The focus the past few months has been on WHMCS Notify Extended v2 and WhatsApp, and rightly so. This blog post will continue that focus. With the impending release of v2 (scheduled by end of 1st quarter 2020), it’s time to start getting things prepped up and explaining a bit more about the interaction between WHMCS Notify Extended and WhatsApp!
If you’re not familiar with WhatsApp, you might take a look at their site, here. Essentially, this is just a rather popular text based messenger, which allows people to communicate easily with each other… Think SMS, but owned by one organization. This is both good , and bad. I’ll explain both in another post. To get started with WhatsApp, you simply need a phone and a number. That’s it
To get started with WhatsApp, on the business side, it’s a bit more complicated. I’ll walk you through the process here.
To start with, you need a Facebook business account. If you’ve already got a personal account that manages your business pages, you’re probably already set. Just follow the link previously and you’ll be good to go. Make sure you’re logged into your personal account, though
Now, obtain your business ID (click the link, it’ll get you a guide to doing so). You’ll need this in the next steps
The next steps will differ , between Twilio and Clickatell. I’ll try to be as precise as I can here, though some of this may differ, or change due to third party stuff
- For Twilio:
- Login to Twilio
- Head to Programmable SMS -> WhatsApp
- Start the application process
- For Clickatell:
- Login to their portal
- Head to WhatsApp
- Click on WhatsApp Numbers
Fill in the appropriate information, as necessary. The business ID you obtained earlier goes in that application, NOT your personal Facebook account ID
This process will take a few weeks to complete. Mine took about 2-3 through Twilio, and 3-4 through Clickatell
Now, once you’re approved , you’re ready to go, right? Well, kind of. Right now, you’re using a ‘shared’ number from both providers on your WhatsApp application. To change this, you’ll need to go through the following steps. I can only provide instructions for doing this through twilio. For Clickatell, you’ll have to contact their support.
- Login to your Twilio interface
- Click on Programmable SMS -> WhatsApp -> Senders
- Click the red ‘add’ circle
- Fill out the information. If you don’t already have a number from them, grab one . They’re dirt cheap, really.
And now, this part of the process is completed. You’re officially ‘ready’ for your WHMCS Notify Extended and WhatsApp integration. In the next post, I’ll cover pricing, templates, and the interaction process between WHMCS and WhatsApp. Stay tuned, it’ll be coming up in the next few days (not weeks!)
