# WhatsApp

42min doesn't integrate with the WhatsApp API — there's nothing to "connect". Instead,
you reach WhatsApp the simple way: a [routing form](/help/routing-forms/overview) with a
rule whose [destination](/help/routing-forms/destinations) is an **external URL**
pointing at a `wa.me` link. People who match that rule are forwarded straight into a
WhatsApp chat with you.

## What it is

- A WhatsApp click-to-chat link looks like `https://wa.me/<your-number>` (digits only,
  with country code), optionally with `?text=<prefilled%20message>`.
- In a routing form, you point a rule at that URL via the **external URL** destination
  type — no API keys, no setup beyond having the link.
- This is the documented pattern for WhatsApp in 42min; there is no first-party
  WhatsApp messaging.

## When to use it

- Some leads should *chat*, not book a calendar slot — e.g. quick pre-sales questions,
  support, or markets where WhatsApp is the norm.
- You want a "talk to us now" path alongside the "book a meeting" path on the same
  routing form.

## How to do it

1. Build (or open) a [routing form](/help/routing-forms/building-a-form) at
   [Routing Forms](/360/routing).
2. Add a rule whose conditions match the people who should go to WhatsApp.
3. Set that rule's **destination** to **external URL** and paste your `wa.me` link
   (e.g. `https://wa.me/15551234567?text=Hi%2C%20I%27d%20like%20to%20chat%20with%20Acme`).
4. Keep a sensible [fallback](/help/routing-forms/routing-rules) for everyone else
   (often an [event type](/help/event-types/overview) booking page).

## Common pitfalls

- **Wrong number format.** `wa.me` needs the full international number with no `+`,
  spaces, or dashes — just digits.
- **Prefilled text not URL-encoded.** The `?text=` value must be percent-encoded;
  spaces become `%20`, etc.
- **No fallback.** A routing form still needs its mandatory fallback rule — WhatsApp is
  one path, not the catch-all.