Click-to-WhatsApp Leads: wa.me Links, QR Codes, UTM Tagging and the Free Entry-Point Window

How do you make a wa.me link with a message?

Rule. WhatsApp's click-to-chat help page gives three forms. The basic link is https://wa.me/<number>. With a pre-filled message it is https://wa.me/<number>?text=<urlencodedtext>. Without a number, https://wa.me/?text=<urlencodedtext> lets the person pick a contact to send the message to. Use the full number in international format, leaving out zeros, brackets and dashes. For a UAE mobile that means 971 first, then the number without its leading zero. Spaces in the message are written as %20.

https://wa.me/<your number, e.g. 9715XXXXXXXX>?text=Hi%2C%20I%20am%20interested%20in%20the%20offer

Placeholder number. Put your WhatsApp number in international format, digits only, where the angle brackets are

The message appears in the person's text box, and they still have to tap send. That tap is the lead. Until they send, nothing reaches you.

How do WhatsApp QR codes and short links work?

Rule. Meta's QR codes and message links page describes short links of the form https://wa.me/message/<code> created through the API for a business phone number. A QR code or short link can start a chat with a pre-filled message of up to 140 characters, and one number can have no more than 2,000 QR codes and short links. You create one with a POST to the number's message_qrdls edge, passing the prefilled_message and, if you want an image, generate_qr_image as SVG or PNG. The page recommends SVG for print. The response returns the code, the link and the image address.

Practice. Make one code for each place it will appear: the shop window, the flyer, the business card, the Instagram bio. Give each its own pre-filled message, such as "Hi, I saw your window offer", so the first message tells you where the person came from. Our post on one lead link for Instagram, QR codes and flyers covers the alternative of a hosted lead page.

How do you tag leads that start on WhatsApp?

A WhatsApp chat is not a web page of yours, so the tagging method depends on how the person got there. We found no statement on WhatsApp's or Meta's pages that UTM parameters survive a wa.me link, so we do not rely on them there.

Rule. Meta's webhook reference for incoming messages says the referral object appears only when the message was sent through a Click to WhatsApp ad, and describes source_url as the ad URL, source_id as the ad ID and ctwa_clid as the ad click ID. It also says the ctwa_clid property is omitted for messages that come from an ad in WhatsApp Status. The welcome message sequences page shows the same object, with headline, body and media details, on the webhook sent when a chat starts from an ad.

Practice. Store the whole referral object with the lead when the first message arrives, because it comes on that first message and may not come again. source_id names the ad, not the campaign, so to report by campaign you look the ad up in Meta's ads tools. For web buttons, the capture method is the same hidden-field approach as for a form, covered in our post on capturing gclid, fbclid and UTMs.

What is the free entry point window for Click to WhatsApp ads?

Rule. Meta's pricing page says the free entry point window applies to Click to WhatsApp ads, for people using the Android or iOS app. If you reply, within the customer service window, with a marketing, utility, authentication or service message, that message is free and opens the free entry point window from the time you responded. The window can stay open up to 7 days. While it is open, Meta does not charge for marketing, utility, authentication or service messages, though messages from Meta Business Agent are still charged. The page does not spell out what happens after it closes, beyond saying messages outside it fall under the normal per-message pricing for their category.

Rule. The customer service window is 24 hours. It starts when the person messages or calls you, and each new message or call resets it to 24 hours. Inside it you can send free-form messages. Outside it you can send only template messages. The updates to pricing page adds two changes from 1 October 2026: service messages beyond 1,000 a month per business number, and utility messages sent inside an open customer service window, are now charged.

The consequence nobody spells out is timing. The free window opens only when you reply inside the 24 hours after the person's first message. A reply that comes more than 24 hours after the person's message misses it, and the person may have lost interest anyway. A fast first reply costs nothing and opens seven days of free follow-up messaging. Practice: reply within minutes in working hours, and set up an automatic first response for the hours when nobody is at a screen.

What should the first reply say?

Practice. Keep it short and make the next step obvious. Name the business, answer the question the ad or code promised to answer, and ask for one thing, such as a good time to call. For example: "Hi, this is [name] at [business]. Thanks for your message about the offer. Would 4pm today suit for a quick call?" The person started the chat, so there is no opt-in problem for replying, but any later broadcast needs its own consent. Our post on WhatsApp opt-in covers it, and the prices and tiers are in WhatsApp Business API pricing in 2026.

What does this mean for MAJ Leads?

MAJ Leads connects to a company's own WhatsApp Business number, and a lead that arrives outside working hours gets an opt-in acknowledgement from that number once it is connected, as set out in the five-attempt follow-up cadence. A call is due for the assigned rep within about 30 seconds of a lead arriving. See the WhatsApp CRM page, how it works and pricing. We have no results from customer Click to WhatsApp campaigns to report.