Understand the Differences: WhatsApp Messenger vs WhatsApp Business App vs WhatsApp API

With more than 2 billion monthly active users globally, WhatsApp is a well-liked, dependable, and secure cross-platform messaging service, making it the preferred mobile messaging program for corresponding with friends, family, coworkers, and clients.

The use of WhatsApp Chatbots has made it feasible to market your company and get new clients. 

An OTT (Over-the-Top) chat application called WhatsApp Business API is made to connect people over chat and offers new functionality and the ease of personal messaging to business communications.

The platform was created by the company to accommodate many user types, such as individuals, small-town retailers, and even big businesses. It offers the following products:

• WhatsApp Messenger
• WhatsApp for Business
• WhatsApp API

Comparing the WhatsApp Personal, Business, and API options

Every solution has unique benefits and distinctive qualities. 

We'll describe their differences (as well as their similarities) in this piece. 

Let's first examine the distinctions between the WhatsApp Personal and WhatsApp Business Apps (in the WhatsApp API):

WhatsApp Messenger

The Personal WhatsApp app is designed for lone users who want to communicate and engage with friends, family, and coworkers via private and group messaging options.

Basic communication features offered by this software include the ability to send free messages to contacts on your phone. 

You may start messaging and making calls right away after downloading and installing the program.

Although WhatsApp may not be widely used in the US, it is a vital component of daily life in many other countries. 

Undoubtedly one of the most used messaging platforms worldwide is the Facebook-owned app.

Knowing that WhatsApp was one of the first mobile apps to provide free, internet-based chatting can help you understand why it is so popular. 

WhatsApp generally uses a Wi-Fi connection to send and receive messages and calls for free, as opposed to sending texts via cellular data networks, where costs may be involved.

Now, fast forward: Over 2 billion users use WhatsApp because it makes communicating easy regardless of device or location.

WhatsApp is not only easy to use, but it also provides significantly more capabilities and customizations than standard SMS messaging - all for free.

WhatsApp Business App

The WhatsApp Business App, on the other hand, is made for small businesses that wish to keep up regular message conversations with their clients. 

It is installable and functional with the individual WhatsApp program.

The free WhatsApp Business App adds new features like tagging contacts and rudimentary automation (including rapid replies, greetings, and offline messaging) to the fundamental functionality of the original platform. 

Additionally, WhatsApp Business may assist with business-related operations including marketing and sales, payment alerts, and customer support. 

By developing a product catalog, you may also promote your goods and services at the same time.

Similarities exist between WhatsApp and WhatsApp Business as well.

They both provide phone and video calls, allow the sharing of text messages, multimedia files, audio messages, and other files up to 100MB in size, and are both free to download and use. 

Additionally, they can broadcast their content to 256 contacts at once.

Therefore, deciding between WhatsApp Commercial and Personal depends solely on whether you use WhatsApp for personal or business purposes.

WhatsApp API

In comparison to WhatsApp and WhatsApp Business App, the WhatsApp API is considerably different. 

The best part is that it is designed with growing enterprises in mind, giving them enterprise-grade functionality that the other two programs lack. 

One of these is a recognizable green checkmark that you can place next to the name of your firm, indicating that it has been verified by Increasing consumer confidence via WhatsApp.

A business that wishes to utilize the WhatsApp API must go through an official provider (BSP)I, even though WhatsApp and the WhatsApp Business App are free to download and let you register an account using a mobile or landline phone number (the latter is only available for WhatsApp Business). 

The permission to the API may be activated by the service.

Although the WhatsApp API is paid, it includes more powerful and advanced features and addresses business problem areas. 

These include numerous persons using WhatsApp at once and automatic answering. 

For instance, its practical chatbot automates interactions so you can swiftly and reliably respond to frequent client questions.

You can completely comprehend customer service performance with the Dashboard's simple-to-read graphs that display a variety of crucial statistics. 

The other two products don't have these features.

The WhatsApp API lacks a pre-defined user interface, unlike the other two alternatives, which both have apps for iOS and Android devices. 

