New Way to Send & Receive WhatsApp Messages (Business Cloud API)

Summary

In this tutorial, Juan Estefan Garcia demonstrates how to send and receive WhatsApp messages using the new WhatsApp Business API, specifically the cloud version. He guides viewers through the process of setting up a Meta developer account, creating an app, and integrating WhatsApp. The video covers the use of message templates, sending test messages, and receiving notifications via webhooks. Juan also mentions an upcoming video for non-technical users and emphasizes the need for a business account and production phone number to go live and send messages globally.

Takeaways

• 😀 Juan Estefan Garcia introduces a tutorial on using the WhatsApp Business API, specifically the cloud version, for sending and receiving messages.
• 🔗 He encourages viewers to watch a previous video for context on the new WhatsApp Business API, which clarifies many concepts.
• 💻 For non-technical viewers, a future video will demonstrate how to use the API without coding, making it accessible to a broader audience.
• 🌐 The WhatsApp Business API documentation is a valuable resource, especially for developers looking to integrate the API into apps.
• 📝 To get started, one must be registered as a Meta developer, which involves creating a developer account on Facebook and setting up an app.
• 📱 The tutorial covers the process of setting up a WhatsApp integration, including creating a test phone number and adding recipient numbers for testing.
• 🔑 The script explains the importance of having a business account and a production phone number to go live and send messages globally.
• 📬 The video demonstrates how to send a 'Hello World' message using a template, which is a crucial step for testing message delivery.
• 🔄 Receiving messages is facilitated through the setup of a webhook, which allows for real-time notifications when messages are received.
• 🌐 The use of Postman is highlighted as a tool for testing APIs, and the script guides viewers on how to set up and use it with the WhatsApp API.
• 🔒 Security measures like two-factor authentication and verification tokens are emphasized to ensure the integrity of message notifications.
• 🚀 To go live with the API, one must transition from a test environment to a production environment by setting up a production phone number.

Q & A

What is the main topic of the video by Juan Estefan Garcia?

The main topic of the video is how to send and receive WhatsApp messages using the new WhatsApp Business API, specifically the cloud version.

Why should viewers watch Juan's previous video before this one?

Viewers should watch Juan's previous video to understand various concepts about the new WhatsApp Business API, as it provides context and clarifies concepts that might be confusing.

What is the advantage of using the cloud version of the WhatsApp Business API according to the video?

The advantage of using the cloud version is that users can leverage the infrastructure provided by WhatsApp, eliminating the need to set up, install, or maintain any servers themselves.

What is the first step to start using the WhatsApp Business API as described in the video?

The first step is to register as a Meta developer by creating a developer account on Facebook at developers.facebook.com.

Why is a business account necessary for using the WhatsApp Business API?

A business account is necessary to go live and send WhatsApp messages to any number globally, along with a production phone number.

How can viewers test the WhatsApp Business API without writing code?

Viewers can test the WhatsApp Business API without writing code by using the test account created for them or by following a future video prepared by Juan that demonstrates how to use the tool in a business without coding.

What is a webhook as mentioned in the video?

A webhook is a method of receiving notifications and alerts when a specific event occurs, such as receiving a message on WhatsApp.

How can users receive notifications when a message is sent to their WhatsApp Business API?

Users can receive notifications by configuring a webhook in the WhatsApp Business API settings, which sends alerts to a specified URL when a message is received.

What is the purpose of the 'verify token' in the webhook configuration?

The 'verify token' is used by WhatsApp to authenticate that notifications are genuinely coming from Facebook and not from an unauthorized source.

What is required to send messages to any number using the WhatsApp Business API?

To send messages to any number, users need to set up a production phone number, which allows them to send messages beyond the limited test numbers.

Outlines

00:00

📘 Introduction to WhatsApp Business API Cloud Version

Juan Estefan Garcia introduces the tutorial on using the WhatsApp Business API, specifically the cloud version. He references a previous video for context on the new API and assures viewers that a non-technical video is forthcoming. Juan emphasizes the benefits of the cloud version, such as not needing to manage servers, and guides viewers to the WhatsApp Business API documentation. He explains the necessity of being a Meta developer and walks through the process of creating a developer account on Facebook, selecting a business use type, and setting up a test app.

