Testing Your Widget as a New Visitor

Testing Your Widget as a New Visitor

When you're logged into FOMOchat and viewing your widget on any website, a special restart button appears that lets you test the full visitor experience from the beginning.

The Restart Button

When viewing your own FOMOchat widget while logged into fomochat.com, you'll see a restart icon (↻) in the widget header. This button only appears for you as the owner—your visitors never see it.

What the Restart Button Does

Clicking the restart button:

1. Generates a new visitor ID - You're treated as a completely new visitor
2. Clears the conversation - All messages are removed from the widget
3. Reloads the script - The conversation starts fresh from the beginning
4. Resets timing - Messages play out according to your configured schedule

This is useful for testing the full visitor journey without needing to clear cookies or use incognito mode.

When to Use It

• Testing conversation flow: See how the full conversation plays out from start to finish
• Checking timing: Verify message timing and delays are working correctly
• Testing visitor collection: See the name/email prompts as a new visitor would
• Debugging issues: Reproduce problems from a fresh state
• Verifying changes: After editing your chat, test how it looks for new visitors

Cross-Domain Support

The restart button works even when your widget is embedded on a different domain. FOMOchat securely detects your logged-in status across domains to show owner-only controls.

Note on Test Mode vs Production

• In the editor preview: Test visitors are always excluded from analytics and limits
• On your live site: Using the restart button creates real visitor sessions that count toward your limits (though you can identify yourself by entering your email)

For pure testing without affecting limits, use the editor's built-in preview panel.