Every term you will meet when working with the WhatsApp Business API, explained in plain English. No jargon for the sake of it, just clear definitions of what each thing is and why it matters for your business.
The official way for medium and large businesses to send and receive WhatsApp messages at scale through software, rather than tapping on a phone. Unlike the free WhatsApp Business app, the API has no chat screen of its own. Instead, a platform like WA.Expert connects to it and gives you the inbox, automation, and tools to actually use it. It is what powers bulk campaigns, chatbots, and multi-agent support on WhatsApp.
The free mobile app built for small businesses, with a catalogue, away messages, and quick replies. It runs on one phone and is fine for a solo owner. It is not the API, and it does not support multiple agents, true automation, or sending to large lists, which is the point at which a business moves to the API.
A company authorised by Meta to give businesses access to the WhatsApp Business API, along with the software around it. WA.Expert is a BSP. Because the raw API from Meta has no interface, a BSP is what turns it into something usable, adding the inbox, CRM, chatbot builder, campaigns, and support. Some BSPs add a markup on Meta's message rates; WA.Expert does not.
Your business's account on the WhatsApp Business Platform, created inside Meta's system. It holds your phone numbers, your message templates, your quality ratings, and your messaging limits. One WABA can contain several phone numbers. Think of it as the umbrella account under which all your WhatsApp business activity sits.
Meta's own hosted version of the WhatsApp Business API, which businesses can connect to directly without a BSP. Going direct means building the inbox, automation, and reporting yourself. Most businesses use a BSP instead so those tools come ready-made, while still getting full API access.
The WhatsApp number your customers message. In WA.Expert these are called channels, and you can add several, for different brands, departments, or regions. Extra WhatsApp numbers are free on the platform, though Meta sets its own rules on how many numbers a business can register beyond a starting allowance.
Historically, WhatsApp billed in 24-hour conversation windows rather than per message. A conversation covered all messages exchanged with one customer in that window for a single charge. Since the 2025 shift to per-message pricing, the term still appears but billing now follows individual template messages. Understanding both helps when reading older guides.
Meta's current billing model, in effect since mid-2025. You are charged for each template message delivered, priced by its category and the recipient's country. Replies you send inside an open service window are free. This replaced the older conversation-based model.
When a customer messages you, a 24-hour window opens during which you can reply freely with any message, at no template cost. Each new message from the customer resets it. Once it closes, you must use an approved template to start the conversation again. This window is central to how WhatsApp keeps business messaging consensual and cheap for genuine support.
A customer-initiated conversation starts when the customer messages you first, and opens the free 24-hour window. A business-initiated conversation is when you reach out first after that window has closed, which requires a pre-approved template and carries a charge. The distinction drives most of your messaging cost.
Every template falls into one of three billed categories. Marketing covers promotions, offers, and announcements, and is the priciest. Utility covers transactional messages tied to an action the customer took, like order or appointment updates, and is far cheaper. Authentication covers one-time passwords and verification codes. Sending a marketing message disguised as utility to save money risks account penalties.
A prepaid balance you load to cover Meta's message charges as you send. On WA.Expert a minimum balance of ₹1,000 is required to send, topped up in ₹1,000 steps. It is separate from your platform plan fee, and it draws down only on outgoing chargeable messages, since incoming messages are free.
An extra percentage some BSPs add on top of Meta's official per-message rate. A platform might charge ₹1.09 for a marketing message that costs ₹0.86 at Meta, pocketing the difference. WA.Expert adds zero markup, so you pay Meta's rate exactly.
Meta offers lower per-message rates on utility and authentication messages once you send a high enough monthly volume in a given country and category. The discount applies automatically as you cross thresholds, and the count resets each month.
A pre-written, pre-approved message format you must use to start a conversation with a customer outside the 24-hour window. Templates can include variables like a name or order number, buttons, and media. Meta reviews each one before it can be sent, which is how the platform controls spam.
The review Meta runs on every new template before you can send it. It usually takes anywhere from a few minutes to a day. Templates get rejected for things like promotional content in the wrong category, placeholder errors, or policy breaches. A good BSP pre-validates templates to reduce rejections.
The fill-in-the-blank parts of a template, shown as placeholders. They let one template be personalised for thousands of recipients, dropping in each person's name, order ID, appointment time, or any field you store. This is how a bulk send still reads as if written for one person.
Templates and messages that include tappable elements, like quick-reply buttons, call-to-action buttons, or list menus. They make conversations faster and reduce typing errors, since the customer chooses rather than types.
