Send a Link Button

In this code snippet you learn how to send a link style button on WhatsApp. This uses Vonage's custom object facility. You can reference the WhatsApp developer documentation for the specifics of the message format.

When the message recipient clicks on the link button, they will be prompted for permission to continue to the target link.

Example

Ensure the following variables are set to your required values using any convenient method:

Key	Description
`VONAGE_APPLICATION_ID`	The Vonage Application ID.
`VONAGE_APPLICATION_PRIVATE_KEY_PATH`	Private key path.
`BASE_URL`	For production use the base URL is `https://api.nexmo.com/`. For sandbox testing the base URL is `https://messages-sandbox.nexmo.com/`.
`MESSAGES_API_URL`	There are two versions of the API, each with their own endpoints. For production the previous Messages API endpoint was `https://api.nexmo.com/v0.1/messages`, the new one is `https://api.nexmo.com/v1/messages`. For sandbox testing the Messages API endpoint is `https://messages-sandbox.nexmo.com/v0.1/messages` or `https://messages-sandbox.nexmo.com/v1/messages`, depending on which version you have set in the sandbox dashboard.
`WHATSAPP_NUMBER`	The WhatsApp number that has been allocated to you by Vonage. For sandbox testing the number is 14157386102.
`VONAGE_WHATSAPP_NUMBER`	Refer to `WHATSAPP_NUMBER` above.
`VONAGE_NUMBER`	Refer to `WHATSAPP_NUMBER` above.
`TO_NUMBER`	Replace with the number you are sending to. E.g. `447700900001`
`WHATSAPP_TEMPLATE_NAMESPACE`	The namespace ID found in your WhatsApp Business Account. Only templates created in your own namespace will work. Using an template with a namespace outside of your own results in an error code 1022 being returned.
`WHATSAPP_TEMPLATE_NAME`	The name of the template created in your WhatsApp Business Account.
`HEADER_IMAGE_URL`	The URL of the image to display in the template message header.

NOTE: Don't use a leading + or 00 when entering a phone number, start with the country code, for example, 447700900000.

Prerequisites

If you do not have an application you can create one. Make sure you also configure your webhooks.

Write the code

Add the following to send-button-link.sh:

curl -X POST $MESSAGES_API_URL \
     -H 'Authorization: Bearer' $JWT  \
     -H 'Content-Type: application/json' \
     -d '{
  "message_type": "custom",
  "to": "'$TO_NUMBER'",
  "from": "'$WHATSAPP_NUMBER'",
  "channel": "whatsapp",
  "custom": {
    "type": "template",
    "template": {
      "namespace": "'$WHATSAPP_TEMPLATE_NAMESPACE'",
      "name": "'$WHATSAPP_TEMPLATE_NAME'",
      "language": {
        "code": "en",
        "policy": "deterministic"
      },
      "components": [
        {
          "type": "header",
          "parameters": [
            {
              "type": "image",
              "image": {
                "link": "'$HEADER_IMAGE_URL'"
              }
            }
          ]
        },
        {
          "type": "body",
          "parameters": [
            {
              "type": "text",
              "text": "Anand"
            },
            {
              "type": "text",
              "text": "Quest"
            },
            {
              "type": "text",
              "text": "113-0921387"
            },
            {
              "type": "text",
              "text": "23rd Nov 2019"
            }
          ]
        },
        {
          "type": "button",
          "index": "0",
          "sub_type": "url",
          "parameters": [
            {
              "type": "text",
              "text": "1Z999AA10123456784"
            }
          ]
        }
      ]
    }
  }
}'

View full source

Run your code

Save this file to your machine and run it:

bash send-button-link.sh

Prerequisites

If you do not have an application you can create one. Make sure you also configure your webhooks.

npm install @vonage/server-sdk

Create a file named send-link-button.js and add the following code:

const { Vonage } = require('@vonage/server-sdk');
const { WhatsAppCustom } = require('@vonage/messages');

const vonage = new Vonage({
  applicationId: VONAGE_APPLICATION_ID,
  privateKey: VONAGE_PRIVATE_KEY,
});

