If your chatbot stopped loading after a domain change, or never appeared on your staging copy, the website almost certainly isn't on the chatbot's license. Every SpideyChat chatbot keeps a list of websites it is allowed to run on. The first website it loads on is added automatically, and every website after that has to be added on purpose. Subdomains of a listed site, localhost and .local addresses are the exceptions, and they work without any change.
This post explains the rules, then walks through the two jobs people actually come here for: moving to a new domain and testing on staging.
How the license decides where the chat runs
When the widget loads, SpideyChat checks the address of the page against the chatbot's license. These are the rules it applies, straight from how the check works:
- The first website registers itself. Paste the snippet on your site, the chat loads once, and that address goes on the license. You don't have to do anything.
- Every other website is added deliberately. You add it in the dashboard, or by activating the license key in the WordPress plugin.
- www doesn't matter. www.example.com and example.com count as one website.
- Subdomains are included. With example.com listed, shop.example.com and staging.example.com load too, without using another slot.
- Local development is always allowed. localhost, 127.0.0.1 and any address ending in .local work everywhere and never count towards your limit.
- Your plan sets the number of websites. Free allows 1 website per chatbot, Starter 3, Pro 10 and Enterprise unlimited.
On a website that fails the check, the widget removes itself from the page and writes a warning in the browser console: "[SpideyChat] This chatbot isn't licensed for" followed by the address and a reason. Visitors see nothing at all. That's why a refused site looks exactly like a broken install until you open the console.
Will it load? A quick reference
Say your live website is example.com and it's already on the license.
| Where you're loading it | Loads? | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| www.example.com | Yes | Nothing, it's the same website |
| staging.example.com or shop.example.com | Yes | Nothing, subdomains are included |
| A local copy on localhost or mysite.local | Yes | Nothing, always allowed |
| A brand new domain, such as example.co.uk | No | Add it under License & websites |
| A staging address on your web host's own domain | No | Add it, or test on a subdomain instead |
| A second business with its own domain | No | Add it, if your plan has a free slot |
The two "No" rows that catch people most are a domain move and a host-provided staging address. Many hosts give staging copies an address on the host's own domain rather than yours. To the license, that's a completely different website.
Moving to a new domain without a gap
The goal is a chat that keeps working on launch day. Here is the order that achieves it.
- Before launch, open your chatbot in the dashboard and go to License & websites. Check how many websites your plan allows and how many are listed.
- If you have a free slot, add the new domain now. Type it into the box under "Websites on this license" and click Add website. Both domains now work, so the switch-over has no gap.
- If you're on Free with one slot, plan a short swap. Free allows one website, so you remove the old domain and add the new one at the moment you switch. Removing a site stops the chat there straight away, so do it as part of the launch, not days before.
- After launch, remove the old domain once nothing is served from it, so the slot is free for later.
- Load the new site and check the console for any [SpideyChat] warning.
If you forget step 2, there's a shortcut. Visits to the new domain are refused, and refused websites show up in a "Turned away" list on the same panel. It shows how many attempts there were and when the last one happened. Click Allow next to your new domain and, if your plan has room, it goes onto the license.
On WordPress with the SpideyChat plugin
The plugin activates the license for the WordPress site address it's running on. Before you migrate, you can open Settings > SpideyChat and click "Deactivate license on this site". That removes the old address and frees its slot. Once the site is live on the new domain, paste your license key into the same settings page and save. That registers the new address. The plugin also re-checks the license once a day, so a site that isn't accepted switches its chat off on its own rather than failing quietly.
The WordPress integration page covers the plugin setup from the start.
Testing on a staging site
There are three ways to test without surprises:
- Use a subdomain of your live domain, such as staging.example.com. It's covered automatically and uses no slot.
- Test locally. On localhost or a .local address the chat always loads, which suits developers working on a laptop.
- Add the staging address on purpose, then remove it when testing is over. That costs a slot while it's listed, so it fits paid plans better than Free.
A WordPress detail is worth knowing here. Activating or re-saving the license key in the plugin checks the address it runs on. A staging copy on a subdomain of a listed site, such as staging.example.com, is already covered, so activating the key there doesn't use another slot. A staging copy on a different domain does need its own slot.
Staging chats are real chats, too. Conversations there use the same monthly allowance as your live site, and any lead or ticket a tester creates lands in your real dashboard. Tell your team, or use an obviously fake name when you test.
Reading the License & websites panel
The panel answers most "why" questions without support:
- Websites on this license lists each address with how it got there: "First install", "WordPress plugin" or "Added by you". It also shows when each was last seen, which makes old domains easy to spot and remove.
- Over plan limit next to a website means it's listed but beyond your plan's limit, usually after a downgrade. The oldest websites keep working. Later ones are turned away until you upgrade or remove another one.
- Turned away lists websites that tried to load the chatbot and were refused, with an Allow button for the ones that are yours.
- Pause everywhere stops the chat on every website at once. If nothing loads anywhere, check that it isn't paused.
If the console shows no license warning and the chat still doesn't appear, the cause is elsewhere. Work through our checklist for a chat widget that isn't showing, which covers caching, delayed scripts and security policies.
When you need more websites
If you run several sites, or an agency site plus client sites, count the websites before choosing a plan. Starter covers 3 per chatbot and Pro covers 10, and both are flat monthly prices. The pricing page lists everything else each plan includes.
If you're starting fresh, create a free account and install the snippet on the website you care about most. That first site registers itself, and you can add the rest later from License & websites. The install guide shows where the snippet goes on each platform.