Configuración de WhatsApp, explicada

Settings → WhatsApp. Worth being clear about what this is before setting it up: Pavilion does not send WhatsApp messages. It gives you a link and a composed message; you press send in WhatsApp yourself.

🤔 Why it works that way

Sending WhatsApp automatically needs a Meta Business account, an approved sender and a per-message cost, and every template has to be approved before it can be used. For a club that wants to tell forty people the green is shut, that is a great deal of machinery. This way there is no account, no approval and no monthly bill — at the cost of somebody pressing send.

🔗 Group invite link

From WhatsApp itself: open the group, Group info, Invite via link. Paste it here and it appears on the members’ portal, so a new member can join the group without anybody having to find the link again. Test it before saving — a revoked link looks identical to a working one.

Anybody with that link can join the group, so treat it as you would a door key: if it gets out, revoke it in WhatsApp and paste the new one here.

📞 Club number

Optional, and only for a “message the club” button on the portal. It will be visible to members, so use a club phone rather than the secretary’s own if that matters to whoever holds the post.

✍️ Message composer

Write the message here, then either open WhatsApp Web with it already filled in, or copy it and paste it wherever you like. The quick-fill templates are starting points for the things clubs send most — rain off, match reminder, event notice. Asterisks make text bold and underscores make it italic, which is WhatsApp’s own formatting rather than ours.

Common questions

Can it send automatically?

No, and that is the design rather than a limitation. Automatic sending needs a Meta Business account and a per-message charge; this needs neither. If you need automatic messaging, use email reminders or app notifications, which are.

Does it need everyone's mobile number?

No. It works through a group, so the only thing Pavilion holds is the invite link.

The link says it is no longer valid.

Somebody has reset it in WhatsApp — which is the right thing to do if it had been shared too widely. Get the new one from Group info and paste it here.