Referbro connects to the WhatsApp Business API to send automated referral messages at key moments in the customer journey. This page covers how templates work and how to configure them.
For the in-app setup flow, follow How to Configure WhatsApp Templates in Referbro.
How It Works
- You create a Message Template on your WhatsApp provider’s platform (e.g., Pragma, Meta).
- Meta approves the template (required for all business-initiated messages).
- You map the approved template in Referbro by entering its ID and parameters.
- Referbro sends messages using your template whenever a trigger fires (e.g., customer shares, order placed).
Template Types
Referbro supports 8 different template slots, each triggered at a different point in the customer journey. You can find ready-to-use examples for all of these in our Template Library:
| Template Type | Trigger | Purpose |
|---|
| Referral Invitation | Customer clicks “Share on WhatsApp” in widget | First-person referral invite |
| Order Confirmation | After a customer places an order | Encourage sharing while the customer is happy |
| Delivery Notification | Order is marked as delivered | Prompt sharing after the customer receives their order |
| Post Delivery Followup | Configured time after delivery | Follow-up message to encourage repeat sharing |
| Post-Referral Follow-up | After a successful referral is made | Confirm the referral and encourage more sharing |
| Referrer Delivery Notification | Referred friend’s order is delivered | Notify the referrer that their friend received the order |
| Reward Notification | Referrer earns a reward | Notify the referrer of their earned reward |
| Nudge Reminder | Scheduled reminder | Re-engage customers who haven’t shared yet |
You don’t need to configure all 8 templates to get started. Begin with Referral Invitation and Order Confirmation — these are the highest-impact touchpoints.
Template Parameters
When mapping a template in Referbro, you provide a JSON object with parameter keys and values.
| Key Pattern | Meaning | Example |
|---|
body.<index> | Body text parameter at position <index> (1-based) | "body.1": "Get ₹150 OFF!" |
body.<index>.<name> | Named body parameter (alias for readability) | "body.1.message": "Hey! Share this..." |
button.url.<btnIndex>.<paramIndex> | URL button parameter | "button.url.0.1": "{{REFERRAL_CODE}}" |
button.quick_reply.<btnIndex>.<paramIndex> | Quick reply button parameter | "button.quick_reply.0.1": "Share Now" |
languageCode | Template language code | "languageCode": "en" |
For Pragma users: Button parameters use the format button.url.<index>.value instead of button.url.<index>.<paramIndex>. See the Pragma section for details. Available Placeholders
Use these placeholders in your parameter values. Referbro only resolves variables that are available in the current trigger context.
| Placeholder | Replaced With | Example Output | Available In | When It Is Available |
|---|
{{REFERRAL_CODE}} | The customer’s unique referral code | JOHN-AB12 | All template slots | Always available in automated sends (and test sends, where fallback is TEST123) |
{{REFERRAL_LINK}} | Full referral link URL | https://yourstore.com?ref=JOHN-AB12 | Order Confirmation, Delivery, Referrer Delivery, Post-Referral, Post-Delivery Follow-up, Nudge, Share-link message flow | Auto-injected in automated WhatsApp sends for these touchpoints, and also resolved in the widget share URL flow (/whatsapp/share) |
{{FRIEND_REWARD}} | Friend offer text | ₹150 OFF | Order Confirmation, Delivery, Referrer Delivery, Post-Referral, Post-Delivery Follow-up, Nudge, Share-link message flow | Auto-injected in automated WhatsApp sends for these touchpoints, and also resolved in the widget share URL flow (/whatsapp/share) |
{{FIRST_NAME}} | Customer’s first name | John | Order Confirmation, Delivery, Referrer Delivery, Post-Referral, Post-Delivery Follow-up, Nudge, Reward Notification | Auto-injected in all automated template sends; falls back to there when the customer’s name is unavailable |
{{REFERRER_NAME}} | Referrer’s name | John | Reward Notification | Available for all reward notifications |
{{GIFT_CODE}} | Gift card code | GIFT-123 | Reward Notification | Available only when reward type is Gift Card |
{{PRODUCT_NAME}} | Gift product title | Free Coffee Mug | Reward Notification | Available only when reward type is Gift Card |
{{GIFT_URL}} | Auto-apply gift cart URL | https://yourstore.com/cart/{variant_id}:1?discount={code}&storefront=true | Reward Notification | Available only when reward type is Gift Card |
{{DISCOUNT_CODE}} | Discount code reward | SAVE-123 | Reward Notification | Available only when reward type is Flat Amount or Percentage Discount Code |
{{DISCOUNT_VALUE}} | Discount text | ₹150 off / 15% off | Reward Notification | Available only when reward type is Flat Amount or Percentage Discount Code |
{{DISCOUNT_URL}} | Auto-apply discount URL | https://yourstore.com/discount/SAVE-123 | Reward Notification | Available only when reward type is Flat Amount or Percentage Discount Code |
{{CREDIT_AMOUNT}} | Referrer reward text / issued store credit amount | ₹150 / 150.00 | Order Confirmation, Delivery, Referrer Delivery, Post-Referral, Post-Delivery Follow-up, Nudge, Reward Notification | Auto-injected in referral campaign automation sends; in Reward Notification it is available only when reward type is Store Credit |
{{CURRENCY_CODE}} | Store credit currency code | USD | Reward Notification | Available only when reward type is Store Credit |
{{BALANCE_AFTER}} | Store credit balance after credit | 225.00 | Reward Notification | Available only when reward type is Store Credit |
If a placeholder is not available for a trigger, it is sent as-is (not replaced). In Send Test Message, you can still provide manual values for any placeholder from the modal.
