Thailand · 6 min read
Add-friend buttons, rich menus, booking notifications and LINE-linked forms: how to connect a LINE Official Account to your website for Thai customers.
By Chris ·
In Thailand, LINE is where customers expect to talk to a business. An English-led business can run perfectly well on WhatsApp and email for its international customers, but the moment it wants Thai customers, it needs a LINE Official Account and a website that uses it properly.
Start with the account, not the button
A LINE Official Account is a business account, separate from anyone’s personal LINE. Several staff can answer it, it has business hours and automatic replies, and it survives staff changes. Set those basics up before anything goes on the website:
- Business name and profile in Thai and English
- Hours, and an automatic reply outside them that says when you will answer
- A greeting message for new friends that says what you can help with
Level 1: an add-friend button in the right places
LINE Official Account Manager generates an add-friend button and link for your account (under Home, Gain friends, Add friend tools). Put it where Thai customers decide to make contact: the contact page, booking pages, the header on mobile. A QR code version works on desktop pages and printed material, because customers scan it with the phone they will chat on.
Label it for what happens next: “Ask us on LINE”, not just the LINE logo.
Level 2: a rich menu that points back to the website
A rich menu is the persistent menu at the bottom of your LINE chat. Use it to send customers to the right page: prices, availability, location, booking, FAQs. It turns a chat that would start with “how much?” into one that starts with “I’ve seen the prices, is 14 March free?”.
Level 3: notifications and messages from the website
LINE’s Messaging API lets your systems send and receive messages through your Official Account. Practical uses:
- Booking confirmations sent to customers who have added you as a friend
- Team notifications when a booking or enquiry arrives
- Reminders before an appointment or arrival
LINE’s documentation says you can start with the Messaging API free and send a number of messages each month at no charge, with the allowance depending on your account plan and country. Check current pricing before you plan anything that sends a lot of messages.
Level 4: forms and sign-in inside LINE
LINE Front-end Framework (LIFF) runs web pages inside the LINE app, and LINE Login lets customers sign in with their LINE account. Together they can make a booking form that opens inside the chat, already knows who the customer is, and sends the confirmation back to the same chat. It is the smoothest experience for the customer and the most work to build, so start here only when the simpler levels are already busy.
Things that go wrong
- A personal LINE ID on the website. It leaves when the person does, and nobody else can see the conversations.
- No hours or auto-reply. Unanswered LINE messages feel worse than unanswered email.
- Sensitive details in chat. Add guidance next to the button: please do not send ID cards or medical documents here. Thailand’s PDPA applies to what customers send you.
- No tracking. Track clicks on the LINE button in your analytics, or the website will look as if it produces no enquiries while the team’s phones are full of them.
More on building for Thailand, on which messaging apps customers use in each market, and on bookings and systems. Or ask us about your set-up.
