WhatsApp is usually the channel customers notice first: messages arrive on their phone with your business name, and they can reply.
Connect a number
Section titled “Connect a number”- Go to Settings → Channels and choose Connect WhatsApp.
- You’ll connect through SendSeven, our WhatsApp partner, and Meta’s signup window. Sign in with your Meta (Facebook) Business account and choose or add the number to use. Meta may ask you to verify your business.
- You come straight back to Renotify. The number shows as Connected once Meta has finished setting it up.
You keep ownership of the number and your Meta Business account. Renotify runs the provider account for you, so there’s nothing else to sign up for.
Each plan includes a number of WhatsApp numbers; more can be added for a monthly fee. To use a number on your own Meta Cloud API account instead, see Your own numbers.
Display name and settings
Section titled “Display name and settings”Open a channel from the list to see:
- WhatsApp name: the name customers see. Meta rejects names that don’t match your business.
- Display name: a label only your team sees, such as “Support WhatsApp”.
- Default channel: used when a broadcast or automation doesn’t pick one.
- Quality rating and messaging tier: see Quality and limits.
- Test connection: checks the number can send right now.
Templates and the 24-hour window
Section titled “Templates and the 24-hour window”WhatsApp separates two kinds of message:
| When | What you can send | |
|---|---|---|
| Business-initiated | You message first, or more than 24 hours after the customer’s last message | Only an approved template |
| Within the window | Up to 24 hours after the customer’s last message | Anything: free text, media, buttons, lists |
Automations and broadcasts start conversations, so their WhatsApp steps use templates. Templates are written in Renotify and approved by Meta, usually within minutes. See Message templates.
Every template has a category, which also sets its price:
- Utility: updates and reminders about something the customer did, like an order or a booking.
- Marketing: offers and announcements. These need the customer’s marketing consent.
- Authentication: one-time codes.
When a customer replies, the 24-hour window opens and your team can answer freely from the inbox. Once it closes, the inbox asks you to send a template to reopen the conversation.
Quality and limits
Section titled “Quality and limits”Meta rates each number on how customers react to its messages. Blocks and reports lower the rating; relevant, expected messages keep it high.
- Quality rating (green, yellow, red) shows how Meta currently sees the number.
- Messaging tier is how many different customers the number may start conversations with in 24 hours. Meta raises it as you send good-quality messages.
Reports → Overview shows the rating and tier for every number. On the Business plan, delivery alerts tell you when quality drops.
Keep quality high by sending what customers expect, using utility templates for updates, and honouring opt-outs (Renotify does this automatically).
What customers can do in a chat
Section titled “What customers can do in a chat”Within the 24-hour window your team and chatbots can send text, photos, documents, voice notes, locations, reply buttons, lists, reactions and quoted replies. Customers’ photos, voice notes and documents appear in the inbox. On the Growth plan and above, WhatsApp Forms open inside the chat.