What is a WhatsApp link?
A WhatsApp link is a web address that opens a chat with your number, such as https://wa.me/919876543210. Anyone who taps it lands in a chat with you, without saving your number first. WhatsApp calls this click to chat, and wa.me is the short address it uses for it. So yes, a WhatsApp link is an ordinary URL: you can put it anywhere a link goes, or turn it into a QR code.
Add ?text= and a message, and the chat opens with that message already typed: https://wa.me/919876543210?text=Hi%21%20I%20have%20a%20question. WhatsApp's click to chat help page says the pre-filled message "will automatically appear in the text field". It is not sent. The customer still taps send, which some generators get wrong.
This WhatsApp link generator (you'll also see it called a wa.me link generator or WhatsApp chat link generator) makes the link, the QR code and the website button in one place. I run WhatsApp for D2C brands, so it is built the way brands actually use these links: one number, many places to put it, and a need to know which place brought the chat.
How to create a WhatsApp link
- Type your WhatsApp number. Pick the country first if it isn't India.
- Add the message people start with, or pick one of the ideas under the box. Keep it to a line or two.
- Check the preview. It shows the chat the way your customer sees it, with the message waiting in the box.
- Copy the link and click Test it to open it on your own phone or WhatsApp Web.
- Download the QR code for print, or open the website button section for code you can paste into your site.
To make one by hand, write https://wa.me/, then your full number with the country code. WhatsApp asks you to omit zeroes, brackets, dashes and the plus sign. For a message, add ?text= and the message with each space written as %20. The generator does both for you, including emoji and Hindi.
The right number format for India
Most broken WhatsApp links have the number in the wrong shape. wa.me needs 91 followed by the 10-digit mobile number, with nothing else in it.
| What you have | What wa.me needs | Why |
|---|---|---|
| 98765 43210 | 919876543210 | Add 91, drop the space |
| 098765 43210 | 919876543210 | Drop the leading 0 |
| +91 98765-43210 | 919876543210 | Drop the plus sign and the dash |
| (080) 4567 8900, a landline | 918045678900 | Works only if that landline is set up on WhatsApp Business |
The tool fixes all of these as you type and tells you what it changed. If a 10-digit number doesn't start with 6, 7, 8 or 9, it warns you, because Indian mobile numbers always do.
Writing the pre-filled message
The opening message decides whether people send it. A good one sounds like the customer, not the brand, and gives you what you need to reply fast:
- Product question: "Hi! I have a question about one of your products."
- Order help: "Hi! I need help with my order. My order number is " and the customer types the rest.
- Bulk or gifting: "Hi! I would like to place a bulk order for gifting."
Bold and italics work: put *asterisks* or _underscores_ around words, as in any WhatsApp message. Emoji and Hindi work too. They are encoded into the link, which is why a short message can make a long link. WhatsApp doesn't publish a limit for the message, but long links look messy in a bio and make QR codes dense, so the tool warns you past 300 characters.
Where to use your WhatsApp link
| Where | What to use | Tip |
|---|---|---|
| Instagram bio | The link, in the Links field | Use an opening line like "Hi! I found you on Instagram." so you can count these chats |
| Google Business Profile | The link, under Edit profile, Contact, Chat | People who find you on Maps can message instead of calling |
| Your website | The button code from the tool | Put it on product pages and the cart, where questions stop sales |
| Pack inserts and thank-you cards | The QR code | Ask for a review, a reorder or a photo, not just "say hi" |
| Order emails and SMS | The link | "Need help with this order? Chat with us" beats a support email address |
| Meta ads | A Click-to-WhatsApp ad, not a link | Chats from these ads open a 72-hour window where Meta charges nothing for messages |
A WhatsApp link for your website
Open "Button code for your website" in the tool, pick the text, colour and corner, and copy the code. It is a plain link styled as a floating button, with no script to slow your pages. Paste it before the closing body tag, or into a custom HTML block in Shopify, WordPress or Wix.
A QR code for print
Every link gets a QR code you can download as SVG or PNG, with your colours and logo. For print sizes, scanning tips and the difference from the WhatsApp Business app's own code, see the WhatsApp QR code generator page.
On Meta ads, use the Click-to-WhatsApp format rather than pasting a link. Per Meta's pricing page, messages sent in the free entry point window that these ads open are free for 72 hours, including templates. A plain link gets you none of that.
