Opt-ins, templates, service windows, quality ratings and the rest: what each one means, an everyday example, and where it shows up when you message customers on WhatsApp.
Search for a word you've seen in Meta's settings or a WhatsApp guide, or jump to a topic.
The pieces Meta gives businesses, and how they fit together.
Meta's official way for businesses to message customers on WhatsApp at scale, through approved software rather than a phone. It supports campaigns, automations, team inboxes and integrations.
Example: A shop sends a restock message to 3,000 subscribers at once, and five teammates answer the replies.
Buddy is built on the WhatsApp Business Platform, so your messages go out through Meta's official channel.
Meta's free app for small businesses, run from one phone. It adds a business profile, quick replies and broadcast lists to regular WhatsApp.
Example: A tailor messages regular clients from her phone between fittings.
When one phone stops being enough, you can keep your number and move your list to Buddy.
The version of the WhatsApp Business Platform that Meta hosts for you. Software like Buddy connects to it to send messages and receive replies, so you don't run any servers.
The account inside Meta that holds your business phone numbers, message templates and messaging fees. Every number on the platform belongs to one.
You connect your WhatsApp Business Account to Buddy once, from inside Buddy. Meta bills messaging fees to this account directly.
Where Meta keeps your business's assets: ad accounts, Pages, WhatsApp Business Accounts and the people who can manage them. Business verification and messaging limits are set at this level.
The business name people see at the top of your chats. Meta reviews it against your business, so it should match the name customers know you by.
Example: "Linen House", not "Linen House Best Deals 2026".
Meta's check that your business is real, using documents such as a registration certificate or utility bill. Verified businesses can grow their messaging limits faster.
Using the same phone number in the WhatsApp Business app and on the WhatsApp Business Platform at the same time, so you keep chatting from your phone while software handles campaigns.
A software company Meta has approved to build on the WhatsApp Business Platform for other businesses, so those businesses can connect their own WhatsApp accounts to its product.
Buddy is a Meta Tech Provider.
How people come to hear from you, and the permission that makes it work.
A person's clear permission to receive messages from your business on WhatsApp. Meta requires it before you start a conversation, and it is the reason people read what you send.
Example: A buyer ticks "Send me order updates and offers on WhatsApp" at checkout.
Every subscriber in Buddy carries a record of when, where and how they opted in.
A person asking to stop hearing from you, often by replying STOP. Honouring it quickly protects your quality rating and your customer's trust.
Reply STOP and Buddy stops messaging that person across every campaign and automation.
Asking people to confirm their sign-up a second time, for example by replying YES to a first message. It proves the number is theirs and that they meant it.
A person who has opted in to hear from your business on WhatsApp. Unlike a contact in your phone, a subscriber comes with permission, a source and a history.
Subscribers in Buddy hold their name, number, tags, source, consent and every message they've had from you.
A simple web page where people join your WhatsApp list with their name and number. You share its link anywhere: your bio, your emails, your receipts.
Buddy gives every business a hosted subscribe page, plus a QR code and a website widget that feed the same list.
A WhatsApp sign-up box you add to your own website with a line of code, so visitors can join without leaving the page.
A QR code people scan with their phone camera to join your list. It works on packaging, menus, receipts, posters and shop counters.
Example: A café prints a QR code on the receipt: "Scan for first dibs on new pastries."
A link that opens a WhatsApp chat with your business number, in the form wa.me/ followed by your number. It starts a chat, but on its own it doesn't record consent to marketing.
Ads on Facebook or Instagram whose button opens a WhatsApp chat with your business instead of a website.
Proof of a person's permission: when they agreed, where, what they agreed to and whether they have since opted out. Data-protection laws such as GDPR expect you to be able to show it.
Buddy stores a consent record for every subscriber automatically.
Where a subscriber joined: your subscribe page, a QR code, your website, your store's checkout or your own app. Comparing sources shows which channels bring people who stay and buy.
The reason someone joins your list: early access, a discount, a free guide, a restock alert. The clearer the reason, the more people say yes.
Example: "Join for first pick when the linen set is back."
What you can send, when you can send it, and how WhatsApp sorts it.
A message format Meta approves in advance. You need one to message someone first, or to message them more than 24 hours after they last wrote to you. Templates can carry a header image, body text, a footer and buttons.
Pick an approved template in Buddy, fill in your words and watch the WhatsApp preview build beside you.
Meta sorts every template as marketing, utility or authentication. The category decides the fee and how the message is treated, and Meta can change a category it thinks is wrong.
A template that promotes something: a launch, an offer, a restock, an invitation or a win-back. Most WhatsApp campaigns are marketing messages.
A template about something the customer already started, such as an order confirmation, a delivery update or a booking reminder.
Example: "Your order #1042 is out for delivery today."
A template that sends a one-time passcode so a person can log in or confirm an action.