05:01

📝 Setting Up WhatsApp Integration and Testing Messages

The video continues with setting up the WhatsApp integration, which includes creating a test phone number and adding recipient numbers for testing purposes. Juan demonstrates how to verify a phone number and send a test message using a 'Hello World' template. He also introduces Postman, a tool for API development and testing, and shows how to configure it with the necessary environment variables. The tutorial includes sending a text message and receiving it, highlighting the immediate feedback mechanism.

10:02

🔔 Receiving Messages and Setting Up Webhooks

Juan explains how to receive messages by configuring a webhook, which provides notifications for specific events, such as receiving a message. He introduces Glitch, a tool for testing APIs, and guides viewers through setting up a webhook on the Glitch platform. The tutorial covers verifying the webhook with a token to ensure the notifications are legitimate. Juan demonstrates receiving a message and getting a notification, showing how the system can be used to monitor incoming messages in real-time.

15:03

🚀 Going Live with Production Phone Numbers

The final part of the tutorial focuses on going live with the WhatsApp Business API by setting up a production phone number. Juan outlines the steps for transitioning from testing to production mode, emphasizing that a production phone number is required to send messages to any number globally. He provides instructions on how to set up a production phone number and reminds viewers of the limitations of the testing mode, which restricts message sending to a maximum of five verified phone numbers.

Keywords

💡WhatsApp Business API

The WhatsApp Business API is a tool provided by WhatsApp that allows businesses to communicate with their customers via the WhatsApp platform. In the video, the speaker discusses how to use this API, particularly the cloud version, to send and receive messages. It's a core component of the video's theme as it enables businesses to integrate WhatsApp messaging into their operations.

💡Cloud API

The Cloud API refers to the version of the WhatsApp Business API that runs on WhatsApp's infrastructure, eliminating the need for businesses to manage their own servers. This is highlighted in the video as a convenient feature because it allows users to leverage WhatsApp's robust infrastructure without the overhead of server maintenance.

💡Meta Developer

A Meta Developer is someone who has registered with Meta (formerly Facebook) to create and manage applications that interact with Meta's platforms, such as the WhatsApp Business API. The video instructs viewers on how to become a Meta Developer, which is a prerequisite for using the API to send and receive WhatsApp messages.

💡Facebook Graph API

The Facebook Graph API is a tool used by Meta for various applications, including the WhatsApp Business API. In the video, it's mentioned that the WhatsApp Business API uses the Facebook Graph API for its operations, indicating the integration between Meta's different platforms.

💡Postman

Postman is a popular API development tool used for testing and developing APIs. In the video, the speaker uses Postman to demonstrate how to send a text message using the WhatsApp Business API, showcasing its utility in the process of API interaction.

💡Webhook

A Webhook is a method of augmenting or altering the behavior of a web page or Web application with custom callbacks. In the context of the video, the speaker sets up a webhook to receive notifications whenever a message is sent to the WhatsApp Business API, allowing for real-time updates on incoming messages.

💡Message Template

A Message Template in the WhatsApp Business API is a predefined format for messages that can be sent to users. The video explains the necessity of using message templates when initiating conversations with users who have not previously interacted with the business via WhatsApp.

💡Production Phone Number

A Production Phone Number is a registered number used for sending messages to customers in a live, production environment. The video emphasizes the need for a production phone number to send messages beyond the testing phase to any number globally.

💡Glitch

Glitch is a collaborative programming environment that allows users to build and test applications. In the video, the speaker uses Glitch to demonstrate how to set up a webhook for receiving notifications from the WhatsApp Business API, highlighting its utility in API testing and development.

💡Read Receipt

A Read Receipt in WhatsApp is a notification that indicates when a message has been read by the recipient. The video script mentions that the API can provide read receipts, allowing businesses to know when their messages have been viewed by customers.

Highlights

Introduction to sending and receiving WhatsApp messages using the new WhatsApp Business API Cloud version.

Explanation of previous video on different concepts of the WhatsApp Business API.

Offer to prepare a video for non-technical users on leveraging the tool without coding.

Visiting the WhatsApp Business API documentation and exploring the Cloud API documentation.

