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BotSailor is a complete WhatsApp marketing automation; it has chatbot, live chat, broadcasting, Shopify & WooCommerce integration for order message automation, a webhook workflow, a WhatsApp catalog and many more. To use all these features from BotSailor, you must have your WhatsApp cloud API account set up first. It’s easy to setup and integrate WhatsApp cloud API to BotSailor. In this article, we are going to provide a detailed step-by-step procedure to create a WhatsApp cloud API.

 

Before beginning the process of creating the WhatsApp Cloud API, ensure that you have a phone number not currently associated with WhatsApp. If the number is already linked to a WhatsApp account or business account on any mobile app, it can still be utilized by migrating to the WhatsApp Cloud API. To migrate your existing WhatsApp account, you must first remove it from the mobile app and then add the number to your new WhatsApp Cloud API.

 

To understand the process of migrating your current WhatsApp number to the WhatsApp Cloud API, please refer to the blog linked below.

Migrate existing WhatsApp number to WhatsApp Cloud API

 

Steps to Connect WhatsApp Cloud API to BotSailor:

 

Create an App:

  • Go to the Facebook Developer site.
  • Click "My Apps" > "Create App".
  • Select "Business" as the app type.
  • Fill out the form with the necessary information and create the app.

Add WhatsApp to Your App:

  • On the product page, find the WhatsApp section and click "Setup".
  • Add a payment method if necessary, and navigate to "API Setup".

Get a Permanent Access Token:

  • Go to "Business Settings" on the Facebook Business site.
  • Create a system user and assign the necessary permissions.
  • Generate an access token with permissions for Business management, Catalog management, WhatsApp business messaging, and WhatsApp business management.

Configure Webhooks:

  • In the WhatsApp section of your app, click "Configure webhooks".
  • Get the Callback URL and Verify Token from BotSailor's dashboard under "Connect WhatsApp".
  • Paste these into the respective fields in the Facebook Developer console.

Add a Phone Number:

  • Provide and verify your business phone number in the WhatsApp section.

Change App Mode to Live:

  • Go to Basic Settings, add Privacy Policy and Terms of Service URLs, then toggle the app mode to live.

Connect to BotSailor:

  • On BotSailor, go to "Connect WhatsApp" in the dashboard.
  • Enter your WhatsApp Business Account ID and the access token.
  • Click "Connect".

 

By following these steps, you can easily set up and integrate the WhatsApp Cloud API with BotSailor. For a detailed guide, refer to our YouTube tutorial.

 

For Detailed instructions please follow the steps below:

 

Create an App

So, before we can use BotSailor for WhatsApp chatbot marketing, we need to create the WhatsApp Cloud API and add a phone number to it. Then, we can connect the WhatsApp bot account (Cloud API) to BotSailor.

The first step in creating the WhatsApp Cloud API is to initially create an app from the Facebook developer account. To create an app, go to developer facebook. And click on the My Apps tab on the page. 

 

 

Instantly, a page will appear with a Create App button and all your predefined apps.

Click on the Create App button to create an app.

 

 

On the next page, select "other" and click on the next button.

 

 

Instantly, a page will appear with a list of app types. And from the list of app types, you have to select a type. Select Business as your app type. Then click on the next button. 

 

 

And a form will appear, and you have to fill out the form by providing the basic information. 

In the App Name field, put an app name for your app. In the App Contact Email field, provide an Email address. 

In the Business Account field, select a business account. Click on the field, and a list of predefined Business accounts will appear. From the list, you can select a business account. However, the field is optional. Later, when we add WhatsApp to this app, Meta will ask to add a business account. If you don't have one, you can create it later and add it there.

Now click on the Create App button.

 

 

Instantly, a pop-up form will appear with a password field. And in the password field, you have to re-enter your Facebook password. After re-entering your Facebook password, click on the submit button. 

Instantly, the product page will appear. On the page, you have to add a product to the app. 

Since you will create an app for a WhatsApp business account, you have to add WhatsApp to the app. 

Scroll down the page, and you will see the WhatsApp section. Now click on the setup button in the WhatsApp section.

 

 

Instantly, the Quickstart page will appear. Here, you will see the options to add a payment method. Unless you add the payment method, you won't be able to send Business-Initiated Messages (Message Templates) to your subscribers. You can add the payment method later. After adding the Payment method click on the API Setup from the left navigation menu.