To create a WhatsApp link, put your number in international format after https://wa.me/. A South African number like 071 702 4494 becomes https://wa.me/27717024494. Anyone who taps that link lands in a chat with you, without saving your number first.

If you would prefer not to do this by hand, our free WhatsApp link generator does the number format for you and also makes a QR code. The rest of this guide explains how the link works, so you can check it and use it well.

How to write a South African number for WhatsApp

WhatsApp’s click to chat instructions ask for the full number in international format, without any zeroes, brackets or dashes in front of it. For a South African number:

  1. Start with your number: 071 702 4494.
  2. Remove the first 0: 71 702 4494.
  3. Put 27 in front: 27 71 702 4494.
  4. Remove the spaces: 27717024494.
  5. Add it to the link: https://wa.me/27717024494.

Leave out the plus sign. WhatsApp shows https://wa.me/+001-(XXX)XXXXXXX as an example of what not to use.

How to add a pre-filled message

A pre-filled message saves your customer from wondering what to type. It appears in their message box, and they can change it before pressing send.

Add ?text= to the end of your link, then your message with each space written as %20:

https://wa.me/27717024494?text=Hi,%20I%20would%20like%20a%20quote

Letters like & and # also need encoding, so a longer message is easier to build in the generator. Keep the message short and tie it to the job. A plumber could use “Hi, I need a quote for a leak.” A salon could use “Hi, I would like to book.”

A different message on each page or poster also shows you where a chat came from. When someone opens with your Facebook wording, you know that link did its job.

Test it before you print or post it. On a phone with a different WhatsApp number from your business line:

  1. Open the link.
  2. Check that the chat opens with the right business number.
  3. Check that the message wording is correct.
  4. Send it and confirm that it arrives.

If you test from the same number, you may end up in a chat with yourself, which proves very little.

Put the link where a customer has already decided to contact you:

  • Your website, near the top of each service page and on the contact page
  • Your Facebook page and Instagram bio
  • Your email signature
  • Quotes and invoices
  • Your Google Business Profile, if a messaging or website field fits the way you work

For anything printed, use a QR code. People can’t tap a link on a bakkie, a business card or a shop window, but they can point a camera at a code. The generator makes one that holds your wa.me link directly.

Adding a WhatsApp button to your website

A link on its own works, but on a website it should look like something to press. WhatsApp offers an official “Chat on WhatsApp” button in green and white, and its help page includes the code. If you add it, leave the design as it is, as WhatsApp asks.

On a phone, the button matters most at the top of the page and near your prices or services. Our guide to what a plumber’s website should include shows how this fits with the rest of a trade website, and the same layout suits most local service businesses.

A link only brings in a message. The customer still chooses you or someone else based on how quickly you reply, so make sure the number on the link is one that somebody checks during working hours. If you share the link with staff, agree who answers it.

Frequently asked questions

Do I need the WhatsApp Business app to create a link?

No. A wa.me link works with any active WhatsApp number. WhatsApp's help page only asks that the number is written in full international format and has an active account.

Can a customer message me without saving my number?

Yes. WhatsApp built click to chat for this. Tapping the link opens a chat with you even if your number is not in their contacts.

Does a WhatsApp link work on a computer?

Yes. WhatsApp says click to chat works on a phone and on WhatsApp Web.

Why does my WhatsApp link not work?

The usual cause is the number format. Check that it starts with 27, has no leading 0, and has no plus sign, spaces, brackets or dashes. Then check that the number has an active WhatsApp account.