Advantages of the Cloud API version, such as using Facebook's infrastructure without needing to set up servers.

Instructions on registering as a Meta developer and creating a developer account on Facebook.

Process of creating a new app and choosing the business app type.

Requirement of a business account and a production phone number to go live and send messages globally.

Setting up the WhatsApp integration and creating a test phone number for development purposes.

Adding and verifying recipient phone numbers for testing the API.

Demonstration of sending a test message using the 'hello world' template.

Using Postman for API testing and setting up sample endpoints.

Explanation of message templates and the necessity of using them to initiate conversations.

Procedure to send a custom text message after a conversation has been initiated.

Setting up a webhook for receiving notifications when messages are sent to the WhatsApp number.

Using Glitch to test the API and configure the webhook.

Demonstration of receiving a notification when a message is sent to the WhatsApp number.

Instructions on setting up a production phone number to send messages to any number globally.

Conclusion and call to action for viewers to subscribe for more upcoming videos.

Transcripts

hey i'm juan estefan garcia and in this

video i will be showing you how to send

and receive whatsapp messages using the

new whatsapp business api more

specifically the cloud version

in my previous video i explained a lot

of different concepts about this new

whatsapp business api because i know

that there's still a lot of confusion

out there and some of the concepts were

not very clear and so i encourage you to

watch that video because it will put you

into context and it will explain a lot

of things that we will be discussing in

this video however if you're ready to

get started let's dive right into this

oh and one thing before i forget

i know that some of you are not

technical and so for those of you who

are not developers or do not have any

experience writing code i will be

preparing another video in which i will

be showing you how to leverage this new

tool in your business and how to start

sending text messages without having to

write a single line of code

so without further ado let's get started

okay so let's start by visiting the

whatsapp business api documentation and

you can see that that here i'm looking

at the cloud api documentation and there

are actually a lot of useful links that

you will find here so i encourage you to

check it out if you are developing any

kind of app

using the whatsapp business api

so if i go to the overview page

you see that well it tells you a lot of

different things

and it tells you for example that they

use the facebook graph api for all of

this and the first thing that i want you

to know is that the good news is that in

this cloud api version

you actually can use their

infrastructure and you don't have to

worry about setting up or installing any

servers yourself or maintaining them no

you can just use the cloud version and

it will do everything for you using

their own infrastructure which is

definitely a lot more robust than ours

so if i click here where it says get

started

let's start

by looking at this first item and you

see that in order to follow

along in order to

do what i'm going to show you in this

video you need to be registered as a

meta developer

and

it's very simple to create an account

on facebook i mean a developer account

you just go to developers.facebook.com

and this is what you are going to see if

you don't have a developer account it

should be pretty easy to set that up you

just need to

accept some terms of services and it

will also ask you to enable to factor

authentication for your account which

should be pretty easy to do

and once you do that you just go to the

my apps page

and we're going to create a new app

and the first thing that you have to do

is uh choose

the business up type

and we're going to

enter here a name so it's going to be

binx

code

youtube app let's call it like this i

mean it can be anything you want to be

honest and you see that a business

account is optional but one thing that

you should know is that in order to go

live and in order to be able to send any

whatsapp messages to any number in the

planet you need to have a business

account and also well you need to have a

production phone number those are

basically the two things that you will

need but

for the sake of this video you should be

able to follow along just using the the

test account that it will create for you

in my case since i already have a a a

business set up i'm just going to use

mine

but again you can if you don't select

any business it will simply create one

for you all right so

let's go to the next page it will take a

few seconds while it sets up your

account

in their servers and the first thing

that you're going to see is that we are

going to set up the whatsapp integration

and so you see that out of the box by

the way

if you don't see

a temporary access talking here

it may be because you recently created a

developer account and it takes at least

60 minutes to set it up

and like to set up everything that you

need in order to use this developer

account so just keep that in mind if you

don't see anything here

and

all right so you see that it creates a

phone a test phone number for you so in

this case this is actually the one that

i am going to use

and also

you can add recipient phone numbers

and

it's pretty easy so

let's actually start doing this the

first thing that you're going to need is

a recipient phone number because well

that would be a number that you will use

for testing purposes in this case since

we haven't

gone live yet since this is not in

