How to Create a WhatsApp Link
Updated · 3 min read
A WhatsApp link opens a chat with a specific phone number in one tap, without the person having to save your number first. It’s ideal for websites, social media bios, email signatures and printed QR codes.
Create a link in seconds
- Open the WhatsApp link generator.
- Select the country and enter the phone number as you’d normally dial it.
- Optionally add a message that will be pre-filled in the chat.
- Copy the link, test it, or turn it into a QR code.
How the link is built
WhatsApp’s click-to-chat links have this format:
https://wa.me/15551234567?text=Hello%20there
- The number must be in full international format: country code followed by the number, with no “+”, spaces, brackets, dashes or leading zeros. A UK number 020 7946 0958 becomes 442079460958.
- The message is optional and must be URL-encoded: spaces become %20, line breaks %0A, and characters like & and ? are escaped. The generator does this for you, including emoji.
The mistakes that break links
- Keeping the leading 0. In most countries the 0 is dropped after the country code: German 0151 … becomes 49151 …. Italy is an exception, where the 0 stays.
- Including “+” or “00”. wa.me links use digits only.
- Forgetting to encode the message. An unencoded & or # cuts the message short.
Where to use your link
- A “Chat with us” button on your website or online shop
- Instagram, TikTok or Facebook bio links
- Email signatures and digital business cards
- Printed flyers, menus and shop windows, as a QR code made with the QR code generator
Keep the pre-filled message short
A short opener like “Hi, I’d like to ask about your opening hours” works best. Long messages make long links, which look messy and produce dense QR codes that are harder to scan. Check the length with the character counter if you’re unsure.