Description
Dispatchable Order Messaging brings WooCommerce order communication to WhatsApp, the channel your customers already use every day — with a single click, no Meta Business API account, and nothing routed through a third-party service.
Built for merchants in WhatsApp-first, cash-on-delivery-heavy markets who already message customers about their orders by hand, copying details from the order screen into a chat. This plugin turns that into one click instead.
What it does
- WhatsApp button on the product and cart pages — a single click opens WhatsApp with a pre-filled message including the product name and price.
- “Notify Customer” on each order — a one-click button on the order screen opens a WhatsApp message pre-filled from that order’s own data and your message template for its current status, ready for you to review and send.
- Bulk “Notify Customer” — select several orders from the Orders list and the plugin steps you through them one at a time: review the pre-filled message, open WhatsApp, send it, click “Sent — Next,” and move to the next order. Every message still goes through your own WhatsApp — nothing sends automatically, individually or in bulk.
- Customer-facing “Message us about this order” link on the order-received (thank-you) page and in WooCommerce order emails.
- Editable message templates, one per order status, with placeholders for the customer’s name, order number, total, status, tracking number, and item list.
- A local log of notifications you’ve sent, viewable under WooCommerce WhatsApp Log, for your own records.
- Full compatibility with WooCommerce High-Performance Order Storage (HPOS) and the WooCommerce Cart/Checkout blocks.
What it deliberately does not do
This plugin never sends a WhatsApp message on its own. Every notification — single or bulk — opens WhatsApp with the message already written, and a person still has to review it and tap Send. There is no background sending, no Meta Cloud API connection, and no external service in the middle of your message traffic or your customers’ data. Automatic, no-click sending is intentionally outside the scope of this free plugin.
Why WhatsApp instead of email
In many markets, email has low open rates and low trust compared to WhatsApp, where customers already expect to hear from businesses they’ve ordered from. WooCommerce’s built-in order communication is email-only; this plugin adds the channel your customers actually check.
Privacy and data handling
This plugin makes no external API calls and sends nothing to any DispatchWP-operated or third-party server. WhatsApp messages are composed on your own site and opened as standard wa.me links — the same mechanism as clicking any WhatsApp link elsewhere on the web. No API keys, no external account, no data collection.
Screenshots
Installation
- Make sure WooCommerce (version 8.2 or newer) is installed and active — this plugin requires it.
- Upload the plugin files to the
/wp-content/plugins/dispatchable-order-messagingdirectory, or install it directly through the WordPress “Plugins Add New” screen. - Activate the plugin through the “Plugins” screen in WordPress.
- Go to WooCommerce Settings WhatsApp and enter your store’s WhatsApp number.
- Review the default message templates under the Templates tab and customize them if you’d like.
FAQ
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Do I need a WhatsApp Business API account or a Meta developer account?
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No. This plugin works with an ordinary WhatsApp number (personal or the WhatsApp Business app) via standard
wa.melinks — the same links you’d use to start any WhatsApp chat from a website. No API keys, no Meta Business verification, no external account of any kind. -
Does this send messages automatically?
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No, not in this version. Every notification — whether triggered from a single order or a bulk selection — opens WhatsApp with the message pre-filled, and you send it yourself with one click inside WhatsApp. Nothing is sent in the background.
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Does it work with High-Performance Order Storage (HPOS)?
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Yes. HPOS compatibility is declared, and the plugin is built and tested against both HPOS and legacy (post-based) order storage.
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Does it work with the WooCommerce Cart and Checkout blocks?
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Yes, alongside the classic (shortcode) cart and checkout. Both are supported.
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What happens if a customer’s order has no phone number on file?
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The “Notify Customer” action won’t have a number to message. You can optionally require a phone number at checkout from this plugin’s settings (WooCommerce Settings WhatsApp), which applies to both the classic and block-based checkout.
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Where do I configure my WhatsApp number and message templates?
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WooCommerce Settings WhatsApp. The General tab holds your store’s own number (used for customer-initiated contact); the Buttons tab controls each button’s label, message, and on/off switch; the Templates tab holds one editable message per order status.
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Is any of my data sent to a third-party server?
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No. This plugin has no external API calls, no analytics, and no data collection of its own. Messages are composed on your own site and opened directly in WhatsApp via standard wa.me links.
Reviews
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Contributors & Developers
“Dispatchable Order Messaging for WooCommerce” is open source software. The following people have contributed to this plugin.
Contributors
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Interested in development?
Browse the code, check out the SVN repository, or subscribe to the development log by RSS.
Changelog
0.1.0
- Initial release.