production mode we have up to five

numbers that we can add

for testing purposes and if you're going

to add a number you have to verify it

first so how do you do that well in this

case if i click here i will just

type my phone number in my cases i

already verified it i don't have to do

it again but

basically you just verify your number

you put it here

you will then get a text message such as

this one i mean a whatsapp message with

a code and then you just put the code

and it will let you

start sending and receiving text

messages from that number so i'm not

going to do that as you can see i

already verified it so i'm just going to

choose this one

and you see that it's as simple as that

if i let let me actually open what's up

here and if i click here where it says

send text message you see that

it sends me a message immediately and it

says welcome congratulations hello world

this message demonstrates your ability

to send a message notification from

whatsapp

pretty cool and

you see that here in this case it is

using a template called hello world and

that's why it already has like all these

all these texts in place

now uh

if i also take this command

and i run it here

you see that it also works and let me

actually double check yeah you see

that i see the message twice which means

that that i was able to receive it but

for our purposes it will be a lot easier

to use postman so i'm just going to

click where it says run in postman

and the first thing that i will do is

well if you don't have a postman account

it will ask you to create one in my case

i'm already logged in

in my

in my account and so i'm just going to

choose any label here i'm actually going

to use this one it doesn't really matter

and i'm going to pick this workspace

and for those of you who do not know

postman it's a very useful tool

that you can use for like developing

apis or for testing apis and so this is

definitely something that you will be

using quite frequently if you are

using whatsapp business api

okay so as you can see

facebook took the time to set up a lot

of different sample endpoints in example

requests and so this is definitely going

to save us a lot of time which is pretty

cool

so i don't want to use i mean as you can

see i'm using the web version but quite

frankly i like the desktop version

better so let me actually close all

these steps

don't save anything and as you can see i

have three cloud apis i mean it's only

because i was also

recording a spanish version of this api

so let's focus on this one

all right so

if i go to environments you will see

that that there there are three

environments in my case there are three

because i have three apis

and so here is where you will tweak

this value so for example i don't know

let's say

let's say that i want to change let me

actually go back to where i was

here

and if i want to copy let's say

this phone number id then this is the

one that i would put here

yeah i'm going to put this one no

actually i'm going to use the test

number

because you see that i already validated

another number uh and so i mean i can

use that one but for this video i'm just

going to use this one

so i'm going to leave it like this and

i'm also going to grab this temporary

access code and put it here

awesome and the recipient phone number

i'm going to use this one so i'm just

going to paste the number here as you

can see it was already there

i'm going to hit save

and now

if i go to get started send a text

message

you will see well you will see that this

is red and by the way as soon as you

come back to environment and enable this

environment that i just created you see

that it turns orange

and now

well let's do the same experiment

awesome so you see that that it does

work pretty cool

and

one thing that i want you to know is

that we're using a template and so if i

come here to where it says create your

own message template you will see that

we have different versions of this

hello world and also like for example if

we if we were to use sample chipping

confirmation i'm not going to use any of

those i'm just going to stick to

to the one that you're seeing here and

you see that you can create like even

different

uh translations of the same message

and one thing that i want you to keep in

mind is that in order to start a

conversation with someone that said that

we haven't received any

messages from a particular user if you

want to initiate a conversation with

that person you'll have to use a message

template so that's something that you

will have to keep in mind however after

that person replies to you you are able

to send any kind of message that you

want and so let's let me actually show

you if i try to send a text message and

let me actually go here to reference

messages

and

um

let me go here to examples

if i grab this payload

i put it here

you are going to see that well let me

actually do this

let me copy this variable

put it here

then i'm also going to remove

the rest

and

so i'm going to try to send a text

message

and the thing is that i mean actually

like in my case it will work because i

already like i i already was using this

number for testing purposes prior to

this video but if you try to send this

kind of message without the user having

first send you any message then you're

just going to get an error so in this

case let's actually do this

hey

how's it going

pretty casual

now if i send this it'll work and you

see how it lets you send a text message

but again if you try to do it without

the user

sending a sending you a message first

it's not gonna work so i do want you to

keep that in mind

all right so

let's talk now about

receiving text

messages because we know now how to send

text messages but let's focus on

