Support & sales on the #1 messaging app

The WhatsApp channel

WhatsApp offers two options for business use: the Business App and the Business API. Which one is right for you depends mostly on the size of your business. The WhatsApp Business App is an out-of-the-box solution built for small businesses. It offers a set of built-in business features, but its main limitation is that it only allows for one user. So it doesn’t work for professional service teams. The WhatsApp Business API was built for larger businesses with professional customer communication teams. It’s scalable and allows businesses to flexibly connect to solutions like Userlike.

WhatsApp messages that customers send to you are always free, and so are the replies that you send back to them within a 24-hour service window. If you want to message customers outside of this 24-hour period, you have to use a pre-approved message template. This involves a small fee per message charged by WhatsApp. This fee varies by country and monthly volume of messages sent.

Unfortunately, businesses have no control over whether their WhatsApp Business account will be verified or not. WhatsApp checks and decides on this based on a variety of factors, most importantly whether it concerns a “reputable brand”. So if you’re working for a well-known company, then your WhatsApp Business account will likely get a verified badge soon after setup.

Due to spam-related abuse, the WhatsApp Business API does not offer newsletter functionality anymore. The closest thing is “broadcasts” in the regular business app, with a limited number of 256 contacts. This is not available in the Business API.

The use of automation (i.e. chatbots) is allowed during the customer service window after a customer sends you a message, as long as the chatbot offers an easy escalation option to human support reps. You can use Userlike’s chatbot infrastructure for this.

Yes. The WhatsApp Business API’s secure setup enables companies to use WhatsApp in their customer communication. WhatsApp messages are encrypted, which means that third parties can’t read them – making this solution more secure than a conventional email.

To use the WhatsApp Business API, you need to connect it to a business solution like Userlike. Both WhatsApp and Userlike messages are encrypted. But because the two systems must be connected, it can’t be called “end-to-end encrypted.” It is, however, GDPR-compliant.

Userlike’s servers are located in Germany in a GDPR-compliant setup. No access for third parties.

With Userlike, you get access to one WhatsApp channel in the Team plan. If you want to use more than one channel (i.e. more than one number), it is best to talk to our support team. With our Flex plan, we can offer a setup tailored to your requirements.

In the Business plan, the WhatsApp channel is included in the price. The variable costs of template messages that WhatsApp charges come on top of that. Those depend on your use of the channel. In the Flex plan, the costs depend on your requirements.

To message customers outside of the 24-hour service window you have to use a pre-approved message template and you will be charged a small fee per message by WhatsApp. This fee varies by country and monthly volume of messages sent. In the UK, this fee is about € 0.035 cents per message. Check out the full message template pricing overview here . Some providers charge additional fees for message templates on top, but Userlike does not.