WhatsApp messages
Create the WhatsApp messages your store needs, get them approved, and see their status, without leaving the Fetchply app in your Shopify admin.
WhatsApp does not let a business start a conversation with whatever wording it likes. Anything you send to a customer who has not messaged you recently has to use wording WhatsApp approved in advance.
The WhatsApp messages tab creates that wording for you. Pick what the message is for, let Fetchply write it, review it, and submit it. Fetchply sends it to WhatsApp for review and shows you when it is approved.
These order and utility messages are separate from marketing campaigns. Marketing broadcasts are created in the Fetchply dashboard using an already-approved marketing template, recipient permission checks and an unsubscribe button.
You will find it on the Cash on delivery page in the Fetchply app, which opens from Extras → COD verification (or Settings → Cash on delivery), next to the Confirmation tab — the two sit together because cash-on-delivery confirmation cannot run until one of these messages is approved.
You need a connected WhatsApp business number before you can create messages. WhatsApp approves wording against the number that will send it. See WhatsApp.
What you can create
| Message | What it is for | Sent automatically |
|---|---|---|
| Cash on delivery confirmation | Asks the customer to confirm a cash-on-delivery order before you ship it. | Yes |
| Order shipped | Tells the customer their order is on its way. | Not yet |
| Order delivered | Confirms delivery and invites a reply if something is wrong. | Not yet |
Every one of these can be created and approved today. Only the cash-on-delivery confirmation is sent automatically at the moment — order shipped and order delivered are getting their automatic sending in a later update, and the screen labels them so you are not left waiting for something that does not happen yet.
Create a message
Open the WhatsApp messages tab
In your Shopify admin, open the Fetchply app, choose Extras, select Open cash on delivery, then select the WhatsApp messages tab. Settings → Cash on delivery → Open cash on delivery gets you to the same place.
Choose what the message is for
Select Create message on the one you need. The screen shows what each numbered placeholder becomes when the message is sent, for example that {{1}} is replaced with the customer's first name.
Let Fetchply write it
Pick your language, optionally say how you want it to read, then choose Write it for me. You can edit the result, or write your own from scratch. Keep every numbered placeholder, and end the message with a few ordinary words rather than a placeholder.
Submit for approval
Choose Submit for approval. WhatsApp usually decides within a few minutes, occasionally up to 24 hours. The status updates on its own; you can also choose Check status.
Use it
Once it shows Approved, it becomes selectable wherever Fetchply needs it. For cash on delivery, pick it under Cash on delivery → Approved WhatsApp message.
Writing wording WhatsApp will approve
These messages are in WhatsApp's Utility category — about the customer's own order, not marketing. That is both the correct category and the cheaper one to send.
What gets a message turned down:
- Offers, discounts, coupon codes, or anything promotional.
- Links, and asking the customer to visit a website.
- Emoji, shouting in capitals, or wording that reads like an advertisement.
- Starting or ending the message with a placeholder, or putting two of them next to each other. A full stop after the last placeholder does not help — WhatsApp still counts the message as ending on it, so finish with a few ordinary words instead.
- Leaving out one of the numbered placeholders, or skipping a number.
Fetchply checks the last two for you before anything is submitted and tells you what to fix, so you do not spend an approval on a message that was never going to pass.
What each status means
- Not created — you have not made this message yet.
- Pending — WhatsApp is reviewing it. Nothing to do but wait.
- Approved — ready to use.
- Rejected — WhatsApp turned it down and gives a reason. Edit the wording and submit again.
- Paused — enough customers marked messages like this as unwanted that WhatsApp paused it. It cannot be sent until WhatsApp restores it.
- Unavailable — the message is no longer on your WhatsApp account, usually because it was deleted in WhatsApp Manager. Submit it again to start using it.
Troubleshooting
The tab says to connect WhatsApp first. Select Connect WhatsApp on that tab. It opens your Fetchply dashboard in a new tab, already signed in, on the page where you connect your business number. Approval is tied to the number that sends the message, so there is nothing to submit until a number is connected. If you see a note about linking your store instead of the button, finish connecting this store to Fetchply from the app's home screen first.
My message was rejected and I do not know why. The reason WhatsApp gave is shown under the message. Most rejections are wording that reads as marketing. Remove any offer, link, or urgency, keep it to the facts of the order, and submit again.
Can I edit a rejected message and resubmit it? Yes. Choose Replace wording, edit it, and submit again. A rejected or paused message is updated in place and goes back to Pending while WhatsApp reviews it.
Replace wording is greyed out. An Approved message is live and in use, and a Pending one is still under review, so their wording can't be swapped from here without losing track of the version WhatsApp approved. Wait for the review to finish, or create the change in WhatsApp Manager.
Write it for me says to write the message myself. Automatic wording is available in English only. For other languages, write the message in that language yourself — WhatsApp does not translate it for you.
I removed a message but it is still in WhatsApp Manager. Remove only takes the message out of Fetchply. Delete it in WhatsApp Manager if you no longer want it on your WhatsApp account.
A message I approved stopped being used. If WhatsApp later pauses, disables, or archives a message, or moves it out of the Utility category, Fetchply stops using it and shows its new status. Create a replacement, or fix the wording and submit again.
Submitting failed and the reason mentions your WhatsApp Business account. The connection is pointing at a WhatsApp Business account that Meta cannot open for Fetchply, so there is nowhere to file the message for approval. Sending replies can keep working while this is true, because replies only need the phone number — which is why it usually shows up here first. Open your Fetchply dashboard, go to the WhatsApp integration, and connect again, choosing the business account that owns your sending number. If you set the connection up by entering details yourself, check that the WhatsApp Business account ID belongs to that number and is not a name or the number itself.
Submitting failed and I only got "Could not reach Fetchply". That wording means the app genuinely could not get an answer — a dropped connection or a restart. Wait a moment and choose Submit for approval again. When WhatsApp is the one refusing, you now see WhatsApp's own reason instead, so you know which of the two happened.
It has been stuck on Pending for a long time. Most reviews finish in minutes, but WhatsApp allows itself up to 24 hours. Choose Check status for the latest. If it is still pending after a day, check WhatsApp Manager for an account-level problem such as an unverified business.
The wording says it used the standard version. That happens when the suggestion service was unavailable or produced wording that would have been rejected. The standard wording is safe to submit as it is, and you can edit it freely.
I changed my WhatsApp number. Messages approved against your old number do not carry over — WhatsApp ties approval to the account. Create them again on the new number. Fetchply will tell you a message can no longer be checked rather than showing a status that is no longer true.
I removed a message by mistake. Removing it in Fetchply only removes Fetchply's record. If it is still approved on your WhatsApp account you can submit it again and it will be recognised. Anywhere that was using it falls back to not having a message until you pick one again.
Cash on delivery says it needs an approved message even though I created one. Check the message shows Approved, not Pending. Then open Cash on delivery and pick it under Approved WhatsApp message — creating a message does not attach it to a feature on its own.
Cash on delivery confirmation
Ask Shopify shoppers to confirm cash-on-delivery orders on WhatsApp before you ship, so you stop paying to send parcels that get refused.
Connect WooCommerce
Connect a WooCommerce store with API credentials, choose catalog and order capabilities, and verify safe shopper results.