Send WhatsApp messages from your own WhatsApp Business number. To start a conversation, send an approved template. When a customer writes to you, the 24-hour customer service window opens: until 24 hours after their last message, you can reply with text, files, buttons or lists.
What you can send
| You want to | Send | When |
|---|---|---|
| Start a conversation, or write after 24 hours of silence | An approved template | Any time |
| Reply to a customer | Text, a file, buttons or a list | Within 24 hours of their last message |
See Sending and the 24-hour window.
Sandbox and live
| Sandbox | Live | |
|---|---|---|
| Sent from | Your team's sandbox WhatsApp number | Your own number, connected under WhatsApp › Accounts |
| Templates | A few samples, already approved | Yours, after Meta approval |
| Reaches | The Simulator's WhatsApp app | Real phones |
Connecting your own number is live only. See Connecting a number.
What it costs
WhatsApp charges per message, not per part:
- A template is charged at its category's price: authentication, utility or marketing.
- A reply inside the 24-hour window is charged at the reply price, and so is each message a customer sends you.
- A message WhatsApp can't deliver is charged the lower not-delivered price.
The response's cost says what each message cost. Prices are on ponitor.com/pricing/whatsapp.
The endpoint
WhatsApp goes through the Messaging API, with channel set to WHATSAPP:
| Endpoint | POST /messaging/v1/messages |
| Live base URL | https://api.ponitor.com |
| Sandbox base URL | https://sandbox-api.ponitor.com |
Customers' messages come to your webhook as message.received events, and show in the app's Inbox. See Receiving webhooks.
Guides
- Connecting a number: connect your WhatsApp Business Account, and Meta's limit on numbers.
- Templates: create a template and get it approved.
- Sending and the 24-hour window: send templates and replies, and handle each error.