In order to allow your customers to send WhatsApp messages using the Conversation API, you must allow them to onboard to Sinch's WhatsApp service. You will then create a corresponding Conversation API app for your customer. Both tasks can be accomplished using the Sinch Build Dashboard.
One method to onboard your customers is to use the embedded signup process within the Sinch Build Dashboard.
This process involves the creation of a project for your customer. You will then ask for your client's WhatsApp credentials, which will allow you to complete the embedded signup process. Finally, you will create a Conversation API app with the WhatsApp channel configured to use the Sender ID created during the embedded signup process.
Note the following:
Because the embedded signup process requires you to obtain your customer's WhatsApp credentials, we generally recommend you instead use the Partner Initiated method. If your customers cannot or do not want to share this authentication information with you, or you do not want to be responsible for this information, use our Partner Initiated method.
You are responsible for managing the secure transfer and management of WhatsApp credentials between you and your customer.
The created Sender ID is associated with a WhatsApp Business Account, or WABA. Each of your customers will only be able to provision a single WABA. Even if more than one phone number is associated with the WABA, the display name for each phone number associated with the WABA.
The corresponding procedures are detailed below. If all of the requisite information is available, completing the process may take between ten and thirty minutes.
Prerequisites
Prior to completing the onboarding process, review the following prerequisites. Having all of the requisite information readily available can greatly expedite the onboarding process.
Information and Materials
In order to complete the procedures described below, you and the organization you are onboarding will need the pieces of information and materials described in the list below.
The organization's legal business name
The organization's Facebook Business Manager ID
The organization's official primary address, including the country
The time zone corresponding to the location above
The organization's primary contact information, including:
Phone number
Website
Email address
WhatsApp Sender number (including country code), which is the number that will be used to send messages on WhatsApp using the Conversation API
A brief description of the organization and the services/goods/etc. it offers
The industry the organization belongs to (note that you will have to select the business category/industry from a pre-defined list, so a best guess at this stage is fine)
A description of the organization
Verifying the business
Ensure that your customer has verified their business in Meta's system.
Preparing your Sinch account
Prior to beginning the onboarding process, you must ensure that your (the ASP's) Sinch account is properly prepared:
You must have an account type that matches your organization's goals. Because you are planning to offer customers (and yourself) access to Sinch's WhatsApp service, you must have a Reseller account. Throughout this guide, we assume you have a Reseller account.
Warning: If your account is not a Reseller account, you will be unable to onboard your customers. Reach out to your Account Manager if you have any questions about your account.
Your account must be a postpaid account. Reach out to your Account Manager if your account is prepaid or if you don't know the payment structure of your account.
Ensure that you have access to the WhatsApp functionality and pages on the Sinch Build Dashboard. If you don't have access to these pages, or the functionality on these pages is not available, reach out to your Account Manager.
Project creation and inviting your customer
When onboarding customer, you must create a separate project for them using your Dashboard account.
Note: If you are planning to use Sinch's WhatsApp service for your own business purposes, in addition to providing your customers access to Sinch's WhatsApp services, you may create a separate project for yourself as well. Ensure you complete your own onboarding process within the project you created for yourself, and not within a project assigned to one of your customers.
First, review the information we have available on general account structure and how projects are defined and used in Sinch's systems. The process for creating a project is described in the subsection below. You must then obtain your customer's WhatsApp credentials so you may log in to the embedded signup process.
Project creation
To create a new project for this onboarding process:
Log in to the Sinch Build Dashboard. Click the Project menu at the top left of the screen.
Click View all projects. The Projects page is displayed:
Click CREATE PROJECT. The Create project dialog is displayed.
Enter a name for your project in the Name field. Enter a name that meaningfully represents the customer you are onboarding.
Click CREATE.
Note: For more information, see our article on Creating a new project.