No programming knowledge is necessary to access the direct functions of the WhatsApp API thanks to WATI's desktop and mobile applications. 

Keep in touch with customers at all times, wherever, to lower the likelihood that you won't be able to respond to their questions right away.

Steps to creating a WhatsApp application

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1. Establish the project's MVP feature list

Make a list of the most important instant messaging project features before beginning to construct the MVP, or minimum viable product, of the program.

2. Select an outsourced firm

Find a development company that will meet your needs for cost, quality, and time. 

Read the article about successfully outsourcing the development of mobile applications to learn more about the specifications for a development team and advice on how to pick the best developers.

3. Begin the discovery phase

Developers generate functional and non-functional project requirements, technical documentation, architecture suggestions, and user stories, prioritize functionality, and create clickable prototypes during the project discovery phase.

4. Start the development phase

The tech documentation for the project serves as a backlog for the developers as they create the MVP. 

The design team uses a clickable prototype design as a guide for creating drawable screens for your business application.

The WhatsApp Business API and the WhatsApp Business App's features

These are some of the features of WhatsApp for Business:

Business Profile: You will be prompted to provide your company name, address, business description, email address, and business website link when you access the business settings. 

By including this information, you increase the visibility of your brand. You can also include your business hours so that users will know what hours you are open.

Away Messages: Once your operating hours have been established, even if a message is sent outside of certain times, a prepared automatic message will be shared with the sender. This assures your clients that the company will respond to them quickly.

Catalogs: The WhatsApp Business App offers marketers a fantastic opportunity to show off their goods and services to clients. 

For instance, if your company sells every type of grocery item, you can display them all to let users browse quickly and decide what to buy.

The features of the WhatsApp Business API are listed below:

Rich Media Communication: Your brand can provide rich media, such as photographs, documents, audio, and video, in addition to sharing contact and location details that are useful for delivery updates, rather than just delivering a straightforward conversational message. 

Your communication becomes more engaging thanks to this brand-new rich media, which also helps WhatsApp customers have a better overall experience.

Quick Response: Using the WhatsApp Business API, you can design up to three session buttons that users can click to reply to your messages or perform other necessary actions. There are more than 70 languages available for these buttons. 

For instance, if someone wishes to respond quickly to feedback, they can use the Quick Reply tool.

Which is better for business: WhatsApp Business App or WhatsApp Business API?

The WhatsApp Business App is the best option if your company is a local or small business that is just starting to gain customers and needs basic WhatsApp Business functionalities like label chats and quick replies.

On the other hand, WhatsApp Business API will be perfect for your business if it is medium to large and you receive a lot of daily inquiries and you alone are unable to respond to them all. 

It has a tonne of features, including proper CRM connection, real-time statistics and analytics, and many more.

WhatsApp Business API is the best option if your company wants to increase customer assistance by employing human agents to provide prompt answers to their questions.

The API is a better option for you if your large or enterprise business handles more than 5,000 unique customer interactions per month and needs to handle those inquiries from your current helpdesk, as well as possibly integrate a more sophisticated automation solution involving decision trees, your AI instance, or natural language processing in multiple languages.

Because connecting to the API through a company's front-end system or existing helpdesk requires substantial technical resources, the WhatsApp Business API was created exclusively for businesses. 

Since there is no app for the WhatsApp Business API, major businesses must use the API to get the raw data, which necessitates specialized technical solutions. 

A group of human agents can manage tickets from WhatsApp with the support of a CRM/helpdesk, analytics, and communication software interface provided by the WhatsApp Business API.

The size of the firm and the anticipated number of WhatsApp messages determine which of the two alternatives is best for you.

The resources needed to spend on the WhatsApp Business API won't be worthwhile if the user base is small (less than 5,000, and most definitely fewer than 1,000 per month), thus it won't be worth the time and money to put things up.

For large, enterprise-level enterprises with the funds and need for a scaled WhatsApp solution, there is the WhatsApp Business API. 

The WhatsApp Business App is the ideal solution for small and medium-sized organizations.

How can my WhatsApp Business account be verified?