View full source

Write the code

Add the following to send-link-button.js:

vonage.messages.send(
  new WhatsAppCustom({
    custom: {
      type: 'template',
      template: {
        namespace: WHATSAPP_TEMPLATE_NAMESPACE,
        name: WHATSAPP_TEMPLATE_NAME,
        language: {
          code: 'en',
          policy: 'deterministic',
        },
        components: [
          {
            type: 'header',
            parameters: [
              {
                type: 'image',
                image: {
                  link: HEADER_IMAGE_URL,
                },
              },
            ],
          },
          {
            type: 'body',
            parameters: [
              {
                type: 'text',
                text: 'Anand',
              },
              {
                type: 'text',
                text: 'Quest',
              },
              {
                type: 'text',
                text: '113-0921387',
              },
              {
                type: 'text',
                text: '23rd Nov 2019',
              },
            ],
          },
          {
            type: 'button',
            index: 0,
            sub_type: 'url',
            parameters: [
              {
                type: 'text',
                text: '1Z999AA10123456784',
              },
            ],
          },
        ],
      },
    },
    to: TO_NUMBER,
    from: WHATSAPP_NUMBER,
  }),
)
  .then(({ messageUUID}) => console.log(messageUUID))
  .catch((error) => console.error(error));

View full source

Run your code

Save this file to your machine and run it:

node send-link-button.js

Prerequisites

If you do not have an application you can create one. Make sure you also configure your webhooks.

Add the following to build.gradle:

implementation 'com.vonage:server-sdk-kotlin:1.1.2'

Create a file named SendWhatsappLinkButton and add the following code to the main method:

val client = Vonage {
    applicationId(VONAGE_APPLICATION_ID)
    privateKeyPath(VONAGE_APPLICATION_PRIVATE_KEY_PATH)
}

View full source

Write the code

Add the following to the main method of the SendWhatsappLinkButton file:

val messageId = client.messages.send(
    whatsappCustom {
        to(TO_NUMBER)
        from(VONAGE_WHATSAPP_NUMBER)
        custom(mapOf(
            "type" to MessageType.TEMPLATE,
            "template" to mapOf(
                "namespace" to WHATSAPP_TEMPLATE_NAMESPACE,
                "name" to WHATSAPP_TEMPLATE_NAME,
                "language" to mapOf(
                    "code" to Locale.ENGLISH,
                    "policy" to Policy.DETERMINISTIC
                ),
                "components" to listOf(
                    mapOf(
                        "type" to "header",
                        "parameters" to listOf(
                            mapOf(
                                "type" to MessageType.IMAGE,
                                "image" to mapOf(
                                    "link" to HEADER_IMAGE_URL
                                )
                            )
                        )
                    ),
                    mapOf(
                        "type" to "body",
                        "parameters" to listOf(
                            mapOf(
                                "type" to MessageType.TEXT,
                                "text" to "Anand"
                            ),
                            mapOf(
                                "type" to MessageType.TEXT,
                                "text" to "Quest"
                            ),
                            mapOf(
                                "type" to MessageType.TEXT,
                                "text" to "113-0921387"
                            ),
                            mapOf(
                                "type" to MessageType.TEXT,
                                "text" to "23rd Nov 2019"
                            )
                        )
                    ),
                    mapOf(
                        "type" to MessageType.BUTTON,
                        "index" to 0,
                        "sub_type" to "url",
                        "parameters" to listOf(
                            mapOf(
                                "type" to MessageType.TEXT,
                                "text" to "1Z999AA10123456784"
                            )
                        )
                    )
                )
            )
        ))
    }
)

View full source

Run your code

We can use the application plugin for Gradle to simplify the running of our application. Update your build.gradle with the following:

apply plugin: 'application'
mainClassName = project.hasProperty('main') ? project.getProperty('main') : ''

Run the following gradle command to execute your application, replacing com.vonage.quickstart.kt.messages.whatsapp with the package containing SendWhatsappLinkButton:

gradle run -Pmain=com.vonage.quickstart.kt.messages.whatsapp.SendWhatsappLinkButton

Prerequisites

If you do not have an application you can create one. Make sure you also configure your webhooks.

