How to Create a WhatsApp Link, QR Code and Website Button

A WhatsApp link is a URL that opens a chat with your business number when someone taps it. The format is https://wa.me/ followed by your full phone number in international format, with no plus sign, spaces or dashes, for example https://wa.me/15551234567. Add ?text= and a message to open the chat with text already typed. Then you can turn the same link into a QR code or a button on your website.

This guide covers all three: the link, the QR code and the website button. It also explains what changes when your number runs on the WhatsApp Business API, and how to tell which link or code each conversation came from.

How to create a WhatsApp link (wa.me)

WhatsApp’s click-to-chat feature lets anyone start a chat with your number without saving it first. Build the link in three steps.

1. Start with the base URL: https://wa.me/
2. Add your number in international format. Use the country code and the full number, and remove the +, spaces, brackets, dashes and any leading zero.
3. Test it on your phone and on a computer before you share it.

Here is how common local formats convert:

How you write the number	Country	wa.me link
+1 (555) 123-4567	United States	https://wa.me/15551234567
+44 07700 900123	United Kingdom	https://wa.me/447700900123
+90 (532) 123 45 67	Türkiye	https://wa.me/905321234567
+971 050 123 4567	United Arab Emirates	https://wa.me/971501234567

The most common mistake is keeping the local trunk zero after the country code (4407700...). That produces a link to a number that doesn’t exist on WhatsApp.

How to add a pre-filled message to a WhatsApp link

A pre-filled message saves the customer typing and tells you what they want. Add ?text= and your message, with spaces written as %20:

https://wa.me/15551234567?text=Hi%2C%20I%27d%20like%20to%20book%20a%20table%20for%20Friday

When tapped, the chat opens with this text in the message box:

Hi, I’d like to book a table for Friday

Any URL encoder converts the text for you. Keep the message short, written in the customer’s voice, and specific to where the link sits. A few examples:

• On a product page: “Hi, is the oak dining table in stock?”
• In an email signature: “Hi, I have a question about my order.”
• On a menu: “Hi, I’d like to order for pickup.”
• In an Instagram bio: “Hi, I saw your profile and want to know more.”

The customer can edit or delete the text before sending, so treat it as a helpful start, not a form.

How to make a WhatsApp QR code for your business

A QR code is the offline version of the link. Customers scan it with their phone camera and the chat opens. You have three ways to make one.

Option 1: The WhatsApp Business app

The WhatsApp Business app gives your business a QR code you can share, print and reset from within the app. It opens a chat with your number. Resetting the code makes the old one stop working, which is useful if a code was misused, but remember to replace anything you have already printed.

Option 2: QR codes on the WhatsApp Business API

If your number runs on the WhatsApp Business API, Meta offers QR codes and short links that you manage in its business tools or through the API. According to Meta’s developer documentation:

• Each code can carry a pre-filled message of up to 140 characters.
• One phone number can have up to 2,000 QR codes and short links.
• Images come as SVG or PNG. Meta recommends SVG for print, because it scales cleanly for signage and packaging.
• Each code also gets a short link in the format https://wa.me/message/ plus a random code, so your number and message don’t appear in the URL.
• You can edit the pre-filled message later without reprinting the code.
• Codes don’t expire. If you delete one, people who scan it see an expired error.
• Meta does not provide scan analytics for these codes, to protect user privacy.

Meta also advises against restyling the codes with colors or effects, because that can make them harder to scan.

Option 3: Any QR generator with your wa.me link

You can paste any wa.me link, including one with a pre-filled message, into a QR code generator. This works for every kind of WhatsApp account. Choose a generator that produces a static code. Some free tools create “dynamic” codes that redirect through their own servers and stop working when a trial ends.

Where to put a WhatsApp QR code

• Shelves and product tags, so shoppers can ask about sizes or stock
• Receipts and packaging, for order questions and reorders
• Menus and table cards in restaurants and cafes
• Reception desks and waiting rooms, for bookings and check-ins
• Event badges and brochures, for follow-up questions

Add a short line next to the code that says what happens when people scan it: “Scan to ask about this product on WhatsApp.” A bare QR code gets fewer scans than one with a reason.