Depending on the kind of WhatsApp Business Account you have, there are two different sorts of verification procedures. 

How you appear visually in a company profile, conversations, and alerts is the primary distinction between a Business Account and an Official Business Account. 

The name that a customer saves will always be visible if they save your business number in their address book.

Businesses that already use the WhatsApp Business API have accounts that are automatically designated as Business Accounts.

For Business Accounts, only the contacts view will display the Verified Name; all other views will just display the phone number.

Remember that clients can read this information from your profile if you fill out your Business Account profile with details like your address, business description, email, website, and operation hours. 

Make a plan for how to respond to incoming WhatsApp calls from clients and be ready for people who could attempt to call this number.

In the contacts view in the account's profile and next to the name that is displayed, an official business account has a green checkmark badge. 

Even if a user doesn't save the company to their address book, the verified business name is available in the chat list, chat screens, chat groups, and contacts view.

Official Business Accounts are accounts that WhatsApp has verified as belonging to real brands, but very few companies do. 

Since they have a direct connection to WhatsApp, when you start working with an official WhatsApp Solution Provider like ChatDaddy, your Solution Provider may oversee the full verification process with you.

The WhatsApp Business API: Why Use It?

For commercial enterprises, the WhatsApp Business API offers several significant benefits, including automation and integrations with an enterprise software stack. 

Up to 80% of questions can be answered automatically, allowing you to handle more tickets with fewer personnel. 

When necessary, you can easily transfer conversations to a human representative.

Your customer care staff will have more time to concentrate on complex or high-value tickets as a result. 

Your customer service professionals can focus on what they do best—keeping your clients satisfied when they require a human touch—since the majority of FAQs and inquiries are now automated.

You may also combine your current CRM, AI, and analytics technologies with WhatsApp Business API, enabling the deployment of a unified customer experience across all your platforms.

Conclusion | The Difference between WhatsApp Messenger, WhatsApp Business App, and WhatsApp API

It is clear from examining the distinctions between WhatsApp and WhatsApp Business that the latter offers more benefits than personal WhatsApp Messenger.

The business app will soon get new features to make it more interesting and useful for connecting with consumers. 

Local business owners with a slim consumer base are favored by this software.

Are you committed to running a successful business and want to make the most of WhatsApp consumer engagement? 

The WhatsApp chatbot API is the ideal option to meet your needs in that situation.

And if you want to start using the WhatsApp Business API, we would be pleased to share our knowledge with you and help you grow your company.

Connect with the ChatDaddy professional team, and they will advise you and let you know what is best for your company.

FAQs | Difference between WhatsApp Messenger, WhatsApp Business App, and WhatsApp API

Q: WhatsApp or WhatsApp Business, which is safer?

A: It is safe to use both apps. The messages are end-to-end encrypted and free.

Once a message is received on WhatsApp Business, it is subject to the company's privacy policies. WhatsApp notifies users that their talks are with a WhatsApp Business account to offer them control over their communication. Users have the option to either block or delete the number from their contact list after reading this message or to carry on with the chat.

Q: What distinguishes WhatsApp Business from WhatsApp API?

A: The main distinction between WhatsApp Business API is that it is used by expanding, medium-sized to large businesses. Businesses that send out a lot of messages can automate their communication with the help of this.

Q: Can one phone be used for both WhatsApp and WhatsApp Business?

A: The answer is yes, provided you use a distinct phone number for WhatsApp and WhatsApp Business. You must utilize a dual-SIM phone and register both accounts with distinct phone numbers to accomplish this.

Q: Can I change my WhatsApp account to one for my business?

A: You can switch from a personal WhatsApp account to a business one, yes. The procedure is quick, easy, and trustworthy. You have the choice to utilize the same number (WhatsApp automatically recognizes the number used on your account) or a new number when installing WhatsApp Business. Your WhatsApp personal account will be changed to a business account if you choose the same number.

Q: The cost of WhatsApp Business?

A: On both Android and iPhone, the WhatsApp Business account may be downloaded without charge. Sending communications to clients is free for businesses.