How to set up intercom account on Intercom

beginner 8 min read Updated 2026-03-18

Quick Answer

Setting up an Intercom account involves creating an account, configuring your workspace settings, installing the messenger on your website, and customizing your customer communication preferences. The process takes about 15-20 minutes and requires basic information about your business and team.

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Prerequisites

Valid business email address
Company website URL
Basic understanding of customer support tools
Admin access to your website for installation

Step-by-Step Instructions

Create Your Intercom Account

Visit intercom.com and click Get started for free. Enter your work email address, create a secure password, and provide your full name. Choose your company name and select your company size from the dropdown menu. Click Create account to proceed.

Use your primary work email as this will be your main admin account and cannot be easily changed later.

Complete Workspace Setup

After email verification, you'll be prompted to set up your workspace. Enter your company website URL and select your primary use case from options like Support, Marketing, or Sales. Choose your team size and click Continue to proceed to the dashboard setup.

Configure Basic Settings

Navigate to Settings > General in the left sidebar. Upload your company logo by clicking Upload logo and selecting an image file. Set your company's primary color scheme under Brand colors. Configure your timezone in Workspace settings and add your company's support hours.

Choose brand colors that match your website for a consistent customer experience.

Install the Intercom Messenger

Go to Settings > Installation and copy your unique installation code. Paste this code before the closing tag on every page of your website. For WordPress sites, you can use the Intercom plugin or add the code to your theme's footer.php file. Click Verify installation to confirm it's working.

Test the installation on a private/incognito browser window to see how visitors will experience your messenger.

Set Up Your Team

Navigate to Settings > Teammates and click Invite teammate. Enter team members' email addresses and assign appropriate roles: Admin, Teammate, or Lead. Configure each person's availability hours and assign them to specific inboxes if needed. Click Send invites to notify your team.

Customize Messenger Appearance

Go to Settings > Messenger and customize the chat widget appearance. Set your Welcome message, choose the messenger position (bottom right or left), and configure the launcher style. Under Messenger settings, enable or disable features like Show conversation rating and Office hours.

Write a welcome message that clearly explains how you can help visitors and sets response time expectations.

Configure Inbox and Notifications

Visit Settings > Inboxes to set up your primary inbox. Name your inbox (e.g., "General Support") and assign team members to it. Configure notification settings under Settings > Personal settings to choose how you want to be alerted about new conversations via email, desktop, or mobile push notifications.

Set up separate inboxes for different departments (sales, support, billing) to better organize conversations.

Test Your Setup

Visit your website and test the messenger by sending a test message to yourself. Check that the message appears in your Intercom inbox and that you receive notifications as configured. Verify that your branding, welcome message, and team assignments are working correctly. Send a test message from the inbox to ensure two-way communication functions properly.

Ask a colleague to test the messenger from their device to get an external perspective on the user experience.

Common Issues & Troubleshooting

Messenger not appearing on website

Check that the installation code is placed before the closing tag. Clear your browser cache and disable ad blockers. Verify the code matches exactly what's shown in Settings > Installation.

Team members not receiving email invitations

Check spam/junk folders and ensure email addresses are spelled correctly. Resend invitations from Settings > Teammates by clicking the resend icon next to pending invites.

Messenger showing but conversations not appearing in inbox

Ensure team members are assigned to the correct inbox under Settings > Inboxes. Check that your inbox filters aren't excluding certain conversation types.

Unable to upload company logo or images

Ensure image files are in supported formats (JPG, PNG, GIF) and under 5MB in size. Try using a different browser or clearing your cache. Compress large images before uploading.

Prices mentioned in this guide are pulled from current plan data and may change. Always verify on the official Intercom website before purchasing.

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