Guide
WhatsApp Business API: do you need it?
Probably, if more than one person answers customers on your number, if you want to write first with templates or send offers to opted-in lists, or if your phone has become the bottleneck. If one person handles a few chats a day on one phone, the WhatsApp Business app may still be enough.
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The app and the API, side by side
The WhatsApp Business app is Meta's own app, installed on a phone, for one business answering from that phone and its linked devices. The WhatsApp Business Platform, often called the API, connects your number to software instead, so a whole team can answer from one shared inbox and write first with approved templates.
| Question | WhatsApp Business app | The API, with GoPromoteNow |
|---|---|---|
| Where it runs | On a phone, with linked devices. | In a browser, for everyone you invite, each with their own sign-in. |
| Who can answer | Whoever holds the phone or one of its linked devices. | Everyone you invite, with roles that limit who can do what. |
| Writing first | Broadcast lists, which reach only people who have saved your number. | Approved templates, to one person or to a list of people who agreed to hear from you. |
| Automatic replies | Greeting and away messages and quick replies are built in. | Greeting and away messages and quick replies, from your own number. |
| Catalog | A catalog is built into the app. | Cards or a tap-to-choose list from the conversation, and the whole catalog as one link. |
| Your number | Registered in the app, on the phone it lives on. | Connected by our team with you on a short call; it cannot be in the app at the same time. |
| What it costs | See WhatsApp's own pages. | Our plan, and Meta's charges billed by Meta to your WhatsApp Business Account. |
The app's column says what Meta says about it on its own page. For the full comparison, see GoPromoteNow or the WhatsApp Business app.
Signs you have outgrown the app
Businesses usually move when the phone becomes the bottleneck: customers wait because the one person holding it is busy, staff start answering from their own numbers, nobody can see who promised what, or you need to message customers first, such as reminders and offers, to people who have not saved your number.
- Customers wait whenever the person with the business phone is busy, off shift or away.
- Staff answer from their personal numbers, and the conversation leaves with them.
- Nobody can see what was promised, who replied, or which chats are still waiting.
- You need to send reminders, updates or offers to people who never saved your number.
What changes when you move
Three things change. Your number moves from the phone to the platform, or you start with a new one. Messages after 24 hours of silence, and any message you start, must use a template Meta has approved. And Meta charges for messages at its own rates, billed to your WhatsApp Business Account directly.
Your number
A number can live in one place at a time, so it leaves the app when it is connected, or you use a new one.
Read the answer →The 24-hour window
Reply with anything for 24 hours after a customer writes; after that, only an approved template is delivered.
Read the answer →Meta's charges
Billed by Meta to your WhatsApp Business Account, by category and by the customer's country.
Read the answer →
How to get the API with GoPromoteNow
Create your workspace and confirm your email, and one of our team calls you to agree which number to use. We connect it with you on a short call while Meta sends a one-time code, most of the wait is Meta's own checks, and your whole team can usually answer from the shared inbox within a day or two.
- Create your workspace and confirm your email.
- We connect your number with you on a short call.
- Invite your team, and everyone answers from one inbox.
Questions about the API
The questions businesses ask most before moving from the WhatsApp Business app to the API: what it costs, whether the number can stay, whether a developer is needed, how the 24-hour window works and whether the platform is the official one. Each answer is short, and the longer ones link to the help centre.
What does the WhatsApp Business API cost?
Meta charges for WhatsApp messages at its own rates and bills them to your WhatsApp Business Account directly — they are not part of your GoPromoteNow plan. A provider such as GoPromoteNow charges for its software on top. Whether a given message costs anything is Meta's to decide, and Meta's pricing page has the current rates.
Can I use the number I already have on WhatsApp?
Not while it is registered on the ordinary WhatsApp or WhatsApp Business app. A number can only live in one place at a time. Most businesses use a new number for this, which also keeps work off a personal phone.
Read the full answer →Do I need a developer?
No. Our team connects your number with you on a short call, and everything after that, from templates to automatic replies, is done in the inbox with buttons, not code.
What is the 24-hour reply window?
For 24 hours after a customer’s last message you can reply with anything — text, photos, documents. After that WhatsApp only delivers a template Meta has approved, and the 24 hours start again the moment the customer writes back.
Read the full answer →Is GoPromoteNow on the official API?
Yes. GoPromoteNow is built on WhatsApp's official Business Platform (Cloud API), and your number is connected to your own WhatsApp Business Account.
Go deeper in the help centre
These answers from the GoPromoteNow help centre explain the number, templates and Meta's rules step by step, with the buttons named as they appear on screen, so you can follow along with the inbox open. Each one is short, and each links back here and to the answers next to it.
- Can I use the number I already use on WhatsApp?Your number and Meta
- Who connects my number?Your number and Meta
- How long does it take to go live?Getting started
- What is a message template?The 24-hour rule and templates
- Utility or Marketing — which category do I pick?The 24-hour rule and templates
- What are Meta’s main rules, and why does my quality rating matter?Privacy, security and policies
Try the API without the setup
The live demo is the whole inbox on sample data, with templates, Broadcast and automatic replies, and nothing to sign up for. When you are ready, start a free trial and our team connects your number with you on a short call, usually live within a day or two.