Send your first message
The quickest way to prove the whole thing works. About ten minutes of your time, plus a wait for Meta to approve your template — usually minutes, occasionally a day.
Before you start
- A connected number that can send — check Phone numbers.
- Funds in your balance — see Add funds.
- A phone you can check, to receive the message. Your own is ideal.
Why you cannot just type a message
You cannot open a conversation with free text. WhatsApp only lets a business start a conversation using a template that Meta has approved in advance. Once the customer replies, you can type freely for 24 hours.
That is the rule behind most of this manual, and it is worth reading once properly in The 24-hour window. For now, just know that step 1 below is unavoidable.
Steps
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Create a template. Go to Templates and click New template. Give it a name, pick your number and language, and choose the Utility category. For the body, write something plain that would make sense to a real customer:
Hi! This is a test message from our new WhatsApp business number. You can reply to this chat any time.
Leave the header, footer and buttons empty. Submit it to Meta.
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Wait for approval. The template shows as Pending. Most approvals land within minutes. When it flips to Approved, you can use it.
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Send it. Go to Broadcasts and click New broadcast.
- Step 1 — pick your number, give the broadcast a name, and choose the template you just made. For Recipients, choose Single number and enter your own.
- Step 2 is skipped, because this template has no blanks to fill.
- Step 3 — review and send.
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Check your phone. The message should arrive within seconds.
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Reply to it from your phone. Your reply lands in Chatbox, and you can now type back freely — that conversation is open for 24 hours, and your replies inside it are free.
That is the whole loop
Template approved → sent to a contact → they replied → you answered in the inbox. Everything else in Wap2b is a bigger, faster or more automated version of those four steps.
If something goes wrong
- The template is still Pending after a day. That is within normal range, though on the slow end. Nothing to do but wait.
- The template was rejected. See Why was my template rejected?
- The broadcast will not let you pick a template. Only Approved templates for the selected number appear. Check both.
- It sent but never arrived. Check Message logs for the status. A message failed explains each one.
- Nothing sends at all. Work through I can't send messages — it is an ordered checklist.
Next
Find your way around, then start adding contacts for real.