Most Bangladeshi shops start on the free WhatsApp Business app. It works until two people need to answer the same number, or an Eid sale brings in more chats than one phone can handle. The WhatsApp Business API is how you move past that. SaleMag connects your number to Meta's official WhatsApp Cloud API and puts every chat into one team inbox.
What is the WhatsApp Business API?
It is Meta's official way for businesses to send and receive WhatsApp messages through software instead of a phone. Your number lives in a WhatsApp Business Account (WABA) under your Meta business. Messages arrive at SaleMag through Meta's webhooks, and your team replies from a browser.
WhatsApp Business app or API: which one do I need?
| WhatsApp Business app | WhatsApp Business API (with SaleMag) | |
|---|---|---|
| Where you reply | A phone app | A shared web inbox for the whole team |
| Team | One person at a time | Many agents, with assignment and notes |
| Automation | Simple greeting and away messages | Keyword, welcome and away rules, plus an AI chatbot |
| Messages to old chats | Free-form | Approved templates outside the 24-hour window |
| Broadcasts | Small lists | Template campaigns to opted-in contacts |
| Order taking | Manual | AI builds the order and sends an order form |
If one person handles a few chats a day, the app is fine. If you have a team, run Facebook ads that send people to WhatsApp, or take dozens of COD orders a day, the API is the better fit.
How do I connect my number in Bangladesh?
SaleMag uses Meta's embedded signup, so you do not need a developer:
- Open Channel Setup and choose WhatsApp.
- Log in with Facebook and choose or create your business and WhatsApp Business Account.
- Add and verify your phone number.
- SaleMag subscribes to the account's webhooks, registers the number and syncs your existing templates.
Your team then answers from the shared inbox, not from the phone app. Meta's signup flow explains its current rules for a number that is already in use on WhatsApp.
What is the 24-hour window?
When a customer messages you, you can reply with any text, photo or file for 24 hours after their last message. This is the 24-hour window. SaleMag checks it for you: once the window has closed, the inbox asks you to send an approved template instead of a free-form reply.
What are message templates?
A message template is a pre-written message that Meta approves before you can send it outside the 24-hour window. Each template has a category:
| Category | Typical use for a shop |
|---|---|
| Marketing | Eid offers, 11.11 sale announcements, new arrivals |
| Utility | Order updates, delivery reminders |
| Authentication | One-time codes |
In SaleMag you draft a template, submit it, and the status (pending, approved, rejected or paused) updates from Meta automatically. Approved templates can be used in replies, auto-replies and broadcast campaigns. Campaigns go only to contacts who have opted in to WhatsApp.
How do auto-replies work on WhatsApp?
You set rules that answer the moment a message arrives:
| Trigger | When it fires |
|---|---|
| Keyword | The message matches your words exactly, contains them, or matches a pattern |
| Welcome | The first message of a new conversation |
| Away / out of hours | Outside the schedule you set, for example after 10 pm |
A rule can reply with text, a photo or file, an approved template, or a WhatsApp Flow form. Rules have a priority, so the most specific one wins.
Can an AI chatbot answer my WhatsApp?
Yes. Link an AI chatbot to the number and it answers questions from your knowledge base: product lists, files, web pages and FAQs. It replies in the customer's language, including Bangla and Banglish, and states prices only from your data. When it cannot answer, or the customer asks for a person, it hands the chat to your team and notifies them.
With AI order taking switched on, the chatbot builds the cart and sends an in-WhatsApp order form, a WhatsApp Flow where the customer picks Inside or Outside Dhaka, enters name, phone and address, and taps Place order. You get a numbered cash-on-delivery order.
What does it cost?
Two costs apply. Meta charges per message, and the rate depends on the template category and the recipient's country. Meta also changes its rates over time, so check Meta's current rate card before you plan a big campaign. SaleMag's own plans are on the pricing page.
Get started
Connect your number, sync your templates and set one welcome rule. Then link an AI chatbot for your top products. Create an account to try it.
Step by step
- 1
Open Channel Setup
In SaleMag, go to Channel Setup and choose WhatsApp.
- 2
Complete embedded signup
Log in with Facebook, pick or create your Meta business and WhatsApp Business Account, and add your phone number.
- 3
Check templates
SaleMag syncs your existing templates. Draft new ones and submit them to Meta for approval.
- 4
Turn on replies
Add auto-replies or link an AI chatbot to the number, then send a test message.
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between the WhatsApp Business app and the API?
The app runs on one phone for one person. The API has no phone app: messages reach software such as SaleMag, so a whole team can reply from a shared inbox and automations can run.
Is SaleMag's WhatsApp connection official?
Yes. SaleMag connects through Meta's official WhatsApp Cloud API using embedded signup.
Do I need Meta business verification to start?
You can usually start without it, but Meta may ask you to verify your business before you get higher messaging limits or other features. Meta decides these rules, not SaleMag.
How much does the WhatsApp Business API cost in Bangladesh?
Meta charges per message, and the rate depends on the template category and the customer's country. Meta changes rates over time. See pricing for SaleMag plans.
Can I send a message to a customer who wrote to me last week?
Yes, with an approved message template. Free-form messages are only allowed within 24 hours of the customer's last message.
Can the AI reply on WhatsApp in Bangla?
Yes. The AI chatbot replies in the language the customer writes in, including Bangla and Banglish.
About the author
WhatsApp & F-commerce automation, Dhaka
The Dhaka team that builds SaleMag, the AI sales inbox for WhatsApp, Messenger and Instagram used by online sellers in Bangladesh.