WhatsApp API is the cool kid on the block, with its impressive open rate and solid conversion rate. Over 50 million businesses are already riding the WhatsApp wave, tapping into its massive user base to increase sales and provide top-notch customer support.
There’s no hard secret that Businesses can access WhatsApp Business API through various methods, including On-Premises, On-Cloud, Sign-up, or conversational commerce integration.
If you're a business owner that likes to do thorough research on all options or already has a specific choice of WhatsApp Cloud API and wants to learn more, this blog is for you!
We've put together an ultimate guide that covers all the important topics like benefits, features, how to gain access, differences between on-premises & on-cloud, and any limitations you should be aware of.
WhatsApp Cloud API is a cloud-based version of the WhatsApp Business Platform that offers various features like automation, chatbots, and customer support. It eliminates the need to host your servers and helps businesses improve their customer communication and enhance customer service.
The WhatsApp Cloud API release date is May 19, 2022.
The default message sending and receiving rate for text and media messages on WhatsApp Cloud API is 80 messages per second (MPS), which can be increased to 500 MPS upon request.
WhatsApp Cloud API provides analytics and conversation metrics for your WhatsApp Business Account (WABA), including message and conversation counts.
WhatsApp Cloud API secures WhatsApp messages with Signal protocol encryption during device-to-device transmission and uses industry-standard encryption methods to protect data in transit and at rest.
WhatsApp Cloud API offers several key features that enable businesses to communicate with their customers more effectively. These features include:
Meta performs API software upgrades for WhatsApp Cloud API. All new features and security updates are available automatically on the Cloud API.
The Cloud API supports up to 80 messages per second (MPS) by default and up to 500 MPS upon request, making it suitable for high-volume messaging applications.
WhatsApp Cloud API is Multi-tenant, i.e., Multiple phone numbers can be registered on CAPI.
For WhatsApp Cloud API, Meta pays for the hosting costs. Businesses only pay per message sent or conversation, per the rules
With conversation analytics, businesses can gain insights into their WhatsApp Business Account (WABA) performance. This includes message delivery rates, response times, and other vital metrics.
The API supports sharing media files such as images, videos, and documents in addition to text messages.
Every WhatsApp message sent through the Cloud API is secured with end-to-end encryption, ensuring that messages are protected from unauthorized access.
The WhatsApp Cloud API provides businesses with several benefits that enable them to improve customer communication and engagement. These benefits include:
With over two billion active users, WhatsApp is one of the world's most widely used messaging platforms. By using the Cloud API, businesses can leverage this reach to connect with customers on a platform they already use.
By enabling two-way communication and providing personalized messaging, businesses can engage with customers more meaningfully, leading to improved customer satisfaction and loyalty.
With messaging templates and automated messaging workflows, businesses can reduce response times and streamline customer service, increasing efficiency and reducing costs.
Conversation analytics provided by the Cloud API allows businesses to gain valuable insights into customer behavior and preferences, improving their messaging strategies and providing more personalized experiences.
The Cloud API employs industry-standard encryption techniques to protect messages from unauthorized access, providing businesses and their customers with added security.
The Cloud API within Meta's infrastructure automatically scales and adapts to manage your workload while staying within your rate limit for messaging volume and several WhatsApp business accounts.
Here's a summary of the steps needed to set up WhatsApp Cloud API and WhatsApp Business Management API:
To send a test message using the Cloud API WhatsApp or WhatsApp Business Management API:
To receive alerts when you receive a message or when a message's status changes using the Meta WhatsApp Cloud API or WhatsApp Business Management API, you need to set up a Webhooks endpoint for your app. Here are the steps:
Setting up Webhooks doesn't affect your phone number's status, and you can continue to send and receive messages normally.
Using the Cloud API or On-Premises API does not impact messaging prices for businesses. The WhatsApp Business Platform charges businesses based on the conversation category per 24-hour conversation. For WhatsApp Cloud API pricing, the first 1,000 conversations each month are free. You need to add a credit card to your account to send more than 1,000 conversations.
However, the Cloud API has cost-saving benefits, such as reduced set-up costs (server or external cloud provider costs) and ongoing maintenance costs (including engineering time for API upgrades).
Get the rate cards for utility, marketing, and service conversations effective June 1, 2023, by downloading them from this link: USD Rate Card
WhatsApp Cloud API sets rate limits for business use cases. Each WhatsApp Business Account has a one-hour limit on the number of calls an app can make to business accounts. The call count limit is 1800000, i.e., they are the maximum number of calls allowed within the one-hour window.
