Conversations, Orders, Broadcasts & the Chat Bot
Manage the WhatsApp inbox, see orders placed in chat, send broadcast campaigns, configure the automated bot, and track messaging performance.
Once your number is connected and you have at least one approved template, the rest of the WhatsApp screen is where you run the channel day to day: talking to customers, seeing what they've ordered, reaching your whole list at once, and letting a bot handle the basics after hours.
The dashboard at a glance
Screen: Plugins → WhatsApp Business → Dashboard.
The Dashboard tab is your at-a-glance view of the channel:
- Messages today, active conversations, catalog items synced, and WhatsApp orders as headline numbers.
- A conversation windows panel showing how many chats are Open, Closing soon, or Closed.
- An action-required banner if you don't have an approved template yet, or your catalog isn't synced.
- Sync Catalog, Send Broadcast, and Configure Bot quick-action buttons, labelled to match those tabs.
Quick-action buttons don't navigate yet
As of this writing, clicking Sync Catalog, Send Broadcast, or Configure Bot on the Dashboard has no effect — they're visual shortcuts only and don't jump to the corresponding tab. Use the tab bar at the top of the WhatsApp screen (Catalog, Broadcasts, Bot) to get there instead.
The 24-hour conversation window
This one concept explains almost everything about how messaging works on WhatsApp, so it's worth understanding before you use the Conversations or Broadcasts tabs:
- Free-form window — once a customer messages you, you have 24 hours to reply with anything — plain text, images, whatever you need. This is the free-form conversation window.
- Template-only outside the window — once 24 hours pass since the customer's last message, you can no longer send free text. You must use an Approved message template to reach them again.
Every conversation shows a badge for this: Open (with time remaining), Closing soon, or Closed.
Replying to customers
Screen: Plugins → WhatsApp Business → Conversations.
Find the conversation
The left panel lists every conversation, with search and a filter toggle for All / Active / Resolved. Each row shows the customer (or their phone number if unidentified), the conversation state, and the window badge.
Open the thread
Click a conversation to see the full message history in the centre panel, with delivery ticks on your own messages — sent, delivered, read, or failed (hover the icon for the reason on a failed send).
Reply
If the window is Open or Closing soon, type in the reply box and send — this is a normal free-text message. If the window is Closed, the reply box is replaced with a template picker: choose an approved template and send that instead.
Mark it resolved
Click Resolve in the chat header once you're done — this moves the conversation out of your active queue.
The right-hand sidebar shows the customer's name, phone, and email (when known), plus session details — when the conversation started and when the current window expires.
Starting a new conversation
Click the + button next to the search box to message a customer who hasn't messaged you first. Enter their phone number, choose Template or Text as the message type — a fresh outbound conversation with no prior customer message must start with an approved template.
Orders placed through WhatsApp
Screen: Plugins → WhatsApp Business → Orders.
Every order a customer places while chatting with you on WhatsApp shows up here, connected back to your regular order management workflow:
| Column | What it shows |
|---|---|
| Order number | The order's identifier |
| Customer | Name (if known) |
| Phone | The customer's WhatsApp number |
| Amount | Order total |
| Status | pending, confirmed, processing, shipped, delivered, cancelled, returned, or refunded |
| Date | When the order was placed |
This gives you a clear read on how much revenue is coming directly from the channel, alongside everything else in your store. Use the page-size selector in the bottom-right of the table (10 / 25 / 50 rows per page) once you have more orders than fit on one screen.
Sending a broadcast campaign
Screen: Plugins → WhatsApp Business → Broadcasts.
Broadcasts let you message your whole customer list, or a specific set of numbers, in one action.
Click Create
Click Create at the top of the Broadcasts tab.
Choose an approved template
Select from your list of Approved templates. If you don't have one yet, the dialog links you straight to the Templates tab to create one.
Choose your audience
Pick All customers, or Specific numbers and paste in a comma- or line-separated list of phone numbers.
Send
Click Send. The broadcast appears in the log below with its status (scheduled, sending,
sent, failed, or cancelled), recipient count, and how many messages sent vs. failed.
A broadcast still in scheduled status can be cancelled from its row before it goes out. The log's
page-size selector (10 / 25 rows per page) is in the bottom-right corner once you have enough
broadcasts to paginate.
The automated chat bot
Screen: Plugins → WhatsApp Business → Bot.
The Bot tab configures an always-on automated responder for common questions, even outside business hours.
| Setting | What it controls |
|---|---|
| Auto-reply toggle | Turns the bot on or off |
| Welcome message | What a customer sees on their first message |
| Business hours (start / end, timezone) | The window your bot treats as "open" |
| After-hours message | What's sent outside business hours |
| Menu items | A short list of options (e.g. Shop Now, Track Order, Help) customers can select to get routed to the right information |
Add, edit, or remove menu items as needed, then click Save Configuration. When a live agent picks up a conversation, it hands off from the bot seamlessly — the bot doesn't block you from stepping in.
Messaging analytics
Screen: Plugins → WhatsApp Business → Analytics.
Track the health of the channel over Week, Month, or Quarter:
- Total messages, inbound, and outbound counts
- New conversations and resolved conversations
- Conversion rate
- A message distribution bar showing the inbound-vs-outbound split
Use this to judge whether the channel is growing and whether your bot and broadcasts are actually reaching customers.