Completing the WhatsApp onboarding procedure
After you create a separate project for your customer and your customer provides their WhatsApp credentials, you can complete the embedded signup process on the Sinch Build Dashboard.
Warning: If you are planning to use Sinch's WhatsApp service for your own business purposes and you wish to onboard your own organization to WhatsApp, you must ensure that you onboard within your own project, and not a project assigned to one of your customers.
In order to onboard to Sinch's WhatsApp service:
Navigate to the Sinch Build Dashboard.
Click the WhatsApp tab. The WhatsApp page is displayed. Ensure that the Embedded signup (faster) option is selected.
Click the Login with Facebook button and complete the corresponding flow (summarized in the steps below). Note: Third-party software is subject to change at any time. Any descriptions or images of third-party software are included only as an aide, and may not represent the current version of the software or tool. Also note that this particular flow is dynamic, so the experience may vary slightly for each user. This guide seeks to provide an exhaustive review of each step, which may differ from your actual experience.
Login with the Facebook credentials of the organization you are onboarding. If you are already logged in, you may click the button that continues the flow. Otherwise, enter the credentials and continue.
A request to connect your account to Sinch is displayed. Review the page and click Get Started to proceed.
Select the business portfolio to use for this onboarding process from the Business portfolio drop-down list. The business portfolio represents the organization you are onboarding. Alternatively, you may Create a business portfolio. Similarly, select the WhatsApp Business Account to use for this onboarding process from the WhatsApp Business account drop-down list. Again, you may choose to Create a WhatsApp Business account instead. Click Next after you have populated and reviewed all the required fields.
You must review the business details that will be shared with Sinch. If information needs to be updated or provided, populate the corresponding fields. Note that this information is pulled from your the Meta business portfolio (if it exists). Click Next when all of relevant fields have been updated and/or populated.
Provide the phone number to associate with the organization you are onboarding. This is the phone number people will see when they interact with the organization using WhatsApp. Select Add a new number and provide the phone number to be used.
Select how you would like to verify the number from the options provided. Click Next after you have populated the required fields and made your selection. Note the following:
If the organization you are onboarding is migrating from other solution providers to Sinch, ensure that your previous solution provider has deactivated two-factor authentication for the phone number.
If you select a verification phone call, ensure that the number you provide is NOT configured for Interactive Voice Response (IVR). If the number is configured for IVR, the verification will fail.
If you provide a virtual phone number (for example, a virtual phone number provisioned by Sinch), ensure that the number you provide has the capability to receive the verification method you select. For example, any text messages sent to the number could be routed to an actual handset.
Once you receive the Verification code using the method you selected in the previous step, enter it and click Next.
Review the permissions screen and click Continue.
Once everything has processed, the final page of the flow is displayed. Click Finish to complete this flow.
After completing this procedure, the WhatsApp Sender ID will be available for use when configuring the corresponding Conversation API app.
Configuring the WhatsApp Channel of The Conversation API
In order to configure the WhatsApp Channel of the Conversation API:
If you haven't already done so, create a Conversation API app.
Select the Apps option. The Conversation Apps page is displayed.
Click the name of the app to which you want to add the WhatsApp channel.
In the Set up channels section, locate the WhatsApp channel and click SET UP CHANNEL.
The Configuration dialog box is displayed: Select the Sender Identity you'd like to assign to this Conversation API app. The app will use this Sender Identity when sending messages on the WhatsApp channel. Click Save after selecting the sender.
Your Conversation API app is now configured to send messages using WhatsApp. Note the following:
In order to initiate certain types of conversations, you must use specific message templates. These templates can be created using the Sinch Build Dashboard or the Sinch Provisioning API. Once you have created your templates, see our documentation on sending WhatsApp template messages. See the linked documentation for more information on the circumstances that require message templates.
If you (or your client) is messaged first, you are often able to respond using generic, non-template messages.
For full information on the Conversation API's capabilities, see the API reference.
Learn more about the Sinch WhatsApp Business API.
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