The 24 hours after a customer's last message to you. Inside it you can reply with any message, no template needed. Once it closes, you need a template to write again.
Example: A customer asks about sizes at 9:00. You can reply freely until 9:00 the next day.
Any message you send inside the customer service window, written however you like, without a template.
The parts of a template that change for each person, such as their first name or order number. You write the template once and each subscriber gets their own version.
Example: "Hi {{first_name}}, your size is back."
Making a message feel written for one person: their name, what they bought, what they asked about. Personal messages get read and answered more than generic ones.
Tappable options under a message. Quick-reply buttons send an answer back in one tap; call-to-action buttons open a link or start a call.
Images, videos and documents attached to a message. A product photo in the header often does more than a paragraph of text.
A feature of the WhatsApp Business app that sends one message to up to 256 people at a time, and only reaches people who have saved your number.
One WhatsApp message sent to a chosen group of subscribers, now or at a set time, and measured afterwards.
In Buddy, a campaign message is called a WhatsNew.
Buddy's name for a WhatsApp campaign message: an update, launch, offer or reminder sent to the people who chose to hear from you.
Sending each message to the people it actually suits.
Everyone who has opted in to hear from your business. Your audience is the asset; each campaign borrows a slice of it.
A group of subscribers who share something: a tag, a source, a purchase, a reply. Sending to a segment instead of everyone keeps messages relevant and opt-outs low.
Example: Everyone who bought twice in the last 90 days.
A label you attach to a subscriber, such as "repeat buyer" or "early list", so you can find and message that group later.
Extra information stored on a subscriber, such as city, birthday or favourite product, that you can use in segments and variables.
How people respond to your messages: reading, tapping, replying, buying. Engaged subscribers are the ones to message first.
The follow-ups that run while you get on with your day.
A series of messages and actions that runs by itself when something happens, such as a welcome for every new subscriber or a follow-up a day later.
Build automations in Buddy from a trigger, a wait and the message to send.
The event that starts an automation: someone joins, sends a keyword, replies in a certain way or makes a purchase.
An automatic answer sent when someone messages a set word.
Example: Someone sends "MENU" and gets this week's menu straight back.
The first message a new subscriber receives. It confirms they joined, says what they'll get from you and gives them one useful next step.
A short series of messages spaced out over days, each one moving the person a step closer to buying, booking or coming back.
A message to customers who haven't bought or replied in a while, with a real reason to return.
Sorting incoming replies by what people mean: interested, question, purchased, follow up or not now. It tells you who to answer first.
Buddy sorts every reply into a category so your inbox shows who's ready to buy.
One place where everyone on your team can see and answer WhatsApp replies, so no message sits unanswered.
The numbers worth checking after every send.
The share of messages that reached people's phones. A falling delivery rate usually means old numbers on your list or people who have blocked you.
The share of delivered messages that were opened, shown by the blue ticks. People can turn read receipts off, so the true number is often a little higher.
The share of people who tapped a link or button in your message. It shows whether the offer was worth acting on.
The share of people who wrote back. On WhatsApp, replies are often the strongest sign a message landed.
The share of people who asked to stop after a send. A rise is an early warning that you're sending too often or to the wrong people.
How many new subscribers you gain over time, and from which sources.
The action you wanted after a message: a purchase, a booking, a sign-up. Counting it shows what each campaign earned.
How WhatsApp keeps the channel trusted, and what it costs to send.
Meta's score for your phone number, based on how people react to your messages, especially blocks and reports. A high rating keeps your messaging limit growing; a low one can hold it back.
How many different people your business can message first in a rolling 24 hours. It's set for your whole business portfolio, starts at 250 people for a new portfolio and rises, up to unlimited, as you send messages people welcome.
How Meta charges for WhatsApp: a fee for each delivered template message, set by the template's category and the recipient's country. Meta bills it to your WhatsApp Business Account.
Meta bills message fees to your own account, and Buddy doesn't mark them up.
When someone blocks your number or reports a message as spam. Both lower your quality rating, so they're the clearest sign to send less or send better.
The EU and UK law on personal data. For WhatsApp marketing it means collecting clear consent, keeping a record of it, and deleting or exporting someone's data when they ask.
Connecting Buddy to your own product, store and AI tools.
A way for software to talk to other software. Buddy's API lets your product add subscribers and send WhatsApp messages without anyone opening Buddy.
A message one system sends another the moment something happens, such as a message being read or a subscriber opting out.
Something a customer did that your systems record, such as completing a purchase or starting a trial. Events can trigger automations in Buddy.
A secret code that lets your software use the Buddy API on your behalf. Keep it out of public code and replace it if it leaks.
A ready-made code library that makes an API easier to use from a particular programming language.
An open standard that lets AI agents use other software safely. With an MCP server, the AI agent you already use can draft campaigns or look up subscribers in Buddy.
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