How to know which channel brought the chat
Here is the catch most guides skip. A wa.me link opens WhatsApp, not your website, so UTM tags can't ride along and Google Analytics never sees the chat. Two people who message you from Instagram and from a pack insert look the same in your inbox.
The fix is to give each channel its own opening line. Open "One link for each channel" in the tool, keep or edit the lines ("Hi! I found you on Instagram.", "Hi! I got your card in my order."), and download all the links as a CSV. At the end of the month, search your chats for each line and you have a count per channel. If you use a CRM or a WhatsApp tool with keyword rules, tag chats by the same lines automatically.
When you send people from WhatsApp to your store, tag those links with the UTM builder using utm_medium=whatsapp, and the visits show up in GA4.
Short links: WhatsApp Business app vs link shorteners
The WhatsApp Business app makes its own short link and QR code. Per WhatsApp's help page, you find it under Tools, then Short link, and you can set a default message people see when they open it. The link hides your number behind a code, and the QR code it comes with can be reset from the same screen.
Third-party shorteners such as wa.link-style services are different. Your link then depends on their domain. If they change plans or shut down, every bio, card and box you printed stops working. A wa.me link or a QR code holding it depends only on WhatsApp, which is why this tool doesn't shorten anything.
Older guides use api.whatsapp.com/send?phone=. WhatsApp's help pages now show wa.me, so use that.
Mistakes other WhatsApp link generators make
| What some generators say or do | What's true |
|---|---|
| The welcome message is sent automatically | It is only typed into the box. The customer still taps send. |
| Indian numbers can skip the country code | wa.me needs the full international number: 91 plus 10 digits. |
| Your link is wame.pro/abc or wa.link/abc | That is their short domain, not WhatsApp's. The WhatsApp format is wa.me. |
| A character counter capped at 273 or 5,000 | WhatsApp publishes no limit for the message. Short works better anyway. |
| UTM tags on the link track your chats | wa.me doesn't pass them into WhatsApp. Use a different opening line per channel. |
Sources: WhatsApp Help Center, How to use click to chat and How to create short links; Meta, Pricing on the WhatsApp Business Platform. Checked 16 October 2026.
After the chat starts
A link gets the first message. What you send back decides the sale. For replies and campaigns, start with 50 WhatsApp message templates and check them in the WhatsApp template preview. Sending to thousands of customers at once is a different job: read how to send bulk WhatsApp messages safely and what WhatsApp marketing costs in India.
Want WhatsApp to bring repeat orders, not just questions? Book a free call and I'll look at how your brand uses it.
Questions about WhatsApp links
How can I create my WhatsApp link?
Type your number in the generator, add a message if you want one, and copy the link. By hand, write https://wa.me/ followed by your full number with the country code and no zeroes, spaces, dashes or plus sign, such as https://wa.me/919876543210.
How can I create a free WhatsApp link?
wa.me links are free and made by WhatsApp. This generator is free too, with no sign-up and no limit. You only pay WhatsApp if you send paid template messages from the Business Platform.
What is the wa.me URL?
wa.me is WhatsApp’s short address for click to chat. https://wa.me/ plus a phone number opens a chat with that number, and ?text= adds a message that appears in the typing box.
Is a WhatsApp link a URL?
Yes. A wa.me link is a normal web address, so it works anywhere a link does: bios, emails, SMS, buttons and QR codes.
How do I get a WhatsApp link for my website?
Make your link in the generator, then open Button code for your website. Copy the code and paste it before the closing body tag, or into a custom HTML block in Shopify, WordPress or Wix.
How do I create a short URL for WhatsApp?
In the WhatsApp Business app, open Tools, then Short link. It makes a wa.me/message link that hides your number. A wa.me link with your number is already short, and unlike third-party shorteners it never depends on another company.
How do I copy my WhatsApp link?
In the generator, click Copy link. In the WhatsApp Business app, open Tools, then Short link, and share or copy it from there.
Does the message send automatically?
No. The message is typed into the chat box for the customer, who can edit it before tapping send.
Does the person need to save my number?
No. That is the point of click to chat: the link opens a chat with your number without saving it as a contact.
Can I track how many people click my WhatsApp link?
Not from the wa.me link itself. Give each channel its own opening line using the channel links in the tool, then count chats by line. Links you send inside WhatsApp can carry UTM tags to track visits to your site.
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