WhatsApp order notifications (Cloud API)

With WhatsApp Business (Cloud API) connected, every order triggers two WhatsApp messages from your own business number: a *new-order alert* to you and an *order confirmation* to the customer. COD and manual orders send on placement; online payments send once paid. It runs on Meta's official API, so messages come from a verified business number with your name on it.

Before you start

• A Facebook account and a Meta Business portfolio (Meta creates one for you during app setup if you don't have it).
• A phone number for the API. This number is moved off the WhatsApp / WhatsApp Business *app* on your phone — you can't use both at once. Most stores use a second SIM or a landline that can receive an SMS/voice code.
• Your own WhatsApp number saved under Settings → Store details → WhatsApp number (with country code, e.g. 91…). That's where the new-order alert goes — it must be a *different* number from the API one.

Step 1 — Create the Meta app and add WhatsApp

1. 1Go to developers.facebook.com/apps and sign in with your Facebook account.
2. 2Click Create app. When asked what you want to do, choose Connect with customers through WhatsApp (on older screens: app type Business, then add the WhatsApp product).
3. 3Give it any name (e.g. your store name), pick or create your Business portfolio, and finish.
4. 4You land on WhatsApp → API Setup (sometimes called *Quickstart*). Keep this page open — two of the three values are here.

Step 2 — Phone number ID and WhatsApp Business Account ID

On the API Setup page, under *Step 1: Select phone numbers*, you'll see a From dropdown. Directly beneath it Meta prints two numbers:

• Phone number ID — a long number like 106540352242922. This identifies the *sender*. Copy it into the Phone number ID field in SitesPlaced.
• WhatsApp Business Account ID — another long number, like 102290129340398. This is the account that owns your message templates. Copy it into the WhatsApp Business Account ID field.

To use your real number instead of the test one, click Add phone number on that same page (or open WhatsApp Manager → Phone numbers), verify it by SMS or call, and then pick it in the From dropdown — the IDs beneath update to match. If the number is currently on the WhatsApp app, delete the account in the app first (Settings → Account → Delete my account).

Step 3 — Permanent access token (System User)

1. 1Open business.facebook.com/settings/system-users (Business Settings → Users → System users). Make sure the right Business portfolio is selected at the top left.
2. 2Click Add, name it (e.g. sitesplaced), set the role to Admin, and create it.
3. 3With the new system user selected, click Assign assets. Under Apps, tick your app and turn on Manage app (full control). Under WhatsApp accounts, tick your WhatsApp Business Account and turn on Manage WhatsApp Business accounts (full control). Save.
4. 4Click Generate new token. Choose your app, set Token expiration to Never, and tick these permissions: whatsapp_business_messaging, whatsapp_business_management (and business_management if shown).
5. 5Click Generate token and copy the long string starting with EAA…. Meta shows it only once — paste it straight into the Permanent access token field in SitesPlaced.

Step 4 — Connect in SitesPlaced

1. 1Open Settings → Integrations and find the WhatsApp Business (Cloud API) card.
2. 2Paste the three values and click Verify & connect. We check the token against your phone number (nothing is sent to anyone).
3. 3SitesPlaced then creates two message templates on your WhatsApp Business Account — a customer *order confirmation* and a *new-order alert* for you. Meta reviews them automatically, usually within minutes (up to 24 hours). The card shows In review → Approved.
4. 4Once approved, press Send test message — the alert template with sample values arrives on your Store-details WhatsApp number. From then on every order sends automatically.

Costs and billing

Meta charges per message to *your* WhatsApp Business Account — SitesPlaced doesn't add anything. Order notifications are *utility* messages, the cheapest category (a fraction of a rupee each in India). Before a real number can send, add a payment method in WhatsApp Manager → Settings → Payment methods. The test number is free.

Optional — delivery ticks in your dashboard

To see *Delivered* / *Read* next to each message in the order drawer, give Meta a webhook:

1. 1In your Meta app, open WhatsApp → Configuration → Webhook and click Edit.
2. 2Paste the Callback URL and Verify token shown on the SitesPlaced card, and click Verify and save.
3. 3Under Webhook fields, subscribe to messages and message_template_status_update.

For signed webhooks, you can also paste your App secret (App Dashboard → App settings → Basic → App secret → Show) under *Advanced* on the card. It's optional and stored encrypted.