Documentation
What you need before you start
Check these before you buy or install. With everything ready, the setup goes in one go.
For your store
- WordPress 6.0 or newer.
- PHP 8.1 or newer. Most hosts let you choose the PHP version in their control panel; if not, ask them.
- WooCommerce 7.0 or newer for the store features: order messages, cart reminders and WhatsApp checkout. From version 2.9.1 it is optional: without it the inbox, automations, campaigns, contacts, calls log and account health still work, and the plugin shows a short note on its own screens.
- HTTPS on your store address. The WhatsApp webhook and the phone notifications both need it.
- Permalinks set to anything except “Plain” (Settings → Permalinks). The inbox app does not open with “Plain”.
- An administrator account on your WordPress. Plugin screens and the inbox app are for administrators.
- WP-Cron that runs, or a real cron job from your host. Order messages and reminders wait in a background queue; if it gets stuck, Connection Doctor tells you.
- A public privacy-policy page. Meta’s terms ask your app for one. In WordPress, Settings → Privacy → Policy Guide shows suggested text from the plugin that you can copy into it.
Before you install: WordPress → Tools → Site Health → Info shows your WordPress and PHP versions. After you install: WAPI Connect → Health & tools → System status shows PHP, WordPress and WooCommerce, each with a tick or a cross.
For WhatsApp and Meta
- A phone number you own that can receive an SMS or a call, so Meta can send you the confirmation code.
- That number outside the WhatsApp apps. With WAPI Connect Pro the number works on Meta’s Cloud API through your own Meta app, so it has to leave the WhatsApp or WhatsApp Business app. If it is in the app today, you delete it from the app before you register it. Keeping it in the Business app at the same time (Meta calls it coexistence, offered only through some of Meta’s partners) is not offered by the plugin. Many stores pick a new number for this.
- A Meta business portfolio (the business account in Meta Business Suite), in your own name or your company’s. Your app, your WhatsApp account and your number all live there, never in ours.
- A Meta developer account, to create the app. You sign in at developers.facebook.com with your Facebook account.
- A payment method on your WhatsApp account at Meta. Meta bills your messages there. Without one, Meta stops paid messages, and Connection Doctor lists the failed messages as a payment problem.
- Products Meta allows. Read WhatsApp’s Commerce Policy first: it lists the goods and services that cannot be sold on WhatsApp.
Setting this up for a client? Use the client’s own business portfolio, so the number and its history stay with them.
How it works
It runs in your WordPress
The plugin lives on your own server. Your settings, contacts and chats stay in your store’s database.
Your store talks to Meta directly
Messages go from your store to Meta’s official WhatsApp Cloud API, with your own Meta app and token. No middleman.
Meta answers on your webhook
Customer messages and delivery statuses come back from Meta to your store’s webhook address.
A small license check
Once a day, and when WordPress looks for updates, the plugin sends your license key, your site address and the plugin version to wapiconnect.net. Never your chats or customers.
Your chats are kept on your server and by Meta, which carries the messages. They do not pass through wapiconnect.net. If you use AI replies, the messages in that step also go to the AI provider whose key you entered.
Who you pay
Us, once a year
Your plan’s yearly price. No monthly bill and no fee per message. See pricing.
Meta, per message
Meta bills your own WhatsApp account at its rate for your customer’s country. We add nothing on top.
Optional
Your own AI provider, only if you use AI replies. It bills you directly.
Facts about Meta’s prices as of 31 October 2026:
- Since 1 October 2026 Meta charges messages inside the 24-hour customer service window too. Your replies there are service messages: the first 1,000 each month on each WhatsApp number cost nothing, then Meta charges its service rate for the customer’s country. Utility templates sent inside the window are charged at the utility rate.
- When a customer writes from your click-to-WhatsApp ad and you answer within 24 hours, Meta charges nothing in that chat for up to 7 days.
- Marketing templates go only to customers who agreed, are charged per message, and Meta limits how many marketing messages one person receives.
- New accounts start with a low daily limit on chats you start (250 customers a day at the time of writing). It grows with business verification and good quality.
Meta’s rates are on its pricing page. Your hosting stays with your own host, as today.
Check that you are ready
- Your store opens with https:// and your permalinks are not “Plain”
- PHP 8.1 or newer, WordPress 6.0 or newer, and WooCommerce 7.0 or newer for the store features
- You have the number, it receives SMS or calls, and it is not in a WhatsApp app (or you are ready to delete it from there)
- You can log in to your Meta business portfolio and add a payment method
All set? Go to install the plugin, or follow the full install guide.
Common questions
Does it work without WooCommerce?
Yes, from version 2.9.1. The inbox, automations, campaigns, contacts, calls log, account health and WhatsApp login work on any WordPress site. Order messages, cart reminders and WhatsApp checkout need WooCommerce. See companies, government bodies and banks.
My host runs an older PHP version. What do I do?
Ask your host to switch your site to PHP 8.1 or newer, or change it yourself in the hosting control panel. Make a backup first, and check that your theme and other plugins support it.
Do I need to know how to code?
No. You upload one file, paste a few values from Meta and let Connection Doctor check them. Or we do the Meta part with you as a one-time setup service.
Can I use my number in the WhatsApp Business app and the plugin at the same time?
No. The number has to leave the app to work on the Cloud API. You still answer customers from your phone, in the inbox app (Pro plan and up).