How to Let Customers Contact Businesses Directly on WhatsApp Without Adding Contacts

A big challenge that many cross-border sellers often encounter when promoting their products is how to quickly establish contact with potential customers after attracting their attention. Many customers may want to communicate with you directly after browsing your official website, but they don’t know how to contact you quickly and conveniently. The most direct way is usually to add WhatsApp to communicate, but many customers are reluctant to add unfamiliar sellers as friends, so they may choose to give up.

To address this problem, this article will introduce several ways to allow customers to contact you directly on WhatsApp without adding any contacts. After integrating these methods into your website, you will be able to provide a smoother and user-friendly communication experience, allowing customers to connect with your business directly through WhatsApp.

Why “Contact Without Adding on WhatsApp” Matters More Than Ever

WhatsApp has become a primary customer communication tool for many businesses, especially across Southeast Asia, Latin America, and India, where the platform dominates daily messaging.

However, the traditional requirement to add a number before chatting creates unnecessary friction. It weakens customer experience and hurts conversion.

From a customer’s point of view, their hesitation is understandable:

• “I just have a quick question. I don’t want to save your number.”

• “If I add you, you might start sending me ads every day.”

• “My contacts are already a mess. I don’t need another unknown number.”

From a business standpoint, this rule also causes practical issues:

This brings us to the core question every business faces today:👉 How can you let customers contact you on WhatsApp instantly, just by clicking a link, without saving your number?

Create your link

Open your browser and enter https://wa.me/ where requires the full phone number in international format. When adding the phone number in international format, omit any zeros, brackets, or dashes.

Example:

Correct format: https://wa.me/1XXXXXXXXXX

Incorrect format: https://wa.me/+001-(XXX)XXXXXXX

Create your links using pre-filled text

If you need to send pre-filled text directly to the conversation,

Use the format https://wa.me/whatsappphonenumber?text=urlencodedtext where whatsappphonenumber is the full phone number in international format and urlencodedtext is the pre-populated, URL-encoded text.

Example: https://wa.me/1XXXXXXXXXX?text=I'm%20interested%20in%20your%20car%20for%20sale

To create a link with only pre-filled text content, use https://wa.me/?text=urlencodedtext

Example: https://wa.me/?text=I'm%20inquiring%20about%20the%20apartment%20listing

After entering the link, click the [Continue Conversation] button, and then you can choose to download the WhatsApp App or expand it directly on the web page.

Using the Chat on WhatsApp button

In addition to setting up direct links to WhatsApp in multiple places on the official website, you can also embed a "Chat on WhatsApp" button on the website. With just one click, you can start a real-time WhatsApp conversation with the customer service team, so that you can receive the help and service you need quickly and consistently.

HTML code example

• To embed an SVG image:

• Embed PNG images

Example Use Cases

The Limitations of Manual Setup

Although these methods work, they also come with several downsides:

1. No customer identification: You can’t tell who the user is or which channel they came from.

2. Difficult message management. One phone number and app can’t efficiently handle multiple inquiries.

3. Lack of teamwork. Only one person can reply; no shared inbox or collaborative workflow.

Adding widgets with SaleSmartly

1. Open SaleSmartly and click Create plugin in [Integration].

2. Find the WhatsApp portal under the [Port Integration] category. You can directly associate the business API number that has been connected to SaleSmartly or directly enter the WhatsApp number to complete the configuration.

Benefits of using SaleSmartly to set up

1. Multi-Agent Collaboration, Never Miss a Chat

SaleSmartly not only supports integration with WhatsApp but also with multiple social media channels, including Facebook Messenger, Instagram, Telegram, Line, Email, WeChat, etc. All these settings can be easily completed on the designated page. SaleSmartly can easily manage messages from multiple channels in a unified manner.

SaleSmartly allows you to integrate multiple WhatsApp accounts. By configuring smart diversion links, customers can be assigned to different WhatsApp accounts for reception based on their random selection or needs during a specific period.

Tutorial on how to configure a diversion link: Are you afraid of being blocked if your WhatsApp is frequently added to? Diversion links can help you (salesmartly.com)

2. Manage Multiple WhatsApp Accounts with Smart Routing

You can connect multiple WhatsApp numbers to SaleSmartly and configure smart routing links to automatically distribute customers based on random allocation, time periods, or traffic sources.

📘 Learn more: Worried about your WhatsApp account getting blocked? Smart Routing Links can help.

3. Auto Replies and Tags for Smarter Lead Management

Set up keywords in SaleSmartly to automatically trigger instant replies, reducing response time and improving satisfaction.

Beyond automation, SaleSmartly tags customers based on behavior, keywords, and source channels, enabling more precise segmentation and follow-up.
These tags sync with your CRM to build complete customer profiles and strengthen your multi-touch marketing campaigns.

Ready to try it yourself? 👉 Click the button below and experience how effortless WhatsApp communication can be with SaleSmartly!

Sign Up Free