loaded up the same background we had in the web chat design.
    See here the line we added.#chat { background: url(“https://rumbletalk-images-upload.s3.amazonaws.com/a78f4e7c872dbc2654ea3bb2238ef365/1448364119-colors.jpg”) no-repeat scroll left center; }
  3. Then we changed the header and foot colors.top-bar { background-color: #0373d1 !important; }
    #bottom { background-color: #0373d1 !important; }
  4. At last we increased the font size to 20px.#chat { font-size: 20px !important; }

Customize your Mobile Chat

admin panel mobile css design

Changing your mobile CSS is done in the advanced design menu, in a new tab called Mobile CSS.
You can control all the design aspects of the chat, mainly used to customize your mobile chat looks but also can help in adding functionality (limited though).

The most common requests that we get from clients for mobile customization are:

Background

  • Changing the Top top-bottom bar color
  • Changing the chat background color

Fonts

  • Changing the Font size

Admin User

  • Changing the ADMIN image
  • Changing the ADMIN text color
  • Changing the default image of a guest user using CSS
Posted on by Editor

See how we designed a new chat room style only with CSS modifications.

One of RumbleTalk feature that was released in the past was the ability to personalize your chat room style using CSS. Since that first feature was introduced, many customers created an astonishing chat rooms in different shape and styles. This option gives creative minds the ability to build a unique chat room view.

One of our designer took the time to create a great chat room skin with only CSS modifications. The result was pretty amazing. We are going to package and use this skin as one of our default offered skins. This means that soon you will be able to switch your chat room style to this news advanced chat room.

For those who are not familiar with this option, you can find it in the
Admin panel –> Settings —> Advance Design.

CSS Editor changes will reflect immediately in the design on the right.

chat room style

Note, once you move to the CSS mode, you cannot go back to the visual editor without deleting all your modifications. This means one needs to choose a visual mode or a CSS design.

** CSS editor should be used by a person well known with CSS styling. If not, the chat design may not load.

Posted on by Editor

Case Study: DittyTV using chat box features worth knowing

I know, this is a case study, but first let’s talk about good design. Just before we start, let’s clear up the fact that this is a design post about the ability to design your own chat box style. This means that one may use the various chat box features to integrate and design his own chat theme.

Deign chat box features

Here is an example of how simple to create a great design using the powerful tool that let you DIY. In general, there are 4 ways to design your own chat style.

  1. Chat Skins – choose from our pre-made chat room designs
  2. Chat advanced design – easy to create your own style via quick visual settings.
  3. Easy CSS  – this is for advanced designers. If you know CSS you can create your own custom chat room.
  4. Floating icon – if you choose to use a floating chat (in oppose to in-page embedded chat) you can also design your own icon style.

From time to time we see a great chat design made by capable people.
One that worth mentioning is the chat box designed in the dittytv  (American music television) website (see above). They use advanced CSS design in addition to designing their own floating icon. They choose to have a transparent background so the chat looks as part of the actual website design.

If you like the design, you can give them a like.

Posted on by Eyal