How do I send WhatsApp order notifications and marketing campaigns?

What WhatsApp Connect does

WhatsApp Connect links your own WhatsApp number to your store, then uses it for two things:

• Automated orders notifications: a message you write is sent to the buyer on WhatsApp the moment they place an order, with an optional redirect that drops them straight into the chat after checkout.
• Marketing campaigns: bulk WhatsApp messages to your past customers, with date and market targeting, an optional schedule, and a per-message delay to protect your number.

WhatsApp Connect is a paid subscription app, billed monthly for as long as it stays installed. Its current price is shown on the app's install screen.

Installing and connecting your WhatsApp number

1. Open WhatsApp Connect from the Apps page and click Install.
2. Open the app again. It shows a QR code and linking steps:
   1. Open WhatsApp on your phone.
   2. Tap the menu (three dots) on Android, or Settings on iPhone.
   3. Tap Linked devices, then Link a device.
   4. Point your phone at the screen to scan the QR code.

Once scanned, your number is saved and the app shows it under Connected Whatsapp number, with the two feature tiles (Automated orders notifications and Marketing campaigns) unlocked. This uses WhatsApp's linked-device feature, so your phone must stay online for messages to go out. Messages are only delivered to recipients whose number is actually registered on WhatsApp.

Automated order notifications

These rules are set per market. Open the app, click Automated orders notifications, then Add new automated orders notification.

• Activate: when on, buyers in this market get the message when they order. On by default.
• Order Redirect: when on, the buyer is sent to WhatsApp automatically right after the order is placed. On by default.
• Country: the market this rule covers. You pick from the markets you have already configured, and each market can have only one rule (adding a second for the same market is rejected).
• Notification message: the text sent to the buyer, up to 500 characters. A live preview shows how it will look in WhatsApp as you type.

You can insert these dynamic tags, which are replaced per order and shown in WhatsApp bold:

• {customer_fullname}: the buyer's full name.
• {product_name}: the name of the first product in the order.
• {order_total}: the order total with its currency.

A notification only fires when the order's market has an active rule and the buyer left a phone number. Orders with no phone are skipped. Add separate rules for each market you sell in, each with its own wording.

Marketing campaigns

Open the app, click Marketing campaigns, then Add new marketing campaign. Fill in:

• Campaign name: a label for your reference, up to 50 characters.
• Market: the market to target. The recipient list is built from customers who ordered in that market, so the market must have at least one customer.
• Maximum recipients: caps how many people this run reaches. Leave blank to send to every matching customer. Any number from 1 up to 9999999999 is accepted.
• Orders range date: required. Only customers who placed an order between the chosen start and end dates are included. Both dates must be today or earlier.
• Launch time: Now to send right away, or Scheduled to pick a date and time. A scheduled time cannot be in the past and must be within the next 7 days.
• Timeout: the delay between each message, set with a slider from 30 to 600 seconds. A longer gap (3 minutes or more is recommended) lowers the chance of WhatsApp flagging your number as spam.
• Scheduled date: shown only when Launch time is Scheduled.
• Product: optional. Link a product so its name and link can be inserted in the message.
• Message: the WhatsApp text, up to 1000 characters.

Campaign message tags:

• {customer_fullname}: the buyer's full name. This tag is required, the message will not save without it (it personalizes each send to avoid spam).
• {product_name}: the linked product's name.
• {product_link}: a direct link to the linked product's page.

Any web link you include in the message must point to a domain you have added to your store. An unknown domain is rejected, which keeps your bulk messages off WhatsApp's spam radar.

Who receives a campaign

Recipients are pulled from real orders in the selected market and date range, oldest order first, skipping abandoned, duplicated, hidden, and deleted orders. If you set Maximum recipients, only that many of the oldest qualifying customers are messaged.

Campaign statuses

A campaign moves through these states, shown on the Campaigns list: Created, Scheduled (with its launch date), In progress, Paused, Completed, and Canceled.

Things to watch for

• Keep your phone online. If the linked phone loses internet, sending pauses until it reconnects.
• Pace bulk sends. WhatsApp can flag a number that fires many messages quickly. Use a generous Timeout for large campaigns.
• One rule per market. To change an existing market's order message, edit its rule rather than adding a new one.
• Missing phone numbers. Order notifications and campaigns can only reach customers who provided a phone number on their order.