Besides platform rate limits, Meta has the following rate limits applicable to Cloud API accounts:
Discover the limitations of using WhatsApp Cloud API for your business and learn more about them to make informed decisions.
In Cloud API WhatsApp, Incoming messages are unlimited, but there are limits for outgoing messages. Outgoing messages are limited by message rate limits, which are determined by the country where your app is located.
You can check your current messaging limits in the WhatsApp Manager > Overview Dashboard > Insights tab:
The credit card payment method for Meta WhatsApp Cloud API is only available in certain countries. Six currencies are available for payment: USD, AUD, EUR, GBP, IDR, and INR. You can only pay with a credit card if you are in a country listed in the Business Manager Supported Countries. Supported Countries for WhatsApp Business Credit Card Billing help center article.
Here's a concise table comparing the key differences between the On-Premises API and the Cloud API:
The choice between on-premise and cloud API depends on various factors such as cost, security, scalability, maintenance, and performance.
On-premise API is hosting the API on local servers or within an organization's infrastructure. This approach requires a significant initial investment in hardware and software and ongoing maintenance and upgrades. On-premise API provides full control and customization over the infrastructure, but it may not be suitable for organizations with limited resources or IT expertise.
Cloud API, on the other hand, refers to hosting the API on a cloud platform such as Amazon Web Services, Microsoft Azure, or Google Cloud Platform. This approach offers several advantages: lower upfront costs, greater scalability, and easier maintenance. Cloud API also provides greater flexibility, allowing organizations to adjust resources based on usage and demand.
In terms of security, both on-premise and cloud API can be secure, but cloud API offers additional benefits such as automatic updates, built-in security features, and disaster recovery options. Cloud providers have teams of security experts who monitor and address potential threats, which can be more challenging for organizations to manage independently.
In terms of performance, on-premise API may offer better latency and response times as it is closer to the end-users. However, cloud API can also provide high-performance capabilities using content delivery networks (CDNs) and other optimization techniques.
In summary, the choice between on-premise and cloud API depends on various factors such as the organization's resources, IT expertise, security needs, scalability requirements, and performance goals. While on-premise API provides greater control and customization, cloud API offers greater flexibility, scalability, security features, and lower upfront costs. Organizations must carefully evaluate their needs and priorities to make the best decision for their use case.
Click here for Cloud API FAQ on Meta Page.
Donut.cx is Whatsapp's first omnichannel engagement platform that enhances the platform's efficiency for your business by providing improved automation and analytics assistance and allowing you to build meaningful sales campaigns to increase revenue.
Key features of Donut.cx are
The procedure for obtaining the WhatsApp Business API and integrating it with Donut.cx is as follows-
Now you can start interacting with your WhatsApp customers effectively with Donut.cx Chat Widget.
With Donut.cx, you can send personalized messages to multiple users in one go using WhatsApp API Broadcasts. Create your first broadcast with the steps below.
Step 1: Go to “WhatsApp Broadcast” → “Create Broadcast”
Step 2 : Give your broadcast a Name, then schedule a time and date. Add Notes (optional) with context around what this broadcast is for and who will receive it. Click Next when you are done.
Step 3: Select the template that you want to broadcast. You can create a new template by following the steps here.
Step 4: Upload your customers’ contact list to whom you wish to broadcast the message. You can upload an .XLSX or CSV file. You can download and fill details in the template file.
Step 5: Verify your details once again. Click on “Schedule Broadcast” to schedule your broadcast for delivery at the aforementioned time.
Step 6: You will receive a pop-up to notify you that your broadcast is successfully scheduled. You can see your newly created broadcast in the “Planned broadcasts” list.
“Meta recommends that the majority of businesses use the Cloud API due to ease of implementation and maintenance.”
While Meta Whatsapp cloud API has more advantages in some areas, and the process of obtaining Cloud API WhatsApp is also simple, there's no need to hesitate any longer. We give you a big thumbs up to start utilizing WhatsApp Cloud API for your business.
Still, do not take the plunge without considering your business size and nature, message types, automation needs, team technical capabilities, and industry compliance before using WhatsApp Cloud API. Also, weigh the potential benefits of increased engagement, improved customer service, and streamlined communication.
Take a breather, analyze your requirements carefully, and don't worry because our WhatsApp Cloud API ultimate guide is always here to lend a hand!
Transform your business with Donut.cx - the omnichannel platform for instant, contextual engagement and sales on WhatsApp, featuring a multi-agent inbox for efficient support and powerful WhatsApp broadcasts to drive purchases!
Enhance customer loyalty with Donut.cx
A Donut specialist will reach out to you to schedule a personalised demo. In the meanwhile watch the demo to know more about Donut’s capabilities
Watch Demo
