How to set up a WhatsApp channel?

Last updated on Feb 29, 2024

This guide will take you through how to manage your WhatsApp conversations from Loggworks.

Prerequisites

Before bringing your WhatsApp inbox to Loggworks, you need to set some things up in the API provider you want to use. These prerequisites are explained below.

Using WhatsApp Cloud API

If you are planning to use the WhatsApp Cloud API, the following two prerequisites are needed.

Step 1. Configure your Facebook Developer App

First, you need to create your Facebook Developer app with WhatsApp Product enabled. Go to the WhatsApp Cloud API Guide and navigate to the section called Set up Developer Assets and Platform Access and follow the steps.

Once you finish this step, you can now configure your required phone numbers in the WhatsApp section of your Facebook developer app. If you complete the steps successfully, you should be able to obtain the Phone Number ID and Whatsapp Business Account ID, as shown in the below screenshot. Loggworks will require these values for creating the WhatsApp Inbox.

how to set up an whatsapp channel step 1

Step 2. Configure a system user for your Facebook Business Manager

Create a system user in your Business Manager with access to the WhatsApp App. Generate an access token for the user, which will be required as the API key for setting up an inbox in Loggworks.

When generating the access token, make sure the whatsapp_business_management and whatsapp_business_messaging permissions are selected.

Step 1. Create a system user in the System Users tab of Business Manager.

Step 2. Add the system user. Under the WhatsApp Accounts tab, select “Add People” and select the system user to grant access to the WhatsApp Business account.

how to set up an whatsapp channel step 2

Step 3. Generate the access token and request permissions.

how to set up an whatsapp channel step 3

Refer to this video for detailed steps.

Setting up WhatsApp Inbox in Loggworks

If your prerequisites are met, you can create your WhatsApp inbox in Loggworks. Follow the steps outlined below.

Step 1.Open your Loggworks dashboard. Go to Messages → Inbox Settings → Add channels

how to set up an instagram channel step 1a

how to set up an instagram channel step 1b

Step 2. Click on the “WhatsApp” icon.

Step 3. Choose WhatsApp Cloud API as your API provider. Based on your selection, you will see a different set of fields to be filled. Let us learn about each of them.

Selecting WhatsApp Cloud API

Choose "WhatsApp Cloud" as the API provider.

The fields, as seen in this selection, are explained below.

Values	Description
Name	Choose a name for your inbox. E.g. Your Business Name
Phone Number	Fill in the phone number you have configures in Facebook Developer App
Phone Number ID	The phone number ID for the number as obtained in prerequisites
Business Account ID	The Business Account ID for the number as obtained in prerequisites
API Key	The Business Account User’s access token for the number as obtained in prerequisites
Webhook Verify Token	This token is required while configuring Webhook in Facebook Developer App. Fill in a secure alphanumeric string that you wish

Finish the steps to obtain your WhatsAppWebhook Callback URL.

Enable the webhook

Configure the webhook in Facebook Developer App.

Head back to the WhatsApp section in the Facebook Developer App. Navigate to the Configuration subsection and set up theCallback URL.

The value for the URL should be the same URL you obtained at the end of your Loggworks inbox creation and will look like https://loggworks.com/webhooks/whatsapp/+{phone_number}
The value for the verify token should be the same value you configured for the Webhook Verify Token during inbox creation.

You should also subscribe to message field events on your Facebook Developer app under Webhooks Fields.

Once you finish all the steps, the section should look like the screenshot.

Additional Inbox settings

Once you finish all the steps, the section should look like the screenshot.Your freshly configured WhatsApp inbox should now appear in your list of inboxes. To see this and to make additional settings in your WhatsApp inbox, go to Settings → Inboxes → click the gear icon on the associated WhatsApp inbox.

All the Additional Settings available are the same as those in your Twitter inbox. We recommend going through this link to understand the same.