The WhatsApp Business API is how software sends and receives WhatsApp messages for a business. This guide covers how an Indian business gets access, which rules apply to the messages you start, how Waki runs on top of the API and what to measure once you are live.
Read alongside this guide: WhatsApp Business API and Meta Business Verification guide.
Key takeaways
- Every message you start for the WhatsApp Business API needs a contact who opted in and a template approved by Meta.
- Complete Meta Business Verification early; it is what lets your messaging limits grow.
- Build the manual version first, then automate it with a flow, a webhook or the API.
- Measure against your own earlier results, not against figures quoted elsewhere.
The WhatsApp Business API explained
The WhatsApp Business API, now part of the WhatsApp Business Platform with the Cloud API hosted by Meta, lets software send and receive WhatsApp messages for a business. Instead of one phone running the app, several people and systems work through one number.
How it works on the WhatsApp Business Platform
Messaging on the WhatsApp Business Platform needs the customer’s opt-in, and any message that starts a conversation must use a template approved by Meta. Once a customer writes to you, a 24-hour customer-service window opens in which agents and automations can reply freely; outside it, only templates go through. Meta prices conversations rather than individual messages.
Setting it up with Waki
Waki connects your WhatsApp Business Account through Meta’s embedded signup, or provides a managed number, and runs templates, campaigns, the inbox and automation on top of the API.
- Create a Waki account and connect your WhatsApp Business Account through Meta’s embedded signup, or ask for a Waki managed number.
- Complete Meta Business Verification so your messaging limits can grow; the verification guide on this site walks through it.
- Create the templates you need and submit them for approval. Keep the first ones short and factual.
- Import contacts who have opted in, and record where each consent came from as a contact attribute.
- Send a test to your own number, then to a small segment, and read the report before you scale up.
Good practice
A few habits keep the WhatsApp Business API useful to customers and safe for your number.
- Complete Meta Business Verification early; it is what lets your messaging limits grow.
- Ask for consent in plain words and say what you will send and how often.
- Send at sensible local hours and keep the frequency you promised.
- Give every message a reason to exist: a date, an amount, a document, a decision.
- Make it easy to reply or to stop; an opt-out that works protects your quality rating.
Mistakes to avoid
The same errors come up again and again.
- Buying an “unofficial API” that drives WhatsApp Web in the background. Those numbers get banned, and Waki does not sell them.
- Messaging people who never opted in, including bought or scraped lists.
- Using a utility template for an offer; Meta recategorises it and your campaign stops.
- Ignoring replies. A broadcast that nobody answers teaches customers to ignore the next one.
What to measure
Each campaign report shows how many messages were sent, delivered, read and replied to; tracked links add clicks, and the contact list records opt-outs. Compare each campaign with your own previous ones rather than with figures quoted elsewhere: read receipts are a signal, not proof of interest, and the number that matters is how many people did what you asked.
Plans and Meta charges
Plans from ₹699/month on Waki, plus 18% GST. You pay for the first month or year at checkout and can turn on auto-pay later if you want. The conversation charges set by Meta are separate from the plan: on a number connected through your own Meta account Meta bills them directly, while on a Waki-provided number a prepaid wallet covers them. Pay yearly and you get two months free, and you can cancel from the app at any time.
Next steps
Conclusion
Get consent and templates right first; everything else in the WhatsApp Business API builds on them. Send the message by hand to a small segment, watch how customers respond, then let a flow or the API take over the repetition. Complete Meta Business Verification early; it is what lets your messaging limits grow.