Add the following to build.gradle:

implementation 'com.vonage:server-sdk:8.15.1'

Create a file named SendWhatsappLinkButton and add the following code to the main method:

VonageClient client = VonageClient.builder()
		.applicationId(VONAGE_APPLICATION_ID)
		.privateKeyPath(VONAGE_PRIVATE_KEY_PATH)
		.build();

View full source

Write the code

Add the following to the main method of the SendWhatsappLinkButton file:

var response = client.getMessagesClient().sendMessage(
	WhatsappCustomRequest.builder()
		.from(VONAGE_WHATSAPP_NUMBER).to(TO_NUMBER)
		.custom(Map.of(
			"type", "template",
			"template", Map.of(
				"namespace", WHATSAPP_TEMPLATE_NAMESPACE,
				"name", WHATSAPP_TEMPLATE_NAME,
				"language", Map.of(
					"code", Locale.ENGLISH,
					"policy", Policy.DETERMINISTIC
				),
				"components", List.of(
					Map.of(
						"type", "header",
						"parameters", List.of(
							Map.of(
								"type", "image",
								"image", Map.of(
									"link", HEADER_IMAGE_URL
								)
							)
						)
					),
					Map.of(
						"type", "body",
						"parameters", List.of(
							Map.of(
								"type", "text",
								"text", "Anand"
							),
							Map.of(
								"type", "text",
								"text", "Quest"
							),
							Map.of(
								"type", "text",
								"text", "113-0921387"
							),
							Map.of(
								"type", "text",
								"text", "23rd Nov 2019"
							)
						)
					),
					Map.of(
						"type", "button",
						"index", "0",
						"sub_type", "url",
						"parameters", List.of(
							Map.of(
								"type", "text",
								"text", "1Z999AA10123456784"
							)
						)
					)
				)
			)
		))
		.build()
);
System.out.println("Message sent successfully. ID: "+response.getMessageUuid());

View full source

Run your code

We can use the application plugin for Gradle to simplify the running of our application. Update your build.gradle with the following:

apply plugin: 'application'
mainClassName = project.hasProperty('main') ? project.getProperty('main') : ''

Run the following gradle command to execute your application, replacing com.vonage.quickstart.messages.whatsapp with the package containing SendWhatsappLinkButton:

gradle run -Pmain=com.vonage.quickstart.messages.whatsapp.SendWhatsappLinkButton

Prerequisites

If you do not have an application you can create one. Make sure you also configure your webhooks.

Install-Package Vonage

Write the code

Add the following to SendWhatsAppButtonLink.cs:

var credentials = Credentials.FromAppIdAndPrivateKeyPath(appId, privateKeyPath);

var vonageClient = new VonageClient(credentials);

var request = new WhatsAppCustomRequest
{
    To = to,
    From = brandName,
    Custom = new Custom
    {
        type = "template",
        template = new Template
        {
            @namespace = "whatsapp:hsm:technology:nexmo",
            name = "verify",
            language = new Language
            {
                code = "en",
                policy = "deterministic"
            },
            components = new List<Component>
            {
                new()
                {
                    type = "header",
                    parameters = new List<Parameter>
                    {
                        new()
                        {
                            type = "image",
                            image = new Image
                            {
                                link = "https://example.com/image.jpg"
                            }
                        }
                    }
                },
                new()
                {
                    type = "body",
                    parameters = new List<Parameter>
                    {
                        new()
                        {
                            type = "text",
                            text = "Anand"
                        },
                        new()
                        {
                            type = "text",
                            text = "Quest"
                        },
                        new()
                        {
                            type = "text",
                            text = "113-0921387"
                        },
                        new()
                        {
                            type = "text",
                            text = "23rd Nov 2019"
                        }
                    }
                },
                new()
                {
                    type = "button",
                    index = "0",
                    sub_type = "url",
                    parameters = new List<Parameter>
                    {
                        new()
                        {
                            type = "text",
                            text = "1Z999AA10123456784"
                        }
                    }
                }
            }
        }
    }
};

var response = await vonageClient.MessagesClient.SendAsync(request);

View full source

Prerequisites

If you do not have an application you can create one. Make sure you also configure your webhooks.

composer require vonage/client

Create a file named send-button-link.php and add the following code:

$keypair = new \Vonage\Client\Credentials\Keypair(
    file_get_contents(VONAGE_APPLICATION_PRIVATE_KEY_PATH),
    VONAGE_APPLICATION_ID
);

$client = new \Vonage\Client($keypair);

View full source

Write the code

Add the following to send-button-link.php:

$custom = [
    "type" => "template",
    "template" => [
        "namespace" => WHATSAPP_TEMPLATE_NAMESPACE,
        "name" => WHATSAPP_TEMPLATE_NAME,
        "language" => ["code" => "en", "policy" => "deterministic"],
        "components" => [
            [
                "type" => "header",
                "parameters" => [
                    [
                        "type" => "image",
                        "image" => ["link" => HEADER_IMAGE_URL],
                    ],
                ],
            ],
            [
                "type" => "body",
                "parameters" => [
                    ["type" => "text", "text" => "Anand"],
                    ["type" => "text", "text" => "Quest"],
                    ["type" => "text", "text" => "113-0921387"],
                    ["type" => "text", "text" => "23rd Nov 2019"],
                ],
            ],
            [
                "type" => "button",
                "index" => "0",
                "sub_type" => "url",
                "parameters" => [
                    ["type" => "text", "text" => "1Z999AA10123456784"],
                ],
            ],
        ],
    ],
];

