How I Transformed How My Business Interacts with and Collects Data from Customers Using WhatsApp Forms-like Features

Introduction

With more that 2 Billion users online, WhatsApp have revolutionize the way businesses handle, manage and interact with their customers.

Despite the efforts, yet most of them fell short due to having a long and tiresome flow of conversation just in order to correct some information, thus limiting the user to His/her other needs.

With that in mind, I have developed a tool called "WhatsApp flows" which utilizes a feature called "WhatsApp flows" from Meta, which enable businesses to embed/add form like interactive elements/components into their conversation flow, enabling the business to collect a desired information by only sending a single message to the user.

Technically. . .

WhatsApp Flows is a Python library designed to streamline the creation, management, and deployment of automated workflows for WhatsApp. Whether you're building interactive chatbots, managing business messaging, or orchestrating complex message flows, this library provides a developer-friendly toolkit for efficient WhatsApp automation.

Why Use WhatsApp Flows?

• Ease of Use: Simplifies WhatsApp Business API interactions with a high-level abstraction.
• Flexibility: Supports creating both endpoint-based and non-endpoint flows for various use cases.
• Scalability: Seamlessly handles complex workflows for businesses of all sizes.
• Integration Ready: Works effortlessly with popular frameworks like FastAPI and Flask.

Installation

You can install the library using pip:

pip install whatsapp-flows

WhatsApp Flows Guide

This guide outlines the steps to create and manage WhatsApp flows using the Meta Developers platform. There are two types of WhatsApp flows:

1. Flows with Endpoints: These flows interact with external APIs to fetch or send dynamic data.
2. Flows without Endpoints: These flows operate independently and do not require external API interactions.

In this guide, we'll focus on creating a WhatsApp flow app without endpoints. Follow the steps below to set up your flow and deploy it successfully.

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Steps to Create a WhatsApp Flow App Without Endpoints

1. Create an App on Meta Developers Account

To begin, create an app on the Meta Developers platform. This app will serve as the foundation for managing your WhatsApp flows.

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2. Add a Phone Number

Add a phone number to your app. This number will be associated with your WhatsApp Business account and used for sending and receiving messages.

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3. Enable Messaging Permissions

Ensure your app has the necessary messaging permissions enabled for interacting with WhatsApp messaging features.

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4. Create a Business on Meta Business Account

Create a business account on Meta Business. This links your WhatsApp Business with your Meta Developers app.

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5. Verify Your Business

Complete the verification process for your business to gain access to additional features and permissions.

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6. Request Advanced Permissions

Request the following advanced permissions for your Meta Developers app:

• whatsapp_business_management: Manage WhatsApp Business accounts, including creating flows.
• whatsapp_business_messaging: Send and receive messages via the WhatsApp Business API.
• whatsapp_business_phone_number: Access WhatsApp Business phone numbers.
• business_management: Manage business assets like ad accounts and pages.
• pages_messaging: Optional if flows interact with Facebook Pages for messaging.

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7. Obtain Necessary Credentials

Gather the following credentials from your Meta Developers account. These will configure your WhatsApp flows:

pip install whatsapp-flows

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8. Create a Flow on Flow Development Playground

Design your WhatsApp flow using the Flow Development Playground.

To create a flow programmatically:

WHATSAPP_BUSINESS_VERIFY_TOKEN
WHATSAPP_BUSINESS_PHONE_NUMBER_ID
WHATSAPP_BUSINESS_ACCESS_TOKEN
WHATSAPP_BUSINESS_ACCOUNT_ID

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9. Deploy the Middleware/Webhook

Deploy the middleware or webhook to handle flow execution.

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10. Configure the Webhook URL

Configure the webhook URL in your Meta Developers account. This links your flow to WhatsApp messaging.

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11. Create and Manage Flows

Listing Flows:

from whatsapp_flows import FlowsManager
import os
from dotenv import load_dotenv

load_dotenv()

flows_manager = FlowsManager(
    whatsapp_access_token=os.getenv("WHATSAPP_BUSINESS_ACCESS_TOKEN"),
    whatsapp_account_id=os.getenv("WHATSAPP_BUSINESS_ACCOUNT_ID"),
    whatsapp_phone_number_id=os.getenv("WHATSAPP_BUSINESS_PHONE_NUMBER_ID"),
)

try:
    response = flows_manager.create_flow(flow_name="TEST FLOW")
    print(response)
except Exception as e:
    print(e)

Getting Flow Details:

try:
    response = flows_manager.list_flows()
    print(response)
except Exception as e:
    print(e)

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12. Upload Your Flow JSON

Upload your flow JSON using the Flow Development Playground or programmatically:

try:
    response = flows_manager.get_flow_details(flow_id="1234567890")
    print(response)
except Exception as e:
    print(e)

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13. Test Your Flow

Test your flow programmatically:

SYSTEM_PATH = os.getcwd()
FLOW_JSON_FILE_PATH = os.path.join(SYSTEM_PATH, "data/flow.json")

try:
    response = flows_manager.upload_flow_json(
        flow_id="1234567890", flow_file_path=FLOW_JSON_FILE_PATH
    )
    print(response)
except Exception as e:
    print(e)

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14. Publish Your Flow

Publish your flow:

pip install whatsapp-flows

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15. Sending Published and Unpublished Flows

Send a Published Flow:

WHATSAPP_BUSINESS_VERIFY_TOKEN
WHATSAPP_BUSINESS_PHONE_NUMBER_ID
WHATSAPP_BUSINESS_ACCESS_TOKEN
WHATSAPP_BUSINESS_ACCOUNT_ID

Send an Unpublished Flow:

from whatsapp_flows import FlowsManager
import os
from dotenv import load_dotenv

load_dotenv()

flows_manager = FlowsManager(
    whatsapp_access_token=os.getenv("WHATSAPP_BUSINESS_ACCESS_TOKEN"),
    whatsapp_account_id=os.getenv("WHATSAPP_BUSINESS_ACCOUNT_ID"),
    whatsapp_phone_number_id=os.getenv("WHATSAPP_BUSINESS_PHONE_NUMBER_ID"),
)

try:
    response = flows_manager.create_flow(flow_name="TEST FLOW")
    print(response)
except Exception as e:
    print(e)

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16. Update or Delete Flows

Update Flow JSON:

try:
    response = flows_manager.list_flows()
    print(response)
except Exception as e:
    print(e)

Delete a Flow:

try:
    response = flows_manager.get_flow_details(flow_id="1234567890")
    print(response)
except Exception as e:
    print(e)

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Conclusion

If you feel like you want to contribute, request a feature or reporting a bug, feel free to check me.

NB: This is the link to the project GitHub repository.

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