Google has finally given Hangouts its very own website. No longer does it require you to go into your Gmail account or Google+ to access the chat system. You can start using Google Hangouts on the official website here: https://hangouts.google.com/ to stay in touch with your contacts.
It looks like Google has been on a roll lately with Hangouts. Previously we reported a refreshed UI look to Google Hangouts for iOS and Android and shortly after we have this.
Does this make things easy for you? Let us know in the feedback forms!