Full Example
{
"body.1": "Share your unique link, and your friends get {{FRIEND_REWARD}} OFF, while you earn ₹150 when they buy! 👇",
"body.2": "{{REFERRAL_LINK}}&source=order",
"languageCode": "en",
"button.url.0.1": "{{REFERRAL_CODE}}&source=order_cta"
}
Referbro provides a Share Button URL endpoint that you can use as a URL button in your WhatsApp templates. When a customer taps this button, it opens WhatsApp with a pre-filled share message — making it easy for them to refer friends with a single tap.
URL Syntax
https://server.referbro.com/whatsapp/share?referralCode={referralCode}&source={source}
| Query Parameter | Required | Description | Example |
|---|
referralCode | ✅ Yes | The customer’s unique referral code (UUID format) | 937ef225-18a2-4f10-a9cc-5d43ecdcd4f1 |
source | ❌ No | Identifies where the share originated (for analytics tracking). Defaults to whatsapp_share if omitted | widget_cta, order_cta, nudge_cta |
https://server.referbro.com/whatsapp/share?referralCode=937ef225-18a2-4f10-a9cc-5d43ecdcd4f1&source=widget_cta
How It Works
When a customer taps a button configured with this URL:
- Referbro looks up the referral code to find the associated campaign.
- The campaign’s Share Message (configured on the Campaign page) is retrieved.
- Placeholders
{{REFERRAL_LINK}} and {{FRIEND_REWARD}} in the Share Message are replaced with the customer’s actual referral link and the friend’s discount text.
- The customer is redirected to
https://api.whatsapp.com/send?text=... with the fully resolved message — opening WhatsApp with the share message pre-filled and ready to send.
To add a share button to your WhatsApp template, configure the buttons section in your Referbro template mapping. The button URL on your WhatsApp provider should use the Referbro share endpoint as the base URL, with the referral code appended as a dynamic parameter.
Step 1: When creating the template on your provider’s platform (e.g., Meta, Pragma), add a URL button with a base URL like:
https://server.referbro.com/whatsapp/share?referralCode={{1}}
{{1}} is the dynamic parameter placeholder that Referbro will fill in.
Step 2: In Referbro’s template parameter mapping, map the button parameter to include the referral code and source:
{
"body.1": "Share your unique link, and your friends get {{FRIEND_REWARD}} OFF! 👇",
"languageCode": "en",
"button.url.0.1": "{{REFERRAL_CODE}}&source=widget_cta"
}
button.url.0.1 value is appended to the base URL you set on the provider, resulting in a final URL like:
https://server.referbro.com/whatsapp/share?referralCode=JOHN-AB12&source=widget_cta
For Pragma users: Use button.url.0.value instead of button.url.0.1. See the Pragma section for the correct format. | Key Pattern | Provider | Example |
|---|
button.url.<btnIndex>.<paramIndex> | Meta, Bitespeed, and most providers | "button.url.0.1": "{{REFERRAL_CODE}}&source=order_cta" |
button.url.<index>.value | Pragma | "button.url.0.value": "{{REFERRAL_CODE}}&source=order_cta" |
button.quick_reply.<btnIndex>.<paramIndex> | Quick reply buttons (all providers) | "button.quick_reply.0.1": "Share Now" |
{
"body.1": "Love your purchase? Share with friends — they get {{FRIEND_REWARD}} OFF, and you earn ₹150! 👇",
"body.2": "{{REFERRAL_LINK}}&source=order",
"languageCode": "en",
"button.url.0.1": "{{REFERRAL_CODE}}&source=order_cta"
}
body.2 contains the referral link as a clickable text link in the message bodybutton.url.0.1 powers a “Share Now” URL button that redirects to the Referbro share endpoint → opens WhatsApp with the campaign’s Share Message pre-filled
Use different source values for body links vs. button taps (e.g., source=order vs. source=order_cta) to distinguish them in Analytics.
Testing Templates
Before going live, test your template configuration:
- Go to Apps → Referbro → WhatsApp Settings.
- Scroll to the template you configured.
- Click Send Test Message and enter your phone number.
- Verify you receive the message with correct content and working links.
Test messages use the placeholder code TEST123. Make sure your template doesn’t have strict validation that would reject test codes.