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Documentation Index

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A click-to-chat link opens WhatsApp with a chat to your business number already started. They are free, work without any Meta setup beyond having a registered WhatsApp number, and can be placed anywhere you put a normal link or button — website CTAs, email footers, social media bios, QR codes on packaging, support pages, signature blocks, and so on. This page covers how to build them, where to put them, and how to attribute the conversations they generate. If you want to drive WhatsApp conversations from paid Facebook or Instagram ads, see CTWA Ads. Click-to-chat is the unpaid, organic equivalent. The basic link is: 
https://wa.me/<full international phone number, digits only>
For a UK number +44 20 7946 0000, the link is https://wa.me/442079460000. Notes:
  • No +, no spaces, no dashes. Just digits.
  • Always include the country code. A bare local number does not work.
  • Use the number registered with WhatsApp Business Platform, not a different customer service line.
Tapping the link on mobile opens WhatsApp directly. On desktop it opens web.whatsapp.com for users who are logged in there, or shows a fallback page prompting them to install or scan a QR code.

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Pre-filling the first message

The text query parameter pre-fills the message body the customer sees. Used well, this gives you:
  • Lower friction. The customer doesn’t have to think of what to type first.
  • Routing signals. The pre-filled text can encode which page or campaign sent them, so your team or your workflow knows the context.
  • Reliable attribution. Flowella can parse the pre-filled message and write the result back to HubSpot. See UTM tracking.
The text must be URL-encoded: 
https://wa.me/442079460000?text=Hi%2C%20I%27d%20like%20to%20know%20more%20about%20%5BSPRING_LAUNCH%5D
Which appears in WhatsApp as:
Hi, I’d like to know more about [SPRING_LAUNCH]
Use a bracketed code like [SPRING_LAUNCH] or [NEWSLETTER_JUL] that the user is unlikely to type by accident. This makes parsing reliable even if the user edits the surrounding text. Keep the code short and human-readable so the pre-fill still looks natural.

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Where to use click-to-chat

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Website CTAs

The most common placement: a “Chat on WhatsApp” button somewhere prominent on your site. Patterns that work:
  • Floating action button (FAB) on every page, bottom-right. Good for support-oriented sites.
  • In-line CTA on landing pages, alongside or instead of a “Contact us” form. Useful when WhatsApp is your preferred contact method for a specific campaign.
  • Post-purchase confirmation pages, offering to send shipping updates via WhatsApp.
Give each placement its own pre-filled code so you can report on which surfaces drive the most conversations.

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Email

Add a click-to-chat CTA to:
  • Order or booking confirmations, with a code like [ORDER_SUPPORT_{{order_id}}] so reps see the context immediately.
  • Newsletter footers, with a generic [NEWSLETTER] code.
  • Sales rep signatures, with the rep’s name embedded: [REP_ADAM].
Works just like a normal mailto: or tel: link — the user’s mobile email client will open WhatsApp when they tap.

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Social media bios

Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, LinkedIn, and X all let you put a link in your bio. A wa.me link there is a strong organic capture mechanism for businesses with mobile-first audiences. Consider using a link shortener (bit.ly, Linktree, etc.) so the URL looks tidy and you can track click-through separately from your other social CTAs.

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QR codes

QR codes that resolve to a wa.me link are everywhere now: restaurant tables, packaging inserts, point-of-sale displays, posters at events, business cards. The key advantages:
  • The user doesn’t have to type your phone number.
  • They land in WhatsApp with a pre-filled message giving you context.
  • The QR can encode an event-specific code (e.g. [CONFERENCE_DEMO_BOOTH]).
Generate the QR code from the full wa.me URL, not just from a phone number. Most QR generators handle this natively.

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Sales rep workflows

Reps can paste a personalised wa.me link into outbound emails or LinkedIn messages, encoding their own name and the prospect’s source. The customer experience is one tap to start a WhatsApp conversation; the rep experience is full attribution back in HubSpot.

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Best practices

Tell the customer what they’ll get on WhatsApp. “Get a personal demo — chat with us on WhatsApp” is clearer than just “WhatsApp”. Customers who know what they’re signing up for block less often.
Many users will tap the link on desktop. WhatsApp Web only works for users already logged in there; everyone else lands on Meta’s fallback page. If a significant share of your audience is desktop-first, also offer a form or chat widget as a secondary option, not just the wa.me link.
The pre-filled code identifies the source, not the user. Don’t try to pack a personal identifier into the code — the user can see and edit it, and personalising it adds privacy risk. Use HubSpot’s per-contact properties or ctwa_clid for personalised attribution.
A customer arriving via [SPRING_LAUNCH] expects a different first response than one arriving via [ORDER_SUPPORT]. Use Flowella’s keyword-triggered workflows or AI agent routing to deliver the right first message based on the parsed code. See Workflow Actions.
For websites, a styled button is usually better than a raw link:
  • Standard CTAs. Match the look of your other buttons, use your brand colours.
  • WhatsApp green branding. If you want the iconic green-button look, Meta provides official assets. Stick to their guidelines so you don’t get a takedown notice.
  • Floating action buttons. Many SaaS platforms (Crisp, Tidio, etc.) provide WhatsApp FAB widgets out of the box.
If you build the button yourself, point it at the wa.me link with the appropriate text pre-fill.

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Click-to-chat vs CTWA ads

These tools solve different problems and complement each other:
FeatureClick-to-chat (this page)CTWA Ads
CostFreePaid (Facebook/Instagram ad spend)
SurfacesAnywhere you put a linkFacebook and Instagram ad placements
AttributionPre-filled text codectwa_clid from Meta
ReachYour existing audienceTargeted ad audiences
Setup effortMinutesHours (ad account, creative, targeting)
Most businesses run both: click-to-chat on owned surfaces, CTWA for paid acquisition.