WhatsApp Cloud API

Embedded signup is a convenient way to register your sender on the WhatsApp Business API directly from the UChat website. After registration, you can start using the API with the help of UChat to enhance your customer engagement experience.

Prerequisites

Before you can start using WhatsApp Business API, you'll need the following:

• A Facebook account.

• Administrator access to your Meta Business Manager account. If you don't have a Meta Business Manager account, you can create one during the embedded signup process. also the meta business account must not be blocked (here you can see if there are any restrictions on your META business account)

• Credit Card (Mastercard / Visa → No American Express!)

• A phone number that can be registered as a sender. This number must not be connected to any WhatsApp account (private or WhatsApp Business API). You'll need access to this number to receive an SMS or a voice call for verification. If you have an existing account, you can find instructions on how to delete it here.

Video Instructions

In this video, you can find a step by step guide of how to set up WhatsApp Cloud:

Step by Step Instructions

Step 1: Sign in with Facebook

To start the process, log into the UChat platform, and navigate to the “dashboard” and click “WhatsApp Cloud” from the left sidebar, and click “ Connect WhatsApp Cloud” Button:

In the popup window, login your facebook account or select the account that you already login in your browser.

Step 2: Create or Select a Meta Business Manager account

You can either select an existing Meta Business Manager account on which you have administrator permissions or create a new Meta Business Manager account. To create a new account, you will need to prepare the following information:

• Legal business name

• Business phone number

• Business website

• Business email address

• Country

• Corporate address

• City

• State/province/region

Step 3: Create WhatsApp Business Profile

1.Enter the name of your WhatsApp Business Account (WABA)

Your audience will not see this information on your WhatsApp profile.

2.Enter the name of your WhatsApp Business Profile Display Name

3.Choose a business category from the list

4.Enter a description for your business

You can edit the description at any time, including after sender verification.

Step 4: Verify WhatsApp Business Number

1. Enter the phone number that you want to use as your WhatsApp business number. Please note this phone number can’t use any WhatsApp services.

2. Choose one of the following verification methods:

• SMS

• Voice call

Once your number is verified,

you will be redirect to the screen below, and click “finish” button, you will be redirect back to UChat platform.

Step 5: Complete registration your number

Once you’re redirected to UChat platform, you will see the screen below, and click “Sync Numbers” button:

and you will see the numbers you just registrated inside of UChat platform. By default, the status is “Paused”, you need to switch the status to “Active”.

By default, if you go to “WhatsApp manager”, and then go to “Phone numbers”, you will notice the status is “Pending” as per the screenshot below:

Now, if you go back to UChat, and click the “settings” as per the screenshot below, and click “Register number”, and register your number:

And once your complete the registration, and then you will see your phone number status is “Connected” now.

And now your bot is ready to test!

But before you start testing, it’s very important to set up your billings & verified your meta business manager(it’s not mandatory, but it’s highly recommended to do)

WhatsApp Cloud Settings

UChat offer a few settings that can help you manage your WhatsApp API easily, if you click the 3 dots in the WhatsApp Cloud, and you will find the settings below:

• Health Check

• Business Verification Status

• Check payment method

• Phone numbers

• Message Templates

• Catalog

• Two Factor Authentication

• De-Register number

Business verification process of BM(Optional)

If you have not completed the Business Verification process, you will be limited to associating with only two phone numbers and can have a maximum of 250 conversations per day.

If this limit is exceeded, the account will be automatically canceled after 15 days.

However, during this period, you can still test the service. Once your business has been verified, you can associate WABA with up to 20 phone numbers and the conversation limit will increase to 1000 per day.

Check payment method

The first thing when you you do is to connect a valid credit card to your WABA numbers. If you haven’t connect to a valid card, and start sending WhatsApp template message, you will see the error below:

[ { "error_code": 141006, "error_description": "There is an error with the payment method.", "possible_solution": "There was an error with your payment method. Please add a new payment method to the account." } ]

Just just need to connect a valid credit card with your waba numbers.

Health Check

If you click the health check, you will see the screenshot below:

This will give you an overview of your phone number status, WABA status, Meta Business account status.

Phone numbers

A WhatsApp Business Account (WABA) needs a valid phone number that is dedicated to using the WhatsApp Business Platform.

This guide introduces how to choose phone numbers, add them to your account, and related sending limitations.

Once you click this option, you will be redirect to “phone numbers” in your WhatsApp manager, and the status of your phone number will falls into below categories:

Status is classified as follows:

• Connected: Sender functions normally.

• Flagged: This status occurs when the sender quality rating reaches a low (red) state. During this state, you cannot upgrade the messaging limit tier. If the quality rating improves to either a medium or high state within 7 days from the day the sender status was moved to Flagged, the status changes to Connected. If the quality rating does not improve, the sender status returns to Connected, but the messaging limit decreases to the next lower tier. The lowest tier for verified businesses is Tier 1.

• Restricted: This status occurs when the sender reaches the messaging limit. During the Restricted phase, you cannot send any outbound (notification) messages until the 24-hour window is reset. You can only respond to messages that end users initiate.

• Pending: You can click “registrate numbers” to connect your phone numbers.

Message Templates

This link will redirect you to the WhatsApp template section in WhatsApp manager, and you can create & submit template directly in WhatsApp manager, and once the template is approved, you can go to UChat to sync the template back to UChat.

You can also click “New Template” button in UChat, and then you can directly create and submit template right inside of UChat.

Catalog

Businesses can enable Catalogs to share products with customers using Multi and Single-Product messages or showcase their products and services to their customers in the WhatsApp App, allowing them to browse through and add items to their cart without leaving the conversation, providing a seamless and convenient shopping experience.

If you click the “Catalog” link, you will be redirect to WhatsApp Manager, and click “Catalog”, and click “Choose a Catalog”, from the drop down menu, select the catalog that you want to connect.

Click “View catalog” if you want to view or manage the catalog, Click “Connect Catalog”, and then this WABA numbers will connect to the catalog.

If you want to sync the product catalog from Facebook to UChat native ecommerce, you can go to “Integrations”, and then go to “E-commerce” category, and then click “Facebook Business”, and login your Facebook account.

After you login your Facebook account, you will be redirect back to UChat, and then click “List Business Catalogs” button.

Find the catalog that is linked to your WABA numbers, and click the “Facebook → Local” button, and then your catalog products will sync back to UChat Ecommerce → Products.

If you open any products that is synced to UChat Ecommerce → products, all the product title, description, images, prices are in sync with Facebook Catalog messages.

You will need retailID to send WhatsApp product catalog message, you can find the retailID synced to SKU in the product section.

Check more information how to build a native WhatsApp ecommerce shopping experience here.