A health score Meta assigns each of your phone numbers, shown as green, yellow, or red. It reflects how recipients react to your messages, with blocks and reports dragging it down. A green rating keeps your sending limits high; a red one can get your number restricted. Sending wanted, relevant messages to opted-in people is how you keep it green.
The cap on how many business-initiated conversations a number can start in a day. New numbers usually begin at 1,000 a day and climb through tiers, 10,000, 100,000, and unlimited, as you build a track record of quality sending. Good quality unlocks higher tiers; poor quality holds you back.
A customer's clear agreement to receive WhatsApp messages from you. It can come from a checkout checkbox, a form, a keyword they send, or a direct request. Opt-in is the legal and policy backbone of all business messaging on WhatsApp. Sending to people who never opted in is the fastest route to blocks and a banned number.
A customer's request to stop receiving your messages. Honouring opt-outs promptly is both a policy requirement and a practical necessity, since people who cannot leave will block you instead, which hurts your quality rating far more than an unsubscribe.
When Meta limits or blocks a number for policy breaches, usually a collapsed quality rating from spam complaints. A restricted number may have its sending capped; a banned one cannot send at all. Clean opt-in and relevant messaging are what prevent this.
The business name customers see, and the review Meta runs on it. A verified business can earn the green tick, a badge that signals authenticity and lifts trust and response rates. Verification typically requires business documents and a review period.
The official verification badge next to a business name on WhatsApp. It tells customers the account genuinely belongs to the named business, not an impersonator. It is granted by Meta after business verification and is separate from simply being on the API.
An automated conversation flow that replies to customers without a human. On WA.Expert it is built visually by dragging steps onto a canvas, with no code. Bots handle predictable tasks like bookings, FAQs, order tracking, and lead capture, and hand off to a person when needed.
A sequence of steps that runs on its own when something happens, like a new message or an event from an outside system. Workflows can send messages, update your CRM, call other apps, branch on conditions, and more. They are how a business turns WhatsApp into an operational channel rather than just a chat.
A branching point in a workflow that sends the conversation down different paths depending on the customer's answer or data. If they pick option A, do this; if B, do that. Routers are what make a bot feel responsive rather than scripted.
On WA.Expert, any workflow step that sends or receives data outside the platform, such as a Google Sheets update, an external API call, or a connected app. These are metered as actions. Steps that stay inside the platform are not counted, and incoming messages are always free.
A way for two systems to talk in real time. When an event happens, a new message, a delivery receipt, a button tap, a webhook instantly pushes that information to another system, which can then react. Webhooks are what let your own software respond to WhatsApp events the moment they occur.
Native interactive forms that run inside WhatsApp, with dropdowns, date pickers, and text fields. They let a customer complete a structured task, a booking, an application, a survey, without leaving the chat or opening a browser. Responses come back as clean data.
The moment a bot passes a conversation to a live agent, with the full history attached. It happens when the customer asks for a person, when the request is complex, or when a lead is valuable. Good handoff means the customer never has to repeat themselves.
A shared inbox where multiple agents handle one business number together, each with their own login. Conversations are assigned so no two agents reply to the same customer, and managers can see response times and workload. It replaces the single shared phone that does not scale.
The record of every customer, built from your conversations. It stores contact details, tags, custom fields, and full message history, and it powers your segmentation and campaigns. A WhatsApp-native CRM fills itself in as you chat, rather than needing manual entry.
A group of contacts that share criteria, like city, last purchase, or interest. Segments let you send the right campaign to the right people instead of blasting everyone, which protects your quality rating and lifts response.
A message sent to many contacts at once, using an approved template. Good broadcasts are targeted by segment and personalised with variables. They report delivered, read, clicked, and replied figures so you can measure and follow up.
A set of products shown inside WhatsApp that customers can browse and add to a cart. It can be a Meta Catalogue built natively or a connected store like Shopify. WA.Expert includes one store in the plan, with extra stores available as an add-on.
A Facebook or Instagram ad whose button opens a WhatsApp chat with your business instead of a website. It turns ad spend straight into conversations, and it tends to produce cheaper, warmer leads than form-based ads. The ad is set up in Meta's tools; the conversation is handled on your WhatsApp platform.
A signal sent back to Meta when a customer takes a valuable action in a WhatsApp conversation, like a purchase. It lets Meta optimise your Click-to-WhatsApp ads toward people likely to convert, improving ad performance over time.
See how chatbots, routers, and human handoff work in practice.
Broadcasts, segments, templates, and quality rating explained for senders.
Native in-chat forms, from booking to feedback, in detail.
How webhooks, API actions, and templates work for developers.
Contacts, segments, custom fields, and the conversation timeline.
Message categories, markup, wallet, and what you actually pay.
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