Add the ability to send SMS or WhatsApp notifications
Understanding the Settings #
Our aim is to give provide maximum possible features so you as a site owner can configure the exact way you want and all this by keeping interface easy to understand. But still its always good to know about all the options.
The SMS & WhatsApp Notificationss tool is divided into three main sections
- Gateway
- Notifications
- Send Quick SMS
We’ll discuss each of them and the options they offer.
Gateway Tab #
Under this, you’ll be able to set up the gateway(s) you are planning to use for sending SMS. You can also setup the plugin to send WhatsApp messages alongside SMS by switching on the option or if you don’t want to use SMS and just WhatsApp or vice versa, even that is possible.
All Countries #
Gateway Setup in this will be used for sending SMS to all countries excluding the ones for which you setup gateway specifically under Country Specific. You can also turn off this option if you want to send SMS to any country or in case you want to send SMS to some specific country then set it up under Country Specific option and turn off All Countries.
Country Specific #
This option can be used to setup different gateways for different countries, this is very helpful when you have a website which has customers from different countries, using this option and setting up different gateways can reduce your SMS cost drastically and improving fast deliverability.
By clicking on Add Group button you add additional gateways.
Notifications Tab #
Here you will be able to turn on WooCommerce order status automatic notification, so whenever the status of the order is changed to something these notifications will trigger if they are turned on. You can turn these on/off for customers and admins specifically.
Note: By default WooCommerce’s new order status is set to Processing, so make sure this is turned on at all times if you want to send notifications on new orders.
Enable Gateway Based Different Content #
This option is available under the Customer Notification section, by turning this ON you can setup different gateways for different content. For example (use case):
- If you just want to send New Order notification to countries which are setup for Twilio Gateway and for all other countries you want to send notification for all order updates, you can set this up by turning this option on and selecting the status and their content for each gateway you have set up in Gateway Tab.
- If you want to send SMS in different languages for the countries you’ve setup in Gateway Tab, by turning this feature on all the gateways you have setup in Gateway Tab will get listed and you can change the content for each of them.
Send Quick SMS #
From here you can send quick SMS to any number you want. You can also send SMS to multiple numbers by separating different numbers with a comma ( , ). If you have different gateways for different countries set up then the message will be routed from the gateway you have setup for that particular country, in case there are multiple numbers from different countries, in this case, the numbers will be routed from their respective gateways.
Setting Up WhatsApp #
WhatsApp provides two options to send messages to your users
- WhatsApp Business Free (Manual)
Using this option you can send messages to your users/customers manually, its similar to downloading WhatsApp Personal or WhatsApp Business app on your smartphone and then either sending messages or conversing with your customers using the app, or the most efficient way is to use WhatsApp Web. This has no automation and WhatsApp does not allow any use of automation when using this method to send messages to any user/customer. This can be used for free, WhatsApp doesn’t charge anything for sending messages this way. - WhatsApp Business API (Automatic)
Another great way to send WhatsApp Messages to customers automatically is to use WhatsApp Business API. This is the only method provided by WhatsApp to send messages to your users/customers automatically. This method is being used by the brands WorldWide to send messages, order notification etc to their customers automatically. If you’ve seen any green tick infront of any company name which sends WhatsApp messages to you, then the company is using WhatsApp Business API to send SMS.
Using WhatsApp Business App Free #
To begin, make sure you have already have WhatsApp or WhatsApp Business app available before performing these steps as the same account will be used to send messages to your customers.
1. Make sure your WhatsApp setting is turned on and select WhatsApp Business Free from the gateway list dropdown.
2. Now every WhatsApp message which gets triggered after changing status of order or any other thing will be listed in “Pending Messages” list automatically.
3. Download WhatsApp Application for your Windows or Mac system (recommended) or you can also use https://web.whatsapp.com
4. Connect your account with the WhatsApp Application you downloaded and make sure it’s up and running.
5. Open the Pending messages box by clicking on the button on top right of your admin panel and click on Send
6. This will open a confirmation box asking you if you want to send the message, click on Allow.
7. Now for the final step click on the Send button in your WhatsApp Application on Windows/Mac and your message will be sent.
8. Repeat the steps for all pending messages and you are done
Using WhatsApp Business API Paid #
To send messages automatically using WhatsApp to your users/customers the only way is to use WhatsApp Business API.
To set up WhatsApp Business API in the SMS & WhatsApp Notifications tool, first, you need to have an account with any of our supported gateways for WhatsApp and get the API details from them and fill them in the settings. Also, Make sure WhatsApp Notifications are enabled in settings.
Step 1: Fill API Details #
We support multiple WhatsApp Business Gateways including Twilio, Messagebird, Karix, Gupshup, etc.
Here we’ll take Twilio as an example. Twilio API Credentials can be found under your Project > Project Settings > API Credentials. Copy these API details from Twilio and paste them in our settings in respective fields and make sure you turn the WhatsApp Switch to ON.
Step 2: Add WhatsApp Template #
Note: the template you fill here totally depends on your gateway, so please visit this page this page.
But generally the templates for most gateway here is in the below format
template-name => order-shipped (this value is provided by the gateway)
namespace => 32995840_dfdb_45b5_91c3_41tyh5fe7a84 (this value is provided by the gateway)
language => en
1 => {{wc-order}} (this is WPNotif's placeholder)
2 => {{date}} (this is WPNotif's placeholder)
So, you need to replace all the placeholders you set in WhatsApp template in your gateway with ours in the same sequence they come in your WhatsApp template in your gateway
But in most cases you will have different templates for SMS and WhatsApp so you can use it in the below method.