How to add a WhatsApp button to your website

A website button is the link wrapped in a clickable element. The simplest version is a plain HTML link:

<a href="https://wa.me/15551234567?text=Hi%2C%20I%20have%20a%20question"
   target="_blank" rel="noopener">
  Chat with us on WhatsApp
</a>

For a floating button in the corner of every page, add this before the closing </body> tag and style it to match your site:

<a href="https://wa.me/15551234567?text=Hi%2C%20I%20have%20a%20question"
   target="_blank" rel="noopener" aria-label="Chat with us on WhatsApp"
   style="position:fixed;bottom:20px;right:20px;z-index:999;
          padding:12px 18px;border-radius:40px;background:#25D366;
          color:#fff;font-weight:600;text-decoration:none;">
  WhatsApp us
</a>

A few rules for website buttons:

• Change the pre-filled text by page. A pricing page link and a support page link should say different things.
• Say when you reply. “We reply within business hours” sets expectations.
• Check mobile layout. Make sure the floating button doesn’t cover your cart or cookie banner.
• Remember desktop visitors. Meta notes that on a computer the link opens the WhatsApp desktop app if it is installed; otherwise the visitor is prompted to install it.

WhatsApp button or live chat widget?

	WhatsApp link or button	Website chat widget
Where the chat happens	In the visitor’s WhatsApp	On your website
Visitor needs WhatsApp	Yes	No
Conversation continues after they leave	Yes, in their WhatsApp chats	Only while the session is kept
Best for	Mobile visitors, repeat customers	Desktop visitors, quick questions

Many businesses offer both. A web chat widget catches visitors who don’t want to leave the page, and the WhatsApp button catches those who prefer to continue on their phone.

What happens after someone taps your WhatsApp link?

The customer’s first message opens a 24-hour customer service window. Inside that window you can reply with normal messages. Since October 1, 2026, Meta charges these service messages at the market’s utility rate, after the first 1,000 free service messages per business phone number each month. After 24 hours without a reply from the customer, you can only send approved template messages.

Two points are easy to get wrong:

• A chat is not marketing consent. Someone asking about opening hours hasn’t agreed to receive promotions. Ask for permission and record it. Our guide to WhatsApp opt-in shows how to word the request.
• Links are not ads. Meta’s free entry point window (up to 7 days) applies to conversations started from Click-to-WhatsApp ads, not to wa.me links or QR codes. See Click-to-WhatsApp ads for how that works.

How to track which link or QR code a chat came from

Because QR codes don’t come with scan analytics, use the first message to identify the source. Give each placement its own pre-filled text with a short, readable tag:

Store window:   Hi, I'm interested in this week's offer (W1)
Receipt:        Hi, I have a question about my order (R1)
Instagram bio:  Hi, I found you on Instagram (IG)

Customers see a natural sentence, and your team or automation sees the code. Count conversations per code each month to see which placements bring real conversations, not just scans.

How to manage WhatsApp link and QR code chats in MonoChat

Links and codes are only the entry point. What matters is what happens when the chat arrives. In MonoChat you connect your number through the official WhatsApp Business API, and every chat from your links, QR codes and buttons lands in one shared inbox with your other channels.

Route each source to the right reply

With workflow automation, a workflow starts from an incoming message. Add conditions that read the opening text, then:

1. Tag the conversation with its source (store window, receipt, Instagram).
2. Send a fitting first reply with quick-reply buttons, for example “Sizes in stock”, “Delivery times” or “Talk to staff”.
3. Hand over to the right team, sales for product questions and support for order questions.

For physical stores, the in-store QR assistant shows how a QR code on a shelf can start a chat that answers product questions and hands over to staff. For websites, click-to-chat lead capture shows how to collect lead details in the conversation and route them to your sales team. You can also add MonoChat’s web chat widget next to your WhatsApp button, so both kinds of visitor end up in the same inbox.

Answer around the clock

An AI assistant can answer the first message from your knowledge base at any hour and hand the conversation to a person with its full history. Scans from a store window at 10 p.m. still get a useful answer. When you are ready to turn chats into revenue, our guide to WhatsApp lead generation covers the next steps.

You can start on the free Basic plan (1 agent, 1 channel) at app.monochat.ai. See the pricing page for plans with more agents and channels.

Sources

• How to use click to chat (WhatsApp Help Center)
• QR codes and short links (Meta for Developers)
• Pricing on the WhatsApp Business Platform (Meta for Developers)
• Send messages and the customer service window (Meta for Developers)