WhatsApp Business for Customer Messages

Business app or Business Platform

WhatsApp offers two products for businesses, and the choice decides most of what follows.

The WhatsApp Business app is, in WhatsApp's words, "built with the small business owner in mind". It is a phone app. Its features page lists a business profile (logo, description, opening hours, website), an automatic greeting message, away messages outside business hours, quick replies for common questions, labels for sorting chats, a product catalogue and broadcasts to several customers at once. Someone on your team reads and answers the messages.

The WhatsApp Business Platform is the API version, described on its product page as enterprise-level APIs for notifications, promotions, customer care and verification codes. It has no app of its own: messages are sent and received by software, either through a partner's tool or your own integration with Meta's Cloud API. WhatsApp lists integration with CRM and marketing automation systems and routing to a live agent when needed among its uses.

As a rule of thumb: if one person or a small team answers chats by hand, the app is the simpler start. If you want booking confirmations sent automatically, a chatbot, or chats logged in your CRM, you need the Platform.

Click-to-chat links and the Chat on WhatsApp button

The easiest way to bring website visitors to WhatsApp is a click-to-chat link. WhatsApp's How to use click to chat article gives the format:

https://wa.me/<number>

The number is the full number in international format, without a plus sign, leading zeroes, brackets or dashes. To pre-fill the message the customer will send, add URL-encoded text:

https://wa.me/447700900123?text=I%27d%20like%20to%20book%20an%20appointment

The link opens a chat on a phone or on WhatsApp Web. A pre-filled message tells you which page or offer the customer came from, which is useful when you are counting enquiries.

WhatsApp also provides an official Chat on WhatsApp button, in green or white and in three sizes, and asks that you use it unchanged and in its latest version, following its brand guidelines. WhatsApp notes the button is currently only available in English. Its embed example includes aria-label="Chat on WhatsApp" on the link, which keeps it usable with screen readers.

Keep a phone number and email or form next to the button: not everyone uses WhatsApp, and our website forms guide covers the form side.

Opt-in: who you may message

Meta's Get opt-in for WhatsApp page sets the rule for the Business Platform. A business may contact someone on WhatsApp if they have given their mobile number and the business has opt-in permission confirming they want to receive messages or calls from that particular business. The opt-in must:

• clearly state that the person is opting in to receive communication from the business;
• clearly state the business's name;
• comply with applicable law.

Meta says the opt-in can be general rather than specific to WhatsApp, as long as local law is met, and can be collected on a website, by SMS, by phone or on paper. It recommends covering the kinds of messages you will send (such as order updates or offers), or asking separately per category, and giving clear instructions for opting out.

WhatsApp's rules sit on top of the law where you operate, not in place of it. Marketing messages in particular may need consent under local rules; check those before a promotional broadcast, and record when and how each person opted in.

The 24-hour window and template messages

On the Platform, what you can send depends on whether the customer has written recently. Meta's pricing documentation explains the customer service window: when a WhatsApp user messages or calls you, a 24-hour timer starts, and it resets each time they write again. Inside that window you can reply with normal messages (text, images, buttons and so on). Outside it, you can only send template messages.

Meta's template documentation says every template is one of three categories:

• Marketing: promotional messages;
• Utility: transactional or informational messages, such as an order confirmation or appointment reminder;
• Authentication: identity verification codes.

Templates are reviewed automatically when created or edited, and only templates with the status APPROVED can be sent. The status can change later based on usage and quality feedback. Templates can contain variables, such as a first name or booking time, which your system fills in when sending.

How Meta charges on the Platform

From the same pricing page, as of 4 November 2026:

• Meta charges per delivered message, by message category and by the country code of the recipient's number. Rates are published per market, so check Meta's current rate card rather than any figure quoted elsewhere.
• Messages from customers to a business are not charged.
• From 1 October 2026, each business phone number gets a free tier of 1,000 service messages (non-template replies) per month; unused messages do not roll over.
• If someone messages you from an ad that clicks to WhatsApp on the Android or iOS app and you reply within the customer service window, that reply is free and opens a free entry point window that can stay open for up to 7 days.

If you use a partner's software to send messages, its fees are separate from Meta's message charges.

Business verification and messaging limits

Meta's messaging limits cap how many different people a business can message outside a customer service window in a moving 24-hour period. The limit is set per business portfolio and shared by all its numbers. A new portfolio starts at 250. It rises to 2,000 after one of several scaling paths, one of which is verifying your business, and can then rise automatically to 10,000, 100,000 and unlimited if message quality stays high and you use at least half the current limit over 7 days.

Business verification is done in Meta Business Suite's Security Center by someone with full control of the business portfolio. Meta's verification help page asks for the legal business name, address, phone number and website, which must match your legal entity, and says the website must load over HTTPS. You may be asked for official documents. Meta notes this is different from Meta Verified and does not give a badge.

A website that shows the same legal name, address and phone number as your registration makes this step easier; our SSL and HTTPS guide covers the secure-connection side.

Connecting WhatsApp to your website and systems

WhatsApp works best as one channel among several. Ways to connect it on a service business website:

• A click-to-chat button on contact and service pages, with a pre-filled message per page.
• Booking confirmations and reminders sent as utility templates when someone books online; see our online booking guide.
• An assistant that answers common questions and hands over to a person; our AI chatbot guide covers the trade-offs.
• Conversations logged against the customer record in your CRM; see our CRM integration guide.

Frequently asked questions

Do I need the WhatsApp Business Platform for a WhatsApp button on my website?

No. A click-to-chat link in the format https://wa.me/ followed by your number works with the WhatsApp Business app too. The Platform is needed when software sends or receives the messages, for example automatic reminders or a chatbot.

Can I message customers on WhatsApp who gave me their number for something else?

For the Business Platform, Meta requires opt-in permission confirming the person wants messages from your business, naming the business, and complying with local law. A phone number alone is not opt-in.

Why can I not send a normal message to a customer who wrote to us last week?

On the Platform, normal messages can only be sent within 24 hours of the customer's last message or call. After that, only approved template messages can be sent.

Is WhatsApp business messaging free?

Meta does not charge for messages customers send you. On the Platform it charges per delivered message by category and country, with a free tier of 1,000 service messages per business phone number per month from 1 October 2026. Check Meta's current rate card for prices.

Is Meta business verification the same as a verified badge?

No. Meta says verifying your business in Meta Business Suite is different from Meta Verified and does not give a verified badge.

Want a WhatsApp button, booking flow or CRM link built into your website? See our website development service and all our services, or email [email protected].