##SMS##
Your order {{wc-order}} is shipped on {{date}}
##WHATSAPP##
template-name => order-shipped
namespace => 32995840_dfdb_45b5_91c3_41tyh5fe7a84
language => en
1 => {{wc-order}}
2 => {{date}}
Want to just use WhatsApp?
##SMS##
##WHATSAPP##
template-name => (the template name you define on 360Dialog)
namespace => (this value is provided by 360Dialog)
language => en
1 => {{wc-order}}
2 => {{date}}
Once the settings are filled the setup will start working.
Placeholders for Message Template #
Below is the list of placeholders you can use in your message template. Below shortcodes are grouped, so that they are easy to read and find.
General #
| {{sitename}} | Site Name |
| {{siteurl}} | Site URL |
| {{wordpress-url}} | WordPress URL |
| {{tagline}} | Tagline |
| {{privacy-policy}} | Privacy Policy Link |
WordPress Profile Details #
| {{wp-first-name}} | First Name |
| {{wp-last-name}} | Last Name |
| {{wp-username}} | Username |
| {{wp-nickname}} | Nickname |
| {{wp-display-name}} | Display Name |
| {{wp-email}} | |
| {{wp-user-website}} | User Website |
| {{wp-user-bio}} | User Bio |
WooCommerce Order Details #
| {{wc-order}} | Order Number |
| {{wc-order-id}} | Order ID / Post ID |
| {{wc-order-status}} | Order Status |
| {{wc-order-date}} | Order Date |
| {{wc-product-names}} | All Item / Product Names in the Order |
| {{wc-product-name-count}} | First item name then item counter |
| {{wc-total-products}} | Total Number or Products in the Order |
| {{wc-total-items}} | Total Number of Items in the Order |
| {{wc-order-items}} | Names of all products in the Order with item counter |
| {{wc-order-items-price}} | Individual Items with price |
| {{wc-sku}} | SKU of products in the Order |
| {{wc-order-amount}} | Total Amount (Incl. Tax) |
| {{wc-discount}} | Total Discount Amount |
| {{wc-tax}} | Total Tax Amount |
| {{wc-order-amount-ex-tax}} | Total Amount (Excl. Tax) |
| {{wc-payment-method}} | Payment Method |
| {{wc-transaction-id}} | Payment Transaction ID |
| {{wc-shipping-method}} | Shipping Method |
| {{wc-shipping-cost}} | Shipping Cost |
| {{wc-refund-amount}} | Refunded Amount |
| {{wc-refund-reason}} | Refund Reason |
| {{wc-order-notes}} | Order Notes Provided at the time of Order |
| https://yoursiteurl.com/checkout/order-received/{{wc-order}}/?key={{post-_order_key}} | WC Order confirmation link |
| https://yoursiteurl.com/checkout/order-pay/{{wc-order}}/?pay_for_order=true&key={{post-_order_key}} | Pending Payment page link |
WooCommerce Billing Details #
| {{wc-billing-first-name}} | Billing First Name |
| {{wc-billing-last-name}} | Billing Last Name |
| {{wc-billing-company}} | Billing Company |
| {{wc-billing-address-line-1}} | Billing Address Line 1 |
| {{wc-billing-address-line-2}} | Billing Address Line 2 |
| {{wc-billing-city}} | Billing City |
| {{wc-billing-postcode}} | Billing Postcode / ZIP |
| {{wc-billing-state}} | Billing State / County |
| {{wc-billing-country}} | Billing Country |
| {{wc-billing-email}} | Billing Email |
| {{wc-billing-phone}} | Billing Phone |
WooCommerce Shipping Details #
| {{wc-shipping-first-name}} | Shipping First Name |
| {{wc-shipping-last-name}} | Shipping Last Name |
| {{wc-shipping-company}} | Shipping Company |
| {{wc-shipping-address-line-1}} | Shipping Address Line 1 |
| {{wc-shipping-address-line-2}} | Shipping Address Line 2 |
| {{wc-shipping-city}} | Shipping City |
| {{wc-shipping-postcode}} | Shipping Postcode / ZIP |
| {{wc-shipping-state}} | Shipping State |
| {{wc-shipping-country}} | Shipping Country |
Stock Notifications (Admin/Vendor) #
| {{product-name}} | Name of Product |
| {{product-quantity}} | Quantity of Product Left |
Multivendor / Marketplace Plugins #
| {{vendor-name}} | Name of Vendor |
| {{vendor-product-names}} | Name of Product |
| {{vendor-total-items}} | Total Number of Items in Order |
| {{vendor-order-items}} | Names of all products in Order with item counter |
| {{vendor-order-amount}} | Total Amount (Incl. Tax) |
| {{vendor-sku}} | SKU of Vendor’s Product |
New Post #
| {{post-title}} | Post Title |
| {{post-content}} | Post Content |
| {{post-link}} | Post Link |
| {{post-excerpt}} | Post Excerpt |
| {{post-author}} | Post Author |
| {{post-date}} | Post Date |
| {{post-category}} | Post Category(s) |
| {{post-tags}} | Post Tags |
