Guide · Getting found · For the owner who wants customers to message from the website

A WhatsApp chat link and button for your website: wa.me links, a typed-in first message, Meta's Chat on WhatsApp button, and what happens to the links you send back

Most shops want a WhatsApp button on their website, so a customer can tap once and start a chat. WhatsApp's own Help Center explains how that link is written, how to have the customer's first message already typed in, Meta's best practices for its branded Chat on WhatsApp button, and what customers see when you send links back to them in the chat.

Published 14 October 2026

What a click to chat link does

WhatsApp's article How to use click to chat says the feature lets someone begin a chat with you without having your number saved in their phone's address book. All they need is a link built from your number, and your number must have an active WhatsApp account. When they click the link, a chat with you opens automatically.

The article says click to chat works both on the phone and on WhatsApp Web. WhatsApp's article About WhatsApp Web describes WhatsApp Web as a way to message from any browser on a computer without downloading a desktop app, logged in by scanning a QR code with your phone.

Our reading

So the same link works for a customer reading your site on a phone and for one at a desk, as long as they use WhatsApp on that device.

How the link is written

The click to chat article and the app-linking article set out one format:

The start: wa.me, followed by a slash.
Your number: Your full phone number in international format.
What to leave out: Any zeros, brackets or dashes; the click to chat article's wrong example also has a plus sign and a double zero. The app-linking article lists brackets, dashes, plus signs and leading zeros.

WhatsApp's article How to link to WhatsApp from a different app, written for people building iPhone apps, says these universal wa.me links are the preferred method of linking to a WhatsApp account. It gives the same rule: leave out any brackets, dashes, plus signs and leading zeros.

Our reading

Use one link everywhere: the website button, your email signature, your social profiles and any app of your own. Before you publish it, tap it on a phone and check that it opens a chat with the right business name.

Having the first message already typed in

The click to chat article says you can add a pre-filled message to the link. The message is added after your number as URL-encoded text, which is how web addresses carry spaces and punctuation. When the customer opens the link, the message appears automatically in the text field of the chat.

The article also describes a link that has the message but no number. After clicking it, the person is shown a list of their contacts to choose who to send the message to.

Our reading

The message only appears in the text field, so the customer still has to send it. On a business website, always include your number, or the customer is sent to their own contact list instead of your chat. Keep the typed-in message short and specific to the page, such as which product or branch they were looking at, so you know where the chat came from. When the customer sends it, they have written to you first; what that means for your replies is in our guide on the 24-hour window and templates.

Meta's Chat on WhatsApp button

The same article describes a branded Chat on WhatsApp button that follows WhatsApp's brand guidelines, so customers recognise and trust it. It says:

Colours and sizes: It comes in green and in white, and in three sizes: small, medium and large.
Language: It is currently only available in English.
Use it as it is: Don't change the button, and use the latest version of it.
Make it easy to see: Make sure the button is visible and easy to read.
Where it fits: Landing pages on desktop browsers, contact pages, mobile apps, mobile versions of your website, and templates from third-party developers.

Our reading

The button is the image; the link behind it is your wa.me link. Download the button from the click to chat article rather than copying it from another site, and don't recolour it, stretch it or translate it. If your site is in Arabic, an Arabic line of text next to the English button is your own wording, not part of the button.

Some website links you send open inside WhatsApp

WhatsApp's article About sharing business websites that open directly in WhatsApp says that when a business shares some website links, customers can view them directly within WhatsApp. There is nothing you need to do to turn this on.

What the customer can do: Use the site as they normally would: refresh the page, move to and from different pages, minimise it for a while, or close it to return to the chat.
Links to apps: If you send a link to an app the customer already has installed, the link may take them straight to that app.

Our reading

Check that the pages you send most, such as your menu, price list or booking page, work well on a small screen, because that is where the customer will open them.

HTML files open in a restricted viewer

WhatsApp's article About the WhatsApp web viewer says people and AIs can share HTML documents in chats. When someone receives one, WhatsApp opens it in a restricted web viewer. The article says web content there could be accessible to Meta, so it isn't protected by end-to-end encryption; personal messages and calls are always end-to-end encrypted. WhatsApp can't confirm that such a document is safe, and says to open only documents from senders you know and trust.

The viewer blocks requests to unapproved domains, so a document may not look the way the sender expected. The article lists:

Missing pieces: Images, icons or fonts that don't appear.
Unfinished look: Styling or layouts that look unfinished.
Dead controls: Icons or links that don't do anything.
Blank areas: Charts, maps or embedded content that don't load.

For the full version, the article says to ask the sender to share the content another way, such as in the text of a message or as a PDF.

Our reading

Send a menu, flyer or price list to customers as a PDF or as message text, not as an HTML file. A file made by an AI tool is no exception.

Links in notifications

WhatsApp's article About notifications with links says that if a message contains a suspicious link, the link can't be opened from the message preview on the phone's home screen. The setting can't be turned on or off; it is on automatically when notification previews are on. Only messages with suspicious links are affected, and the link can be opened after opening the message in WhatsApp.

Our reading

Send clear, ordinary links from your own website address, and tell customers to open your links from inside the chat. What WhatsApp says about links it marks as suspicious is in our guide is that message really from WhatsApp?

What this means for your shop

BitByteCore is a verified Meta Tech Provider (since 9 September 2026). This guide repeats WhatsApp's own Help Center as we read it on 14 October 2026, and is not legal advice.

Our reading

Put one wa.me link with your full international number behind Meta's unchanged Chat on WhatsApp button, add a short typed-in message for each page, and test it on a phone and a computer. When you send links back, send web pages that work on a phone and PDFs rather than HTML files.

Questions

How do I write my WhatsApp link?

WhatsApp says to use wa.me followed by your full phone number in international format, leaving out any leading zeros, plus sign, brackets or dashes.

Can the customer's first message be typed in for them?

Yes. WhatsApp says you can add a URL-encoded pre-filled message to the link, and it appears automatically in the text field of the chat.

Does the link work on a computer?

WhatsApp says click to chat works on both the phone and WhatsApp Web, which runs in a browser after the customer scans a QR code with their phone.

Can I change the colour or wording of the Chat on WhatsApp button?

WhatsApp's best practices say to use the button as is, not to change it, and to use the latest version. It comes in green or white, in small, medium and large, and is currently only available in English.

Why does the HTML price list I sent look broken?

WhatsApp opens HTML documents in a restricted web viewer that blocks requests to unapproved domains, so images, fonts, links, charts or maps may not load. WhatsApp suggests sharing the content in the text of a message or as a PDF.

Who is BitByteCore?

BitByteCore is a verified Meta Tech Provider (since 9 September 2026). This guide repeats WhatsApp's own Help Center, and is not legal advice.

Sources

WhatsApp Help Center: How to use click to chat, read 14 October 2026.
WhatsApp Help Center: How to link to WhatsApp from a different app, read 14 October 2026.
WhatsApp Help Center: About sharing business websites that open directly in WhatsApp, read 14 October 2026.
WhatsApp Help Center: About the WhatsApp web viewer, read 14 October 2026.
WhatsApp Help Center: About notifications with links, read 14 October 2026.
WhatsApp Help Center: About WhatsApp Web, read 14 October 2026.

This guide describes WhatsApp's pages as we read them, and is not legal advice. More plain-language notes like this one are on the guides page.

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