receiving them because it will be pretty

cool if we can get any kind of

notification every time someone sends us

a message so how do you do that

so you just come here to where it says

configuration and we're going to

configure something called a web hook

and in case you don't know what a web

hook is is simply like a fancy way of

getting alerts and notifications when a

specific event happens so let's say that

for example i have an e-commerce store

and someone placed an order in my system

then it would be pretty cool if i get a

notification saying hey someone just

place an order or hey someone just made

a payment or hey someone requested a

refund or your order was already chipped

stuff like that and so

we want to enable notifications and we

want to enable webhooks when someone

sends a text when someone sends us a

text message so i'm going to click here

in the help icon

and it is going to take me to this page

and we're going to use a very cool tool

called glitch

and basically glitch lets you test

your api and so i'm going to click here

where it says remix on glitch

and you will see

that well in order to to do what i'm

going to do you will probably need to

have an account and so well it's pretty

easy to

uh to set up an account

and once you have your account you'll

see the first thing that you will

encounter is this code that is basically

a very simple api it has two endpoints

and one is a post

endpoint

under slash web hook and the same thing

with a get

endpoint on their slash web hook so

pretty easy and one thing that you will

need to do is you'll have to set up an

environment variable and actually as you

can see i have to click

first where it says remix because i need

to create

a my own copy of this server

not of the server of this code

and you see that that here i have the

option to change these two tokens in

this case we're going to update the

verify token and by the way this token

is just a way for what's up i mean for

you to know that

the notifications that you are getting

are actually coming from facebook

because if someone finds out about this

url they will be able to make manual

notifications and then your servers will

be confused thinking that someone is

sending you messages when in reality

you're just being attacked by someone

and so

let's put some random talking here

something like phoenix code

youtube

a349

exclamation mark this is what i'm going

to use

because as you can see i am very

creative

and

and not funny

and also what i'm going to do now is

i'm going to configure the web hook

and i'm going to paste

the verify talking first

and then what i'm gonna do is

i'm going to click here where it says

share and i'm going to grab this link

and put it here and i'm going to add a

slash webhook

so if i do this let me actually

here click where it says webhooks

and

if i click here verify and save

you'll see that it says webhook verified

because that basically means that that

facebook made a request to this url and

pass this verify token and it worked

so it's as simple as that and now what

we're gonna do is click here where it

says web hooks and i'm going to

subscribe to these notifications to this

event so basically every time something

related to a message happens you are

going to get a web hook

in the url that we provided facebook

before so i'm going to click you here

where it says subscribe

and we should be all set so let's

actually give this a try

if i come here let me clear they lock

the lock so i'm going to click here

and now i'm going to send a text message

so

hey

it's me

and you see that i immediately get a

notification and you see that there's a

message the message has a

a message id

and here's the body it says hey it's me

and so at this point like we can

literally have like some app that will

display all the messages that we are

receiving and then any person will be

able to reply to those messages so it's

pretty cool and you see that for example

if i send a text message let me send

a text message times two

all right and now i'm going to clear the

logs

and i want you to know that if i click

here

where it says well if i open my whatsapp

conversation

as soon as i open it

it in

i get a notification that says that the

message was read so this is basically

the way

you can like tell whether or not someone

has read your message so you you also

get a notification when that happens and

if i

reply okay cool

you see that i also get the other

notification with the text message so as

you can see we are able to send and

receive whatsapp messages using this new

api

okay so at this point you know full well

how to send and receive text messages

but the last thing that i want to tell

you is that in order to

go live in order to go to production you

will need to set up

a

production phone number and so basically

the way you do that is that

as you can see here it says when you're

ready to use your app for production use

case you need to use your own phone

number to send messages to your users

and here it has the instructions on how

to do that it's pretty easy to do it i

already tested it myself it works really

well and only when you have a production

phone number you are you have the

ability to

send messages to any number in the

planet so i just want you to keep that

in mind because while you are in testing

mode you are only able to send messages

to up to five

confirmed and verified phone numbers but

if you want to send messages to any

number you will have to use a production

phone number

so that's it for now and i want to thank

you for sticking till the end of this

video i will be showing you a lot of

different things during the next few

days so i want you to subscribe to this

channel because i will be posting more

videos very soon thank you so much