Applies to Torni Chat Free / Pro 1.0.0. Updated 19 October 2026.
1. Before installation
Use WordPress 6.4 or later and PHP 8.0 or later. For profile pictures and Pro message photos, the hosting needs GD or Imagick. Test on your own hosting before opening the chat to visitors.
Choose Free OR Pro. Both ZIP files contain the same plugin folder, torni-chat. They replace each other; do not install them as two separate active plugins.
2. Install and display the chat
In WordPress, open Plugins → Add New → Upload Plugin. Choose the Torni Chat ZIP without extracting it, install and activate.
Create a WordPress page, add a Shortcode block and enter [torni_chat]. You can also use the Torni Chat block. Save the page and open it while signed in as administrator. The page URL is the address of your chat.
3. First settings and languages
Open Torni Chat in the WordPress administration. Set the administration language and visitor chat language separately, then save. Available languages: English, Czech, Slovak, Hungarian, Ukrainian, Russian, German and Polish. This changes the interface, not the language of messages.
Set the chat name, colour and profile fields. Pro also supports a custom logo and hiding the Torni footer. New installations allow ordinary signed-in members. The optional moderator-only access restriction is off by default; existing saved settings are retained when upgrading.
4. Accounts, sign-in and registration
Members sign in on the chat page using the plugin’s own forms. The accounts are WordPress accounts underneath; existing site accounts can be used. Visitors do not need to enter the WordPress dashboard to sign in or edit their chat profile.
To accept new members, enable registration in Torni Chat settings and turn off private test mode. Registration sends an email link to set a password. Password reset is also available on the chat page. These emails require working delivery, such as correctly configured SMTP. Registration on WordPress Multisite is not supported in this release.
Try both sides of the chat: Your two guests share a private test space. No registration. Test data expires after one hour. Do not enter personal information. [torni_chat_demo] — Pro.
5. Rooms in Free and Pro
Free provides one public room. Pro supports multiple public rooms, which administrators manage in the Rooms section. A public room is visible to members who have access to the chat; it is not a private group.
In Pro, an administrator can allow members to create public rooms directly in the chat. The default limit is three rooms per member, configurable from 1 to 20, with at most 100 rooms overall. Members do not enter WordPress administration to create a room.
The room owner can add a picture when creating a room, then change or remove it from the room header.
6. Messages, replies and emoji
Open a room, type a message and press Send. The emoji button opens a picker with 70 emoji. For a reply, choose Reply on a message; a quotation of the original appears before sending and in the reply.
Click the quotation to find the original message. If the original is deleted or unavailable, a placeholder is shown. Earlier messages can be loaded from history. Your administrator controls message length, rate limits and retention.
Edit or delete your own messages using the buttons beside them. Edits are labelled. Deleting a photo message also removes its protected image. Use the reaction button for emoji reactions and Sound in the header to mute or enable sounds. Pro can search the current conversation (up to 50 results).
7. Private messages and photos — Pro
In Pro, open another member’s profile and choose a private conversation. This requires private messages to be enabled and the recipient to accept them. A blocked or unavailable conversation cannot be opened.
When photos are enabled, use the attachment control to choose an image. Pro supports photos in public rooms and private conversations; Free still allows a profile picture, but not message photos. Allowed upload sizes and storage quotas are set by the administrator. There are no voice or video calls in this release.
Pro shows typing and read status in private conversations. Optional unread-message emails require both administrator approval and the recipient opting in under My profile. The check is scheduled after 10 minutes through WP-Cron, with at most one successful email per recipient per hour; no private message content is included.
8. Profiles and blocking
Use My profile to edit your nickname, photo and the public details enabled by the administrator. You can hide your online status or decline private messages. Clicking another member opens their public profile; the sign-in email is not displayed there.
Blocking limits contact with that member. Review blocked members in your profile. Account deletion removes the underlying WordPress account on this website, not just the chat profile. Do not test deletion on an account you need for other site services.
9. Moderation
Use Report on a message and describe the issue. Administrators and chat moderators handle reports in Torni Chat → Moderation. They can mark a report resolved or delete the reported message.
In the Users section, authorised staff can mute or ban a member and later remove that restriction. Administrators can manage moderator access. Test these actions with a second ordinary account before inviting the public.
10. Updates and switching editions
Back up website files and the database before an update. In Plugins → Add New → Upload Plugin, upload the new ZIP and confirm replacing the existing version. Do not delete the installed plugin to update it or change edition.
Free → Pro unlocks Pro features using the same accounts and data. Pro → Free hides extra rooms, private conversations and message photos; switching edition alone does not delete them. Retention rules and manual deletion still apply. This release uses manual ZIP updates and does not require a licence key.
11. Common problems
No chat access: check sign-in, private test mode and any user ban. Missing rooms, private messages or message photos: check the edition and the administrator’s feature settings.
No registration or reset email: check spam folders and site mail delivery/SMTP. Messages fail to refresh or sign-in is inconsistent: exclude the chat page, its API and protected images from caching. After an update, clear the relevant cache and reload. Test with two accounts in separate browsers, and test typing with the keyboard open on a real phone.
12. Privacy and getting help
Choose retention and profile visibility for your community. Published room names, profile details and public messages can be seen by chat members; explain this to members before they post. Private test mode is not a replacement for the site’s privacy information.
For help, contact Tornigolla s.r.o. through the Contact page with your edition, version, WordPress/PHP versions, steps to reproduce and a screenshot without private messages or personal data. Never send passwords. You can read this guide without an account once the website is published.