$whatsApp = new \Vonage\Messages\Channel\WhatsApp\WhatsAppCustom(
    TO_NUMBER,
    FROM_NUMBER,
    $custom
);

$client->messages()->send($whatsApp);

View full source

Run your code

Save this file to your machine and run it:

php send-button-link.php

Prerequisites

If you do not have an application you can create one. Make sure you also configure your webhooks.

pip install vonage

Write the code

Add the following to send-button-link.py:

from vonage import Auth, Vonage
from vonage_messages.models import WhatsappCustom

client = Vonage(
    Auth(
        application_id=VONAGE_APPLICATION_ID,
        private_key=VONAGE_APPLICATION_PRIVATE_KEY_PATH,
    )
)

message = WhatsappCustom(
    to=TO_NUMBER,
    from_=WHATSAPP_NUMBER,
    custom={
        "type": "template",
        "template": {
            "namespace": WHATSAPP_TEMPLATE_NAMESPACE,
            "name": WHATSAPP_TEMPLATE_NAME,
            "language": {"code": "en", "policy": "deterministic"},
            "components": [
                {
                    "type": "header",
                    "parameters": [
                        {"type": "image", "image": {"link": "'$HEADER_IMAGE_URL'"}}
                    ],
                },
                {
                    "type": "body",
                    "parameters": [
                        {"type": "text", "text": "Anand"},
                        {"type": "text", "text": "Quest"},
                        {"type": "text", "text": "113-0921387"},
                        {"type": "text", "text": "23rd Nov 2019"},
                    ],
                },
                {
                    "type": "button",
                    "index": "0",
                    "sub_type": "url",
                    "parameters": [{"type": "text", "text": "1Z999AA10123456784"}],
                },
            ],
        },
    },
)

response = client.messages.send(message)
print(response)

View full source

Run your code

Save this file to your machine and run it:

python send-button-link.py

Prerequisites

If you do not have an application you can create one. Make sure you also configure your webhooks.

gem install vonage

Create a file named send-button-link.rb and add the following code:

client = Vonage::Client.new(
  application_id: VONAGE_APPLICATION_ID,
  private_key: File.read(VONAGE_APPLICATION_PRIVATE_KEY_PATH)
)

View full source

Write the code

Add the following to send-button-link.rb:

message = Vonage::Messaging::Message.whatsapp(
  type: 'custom',
  message: {
    type: "template",
    template: {
      namespace: WHATSAPP_TEMPLATE_NAMESPACE,
      name: WHATSAPP_TEMPLATE_NAME,
      language: {
        code: "en",
        policy: "deterministic"
      },
      components: [
        {
          type: "header",
          parameters: [
            {
              type: "image",
              image: {
                link: HEADER_IMAGE_URL
              }
            }
          ]
        },
        {
          type: "body",
          parameters: [
            {
              type: "text",
              text: "Anand"
            },
            {
              type: "text",
              text: "Quest"
            },
            {
              type: "text",
              text: "113-0921387"
            },
            {
              type: "text",
              text: "23rd Nov 2019"
            }
          ]
        },
        {
          type: "button",
          index: "0",
          sub_type: "url",
          parameters: [
            {
              type: "text",
              text: "1Z999AA10123456784"
            }
          ]
        }
      ]
    }
  }
)

client.messaging.send(
  from: VONAGE_WHATSAPP_NUMBER,
  to: TO_NUMBER,
  **message
)

View full source

Run your code

Save this file to your machine and run it:

ruby send-button-link.rb

Try it out

When you run the code a WhatsApp message containing a link button is sent to the recipient. In this example the button is a link to package tracking information.

Send a Link Button

Example

Prerequisites

Write the code

Run your code

Prerequisites

Write the code

Run your code

Prerequisites

Write the code

Run your code

Prerequisites

Write the code

Run your code

Prerequisites

Write the code

Prerequisites

Write the code

Run your code

Prerequisites

Write the code

Run your code

Prerequisites

Write the code

Run your code

Try it out

Further information