In mid-March 2009, at its Internet-centric MIX09 conference, Microsoft introduced the Windows Live Messenger Web Toolkit, and with it the Windows Live Messenger Web Bar. On March 30, 2009, Steve Gordon, development lead, Messenger Web Platform, managed to provide a small update to the Windows Live Messenger Bar, by making available a total of three themes for developers interested in leveraging the resources for their websites. According to Angus Logan, technical product manager for Live Services, the themes were introduced as a direct result of the feedback Microsoft received following the launch of the Windows Live Messenger Web Toolkit and Bar.

“The Web Bar provides a very usable default instant messaging experience for web sites – it includes a contact list, a profile area, and support for displaying ongoing conversations. It is meant to augment and not distract the user from your web site,” Gordon stated. “Since the Web Bar and all of the UI Controls are constructed using HTML and CSS, web sites have complete control over how the controls appear to the user. With this flexibility, there is a wide range of customizations that a web site can do, ranging from simply changing the font color, to providing a completely custom experience.”

All the three themes are currently available for download: Dark Theme, Blue Theme, and Pink Theme (at the time of this article the downloads were not yet live). The pre-defined themes are set up to make the integration of Windows Live Messenger in websites as smooth as possible. Developers will be able to customize the seven images that make up the Web Bar. Following the personalization of the images, CSS will have to be put together correctly referencing the changed content. For the time being the themes are available as standalone downloads, but this aspect won’t be valid for future releases of the Windows Live Messenger Web Toolkit. “We will be looking at incorporating these and other themes directly into the Web Toolkit in future releases,” Gordon added.