How to Create a WhatsApp Link With Your Number (wa.me Format)

A WhatsApp click-to-chat link uses the wa.me format followed by your number in full international format, with no plus sign, spaces, dashes or leading zeros. When someone taps it, WhatsApp opens a chat with that number. The most common reason a link fails is a number written in the local format.

The basic format

https://wa.me/15551234567

The number is the country code followed by the phone number. For example, a number in the United States starts with 1, while one in Pakistan starts with 92.

How to write the number

• Start with the country code.
• Drop the plus sign.
• Remove any leading zero from the local number.
• Remove spaces, dashes and brackets.

A local number written as 0300 1234567 becomes 923001234567 in this format.

Adding a message

You can add a ready-made message to the link. See how to pre-fill and encode a message.

Create it automatically

Use my free WhatsApp link generator to build the link in your browser, with the number checked and the message encoded for you.

Where to use the link

• A button on your website.
• Your Google Business Profile or social bio.
• Email signatures and printed material through a code from the QR code generator.

Common mistakes

Using a local number, including a plus sign or putting a number that is not registered on WhatsApp are the usual causes. Fix them with this troubleshooting guide.

Frequently asked questions

Next steps

If you want help adding chat to your site, contact me here.