Integrating the WhatsApp API into Laravel

We will be using a third-party package like “twilio/sdk.” Twilio provides a WhatsApp API that allows you to send messages and media to WhatsApp users programmatically. Below, we will walk through the steps to integrate the Twilio WhatsApp API into a Laravel application.

Step 1: Set up a Twilio Account

First, you need to sign up for a Twilio account (if you don’t have one already) at https://www.twilio.com/try-twilio. After creating an account, you’ll get your Account SID and Auth Token, which are essential for API authentication.

Step 2: Create a Laravel Project

If you haven’t already set up a Laravel project, you can do so using Composer:

composer create-project --prefer-dist laravel/laravel whatsapp-api-example

Step 3: Install Twilio SDK Package

Install the Twilio SDK package via Composer:

composer require twilio/sdk

Step 4: Configuration

In your Laravel project, open the .env file and add the following Twilio credentials:

TWILIO_SID=your_twilio_account_sid
TWILIO_AUTH_TOKEN=your_twilio_auth_token
TWILIO_WHATSAPP_NUMBER=your_twilio_whatsapp_number

Step 5: Create a Route

In routes/web.php, create a route to trigger the WhatsApp message sending:

use App\Http\Controllers\WhatsAppController;

Route::get('/send-whatsapp', [WhatsAppController::class, 'sendWhatsAppMessage']);

Step 6: Create a Controller

Create a new controller WhatsAppController using the following command:

php artisan make:controller WhatsAppController

Open the generated WhatsAppController.php and add the code for sending a WhatsApp message:

namespace App\Http\Controllers;

use Twilio\Rest\Client;

class WhatsAppController extends Controller
{
    public function sendWhatsAppMessage()
    {
        $twilioSid = config('app.twilio_sid');
        $twilioToken = config('app.twilio_auth_token');
        $twilioWhatsAppNumber = config('app.twilio_whatsapp_number');
        $recipientNumber = 'RECIPIENT_PHONE_NUMBER'; // Replace with the recipient's phone number in WhatsApp format (e.g., "whatsapp:+1234567890")
        $message = "Hello from Twilio WhatsApp API in Laravel! 🚀";

        $twilio = new Client($twilioSid, $twilioToken);

        try {
            $twilio->messages->create(
                $recipientNumber,
                [
                    "from" => $twilioWhatsAppNumber,
                    "body" => $message,
                ]
            );

            return response()->json(['message' => 'WhatsApp message sent successfully']);
        } catch (\Exception $e) {
            return response()->json(['error' => $e->getMessage()], 500);
        }
    }
}

Step 7: Testing the Integration

Now you can test the integration by accessing the /send-whatsapp route in your browser. It will trigger the sendWhatsAppMessage method in the WhatsAppController, and a WhatsApp message with the specified content will be sent to the recipient number.

Summary

1. We create a new WhatsAppController that extends the base Laravel Controller.
2. In the sendWhatsAppMessage method, we retrieve the Twilio credentials from the .env file using the config function.
3. We create a new instance of the Twilio Client using the credentials.
4. Inside a try-catch block, we use the Twilio client to send the WhatsApp message to the recipient number specified in the $recipientNumber variable.
5. If the message is sent successfully, we return a JSON response indicating success; otherwise, we return an error message in the case of an exception.

Remember to replace 'RECIPIENT_PHONE_NUMBER' with the actual phone number of the recipient you want to send the WhatsApp message to, formatted in WhatsApp format (e.g., "whatsapp:+1234567890").

That’s it! You have successfully integrated the WhatsApp API into your Laravel application using the Twilio SDK. Now you can leverage the power of WhatsApp to engage with your users programmatically.