Send whatsapp

SmsManager lets you send WhatsApp messages through your connected WhatsApp Business Account. You can send pre-approved template messages to any opted-in number, or send free-form text messages within an active 24-hour customer service window. Both message types fit naturally into SmsManager’s multi-channel flow, so you can add an SMS fallback for recipients not reachable on WhatsApp.

Two WhatsApp message types

Before you write any code, it’s important to understand which message type fits your use case:

Template messages (whatsapp_template) are pre-approved message formats registered through Meta. You can send them to any recipient who has opted in to receive messages from your business, at any time. Use these for order updates, shipping notifications, appointment reminders, and OTPs.
Text messages (whatsapp_text) are free-form messages you compose at send time. You can only send them within the 24-hour customer service window — that is, within 24 hours after the recipient last sent you a message. Use these for support conversations and interactive replies.

Prerequisites

A WhatsApp Business Account connected to SmsManager. Follow the setup wizard at app.smsmanager.com/whatsapp.
Your Phone Number ID from app.smsmanager.com/whatsapp — this is the numeric ID (not the phone number itself) that identifies your WhatsApp sender.
For template messages: a pre-approved template in Meta Business Manager, with the exact template name and language code.

Send a WhatsApp template message

Log in to app.smsmanager.com/whatsapp and complete the WhatsApp Business Account connection flow. Once connected, copy the Phone Number ID shown on the dashboard — it is a long numeric string like 514578330250514. You will use this as the sender value in all your WhatsApp API calls.

Create and approve a template via Meta/SmsManager

Create your message template inside Meta Business Manager or through the SmsManager dashboard. Templates must be approved by Meta before you can send them. Approval typically takes a few minutes to a few hours. Note the exact template name (lowercase, underscores) and language code (for example, en, cs, de) — you will need both in the API request.

Send the template message

Use the whatsapp_template key inside your flow array. Set sender to your Phone Number ID, template_name to the approved template name, and language to the template language code. If the template contains variable placeholders (numbered like {1}, {2}, etc.), pass their values in the params array.

Request body

{
  "to": [{"phone_number": "420777123456"}],
  "flow": [
    {
      "whatsapp_template": {
        "template_name": "order_update",
        "sender": "514578330250514",
        "language": "en",
        "params": ["John", "ORDER-123"]
      }
    }
  ]
}

cURL

curl -X POST https://api.smsmngr.com/v2/message \
  -H "x-api-key: YOUR_API_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "to": [{"phone_number": "420777123456"}],
    "flow": [
      {
        "whatsapp_template": {
          "template_name": "order_update",
          "sender": "514578330250514",
          "language": "en",
          "params": ["John", "ORDER-123"]
        }
      }
    ]
  }'

Add an SMS fallback for reliability

Append an sms step to the flow array. If the WhatsApp message cannot be delivered (for example, the recipient doesn’t have WhatsApp or the number is not opted in), SmsManager automatically falls back to SMS.

Request body

{
  "body": "Hi John, your order ORDER-123 has shipped!",
  "to": [{"phone_number": "420777123456"}],
  "flow": [
    {
      "whatsapp_template": {
        "template_name": "order_update",
        "sender": "514578330250514",
        "language": "en",
        "params": ["John", "ORDER-123"]
      }
    },
    {
      "sms": {
        "sender": "MyShop",
        "gateway": "high"
      }
    }
  ]
}

Always set a top-level body when using WhatsApp with an SMS fallback — it becomes the SMS message text if the flow reaches the SMS step.

Send a WhatsApp text message

WhatsApp text messages can only be sent within the 24-hour customer service window — that is, within 24 hours of the recipient last messaging your number. Sending outside this window will result in a rejected message. Use template messages for proactive outreach.

Use whatsapp_text in your flow to send a free-form message during an open conversation window:

Request body

{
  "to": [{"phone_number": "420777123456"}],
  "flow": [
    {
      "whatsapp_text": {
        "sender": "514578330250514",
        "body": "Hi! I can see your order has been delayed. We've applied a 10% discount to your next purchase as an apology."
      }
    }
  ]
}

Template parameters

WhatsApp templates can contain variable placeholders in three locations. Use the corresponding parameter arrays to fill them at send time:

Field	Fills placeholders in	Example
`params`	Message body variables (positional: first value maps to the first variable, etc.)	`["John", "ORDER-123", "tomorrow"]`
`params_header`	Template header (text headers only)	`["ORDER-123"]`
`params_buttons`	Button URLs with dynamic path segments	`["abc123"]`

Full parameters example

{
  "to": [{"phone_number": "420777123456"}],
  "flow": [
    {
      "whatsapp_template": {
        "template_name": "shipping_update",
        "sender": "514578330250514",
        "language": "en",
        "params_header": ["ORDER-123"],
        "params": ["John", "tomorrow", "9am–12pm"],
        "params_buttons": ["ORDER-123"]
      }
    }
  ]
}

The order of values in each params array maps positionally to the numbered placeholders in your template. Make sure the array length matches the number of variables in the template or the request will be rejected.

Full examples

curl -X POST https://api.smsmngr.com/v2/message \
  -H "x-api-key: YOUR_API_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "body": "Hi John, your order ORDER-123 has shipped!",
    "to": [{"phone_number": "420777123456"}],
    "tag": "transactional",
    "callback": "https://yourapp.com/webhooks/whatsapp",
    "flow": [
      {
        "whatsapp_template": {
          "template_name": "order_update",
          "sender": "514578330250514",
          "language": "en",
          "params": ["John", "ORDER-123"]
        }
      },
      {
        "sms": {
          "sender": "MyShop",
          "gateway": "high"
        }
      }
    ]
  }'

import requests

response = requests.post(
    "https://api.smsmngr.com/v2/message",
    headers={
        "x-api-key": "YOUR_API_KEY",
        "Content-Type": "application/json",
    },
    json={
        "body": "Hi John, your order ORDER-123 has shipped!",
        "to": [{"phone_number": "420777123456"}],
        "tag": "transactional",
        "callback": "https://yourapp.com/webhooks/whatsapp",
        "flow": [
            {
                "whatsapp_template": {
                    "template_name": "order_update",
                    "sender": "514578330250514",
                    "language": "en",
                    "params": ["John", "ORDER-123"],
                }
            },
            {
                "sms": {
                    "sender": "MyShop",
                    "gateway": "high",
                }
            },
        ],
    },
)

print(response.json())

Next steps

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Two WhatsApp message types

Prerequisites

Send a WhatsApp template message

Send a WhatsApp text message

Template parameters

Full examples

Next steps

Send Viber

Webhooks

Batch Sending

Send SMS

​Two WhatsApp message types

​Prerequisites

​Send a WhatsApp template message

​Send a WhatsApp text message

​Template parameters

​Full examples

​Next steps

Send Viber

Webhooks

Batch Sending

Send SMS

Two WhatsApp message types

Prerequisites

Send a WhatsApp template message

Send a WhatsApp text message

Template parameters

Full examples

Next steps