How to add WhatsApp to your Linktree: a chat link, a group or an icon
Add a WhatsApp button to your Linktree in a minute: make a wa.me link, paste it in, add a WhatsApp group, and meet a free alternative built for chats.
By Max · Founder of mssg.me and Stick
· 5 min read
The short answer
Linktree has no button of its own for WhatsApp chats: WhatsApp goes in as a regular link. Make a wa.me link with your number (country code and number, digits only, like https://wa.me/14155550123), open the Links tab in Linktree, tap + Add, paste the link into the URL field and give it a title such as "Chat on WhatsApp". For a WhatsApp group, use Linktree's Community Channels app.
Anyone who taps the button opens a chat with you, without saving your number first. Make your link below, with a pre-filled message if you like, then follow the steps.
WhatsApp link generator
Type your number to get your link.
How to add WhatsApp to Linktree, step by step
1. Make your WhatsApp link. Use the generator above or build it by hand: https://wa.me/ followed by your country code and number, digits only. A US number, (415) 555-0123, becomes https://wa.me/14155550123. To open the chat with a message already typed, add ?text= and the encoded message; the generator does that for you. Our WhatsApp link guide covers every format.
2. Open your Linktree editor. In My Linktree, tap Edit and stay on the Links tab.
3. Add the link. Tap + Add, paste the wa.me link into the URL field and write the title, the text on the button. Say what happens when people tap it: "Chat on WhatsApp", "Order on WhatsApp", "Book on WhatsApp".
4. Move it to the top. Drag the link to the first place in your list, where most visitors look.
5. Test it. Open your Linktree on your phone and tap the button. A chat with your number should open in WhatsApp.
These steps follow Linktree's help article on links.
How to add a WhatsApp group to Linktree
For groups, Linktree has the Community Channels app, which also works with Discord and Slack:
- On the Links tab, tap + Add and search for Community Channels.
- Choose WhatsApp group and paste the group's invite link.
- Under Interaction, choose Direct access to send people straight to the group, or Access after signup to collect details such as a name or email first.
Linktree's help warns that invite links can expire, and that the button on your Linktree stops working when they do. If you create a new invite link for the group, update it on Linktree too.
What about social icons?
Linktree can also show social icons at the top or the bottom of your page: next to Social Icons, tap +, then + Add Social Icon, and search for the platform. Each icon asks for a profile URL or handle, and Linktree's help doesn't say whether WhatsApp is on the list. If it shows up, fill in what the field asks for. If it doesn't, you lose nothing: a full-width button with a title that says what to do stands out more than a small icon.
A QR code for your Linktree
To put your Linktree on a counter, a package or a business card, download its QR code from Share → My Linktree QR code, as a PNG or an SVG. Customizing the code is a paid-plan feature, according to Linktree's help.
That code opens your whole Linktree. For a code that opens the WhatsApp chat directly, paste your wa.me link into any QR code generator.
Linktree or mssg.me if you sell on WhatsApp
On Linktree, WhatsApp is one more link in the list. That works, but customers who prefer Telegram, want to see prices before they write, or look for your address need other buttons, which you build one by one.
mssg.me was built for businesses that talk to customers in chats. Its Messengers block puts WhatsApp, Telegram, Viber and Facebook Messenger buttons on your page, and you only type the number or username, no links to build. The same page holds your links, an order form and, on paid plans, a store with a cart where every product also has the messenger buttons. Here's everything an mssg.me page can do.
| Linktree | mssg.me | |
|---|---|---|
| WhatsApp chat | A wa.me link you build and paste | Messengers block: type your number |
| WhatsApp group | Community Channels app | The same block takes a group |
| Pre-filled message | Yes, in the wa.me link itself | With a wa.me link in the Links block; the Messengers block has no message field |
| Telegram, Viber and Messenger | One link each | In the same block as WhatsApp |
| QR code | Free; customization on paid plans | Free, for every page |
| Your own domain | Not available on any plan | On paid plans |
The page and its QR code are free. Paid plans add more pages, the store with a cart and your own domain, and remove mssg.me branding.
If your page is more about your work than about chats, for example a creator's portfolio, a newsletter or a digital product, Stick lets you add WhatsApp as a link or a social icon on a page designed around everything else. Both are made by our team, and both are free to start.
WhatsApp button on Linktree not working? Check these
- The link has a plus sign, spaces, dashes or a leading zero. It needs digits only: country code and number.
- The country code is missing. Without it, WhatsApp looks for the number in another country.
- The group invite expired. Create a new invite link in WhatsApp and update it on Linktree.
- It opens a web page on a computer. That's expected: WhatsApp asks whether to continue in the desktop app or WhatsApp Web.
Questions people ask
How do I add WhatsApp to my Linktree?
Make a wa.me link with your number, for example https://wa.me/14155550123. In Linktree, open the Links tab, tap + Add, paste the link into the URL field and give it a title such as "Chat on WhatsApp".
Does Linktree have a WhatsApp button?
Not for chats: WhatsApp goes in as a regular link with your wa.me address. Linktree's Community Channels app is for WhatsApp groups and takes the group's invite link.
How do I add a WhatsApp group to Linktree?
On the Links tab, tap + Add, search for Community Channels, choose WhatsApp group and paste the group's invite link. If the invite expires, the button stops working, so update it whenever you create a new invite link.
Can the WhatsApp button on Linktree open with a message?
Yes. Add ?text= and the encoded message to your wa.me link before you paste it, for example https://wa.me/14155550123?text=Hi%20there. The person can edit the message before sending it.
Is it free to add WhatsApp to Linktree?
Yes. Links work on Linktree's free plan, and wa.me links are a free WhatsApp feature.
mssg.me and Stick are made by the same team. We point you to whichever one fits the job, and we say so when we do.
About the author
Founder of mssg.me and Stick
Max is the founder of mssg.me, a link in bio that works like a small website, used to build more than 100,000 websites and backed by the Google for Startups Ukraine Support Fund, and of Stick, a link in bio builder for creators. He writes about link in bio pages, messenger links and selling on social media.