What is Click to WhatsApp & Scan to WhatsApp?
Click to WhatsApp and Scan to WhatsApp cover all the levers that redirect a contact to your WhatsApp channel (or RCS/SMS) via a click on a link or a QR code scan, rather than through a direct interaction on your website.
In practice, this means encouraging an audience to join your channel through a CTA like "Join the VIP list" or "Scan to chat with us," placed on a touchpoint outside your website (or alongside it): email, social media, ads, print materials, point of sale, etc.
⚠️ Note: this opt-in collection lever isn't limited to WhatsApp. It works exactly the same way for RCS and SMS, only the link or redirect number changes depending on the targeted channel. The setup steps below therefore apply to all three channels.
Which touchpoints can you use it on?
This lever can be used across several sources, which are best combined rather than treated as alternatives:
✉️ Emails (Mail to WhatsApp)
Send an email to a targeted audience with a clear CTA redirecting to WhatsApp. This approach can be used in several contexts:
Launching your WhatsApp channel: in the early stages of implementation, invite your customers to join your WhatsApp Club to collect opt-ins quickly.
Special events: for example, ahead of Black Friday, a targeted email offering exclusive perks to customers who opt in to your channel.
Slow periods: email campaigns to boost WhatsApp engagement through special offers or new products reserved for members.
Permanent banner: you can also add a permanent banner in your emails to continuously collect WhatsApp numbers with every send.
Examples
Examples
🌐 Website
Alongside the welcome pop-up triggered on arrival at the site, a permanent banner or pop-in can be displayed on high-traffic pages (product page, contact page, footer) to capture opt-ins continuously throughout browsing.
Examples
Examples
You can also use the WAX Chat Widget to let visitors access your channel directly from your site.
👉 To learn more, see our dedicated documentation: How to set up the Chat Widget?
📱 Social media
The same WhatsApp redirect link used for email can also be used:
as a bio link (Instagram, TikTok, LinkedIn),
in a story with a link sticker,
as a CTA on an organic post or ad.
Examples
Examples
📣 Ads (Ads to WhatsApp)
Meta ads (Click to WhatsApp Ads) let you redirect directly from a Facebook/Instagram ad into a WhatsApp conversation. This lever is covered in more detail in its dedicated article.
👉 See the article: How do I run Ads to WhatsApp?
🖨️ Print & point of sale (Scan to WhatsApp)
For your physical touchpoints, the same redirect link can be converted into a QR code and placed on:
receipts, packaging, in-store POS materials, storefront windows,
flyers, business cards, event posters.
The customer scans the code with their phone, which opens WhatsApp directly with the pre-written message.
💡 WAX offers native QR code generation.
Examples
Examples
How to set up a Click to WhatsApp / Scan to WhatsApp
1. Write the opening message
Create an engaging message with a clear goal (e.g., join a VIP list, get exclusive offers).
Add a compelling CTA such as:
"Join the VIP List on WhatsApp"
"Access Exclusive Black Friday Offers"
"Scan to chat with us on WhatsApp" (for Scan to WhatsApp)
2. Generate the redirect URL
To generate the URL to insert into your CTA (email, website, social media, ads) or convert into a QR code (print, point of sale):
Log in to WAX.
Go to the Flow section.
Use, for example, the template called Welcome to Your VIP List Inbound Message.
Click Get Started to duplicate the flow.
Set up the Inbound Trigger with a custom message. Example: "I'd like to join the VIP List (Send this message to join the list ➡️)"
Click Add Trigger to generate a unique URL.
Copy this URL and either:
paste it into the CTA button of your email, site, or ad,
or convert it into a QR code for your print / point-of-sale materials.
👀 The redirect to the flow will only work once it's Live. Be sure to publish the flow before testing or distributing the URL.
Need to track performance by source or language?
A single flow can be triggered by several different inbound messages. This lets you, for example, handle multiple input languages while keeping a shared journey.
However, if you want to analyze statistics separately for each entry point (for example, comparing performance across an email, an in-store QR code, or a language), you'll need to create a separate flow for each source or language. This lets you track each entry point's performance independently.
3. Set up the welcome message
In WAX, configure an arrival message in the channel (WhatsApp / RCS / SMS) or in the VIP list, matching the initial promise.
Add relevant tags and attributes to make future segmentation easier.