# Webhook

A WhatsApp webhook is an HTTP request with a JSON payload that Meta's servers send to a business's server whenever something happens on its WhatsApp account, such as an incoming message or a delivery status change.

Source: https://getkanal.com/whatsapp-marketing-glossary/webhook  
Last updated: 2026-10-08

A webhook is the inbound channel of the WhatsApp Business Platform. Rather than the business polling WhatsApp for updates, WhatsApp pushes an HTTP request to a URL the business has registered.

The WhatsApp Business Platform uses webhooks for incoming messages, for the status of outgoing messages (sent, delivered, read, failed), and for account events: changes to the messaging limit, to a template's status or quality score, or to the account's review status. The business subscribes to the fields it needs and must expose its own endpoint to receive them.

For platforms like Kanal, webhooks are what make real-time features possible: a customer reply can appear in the team inbox, pause an automation, or start the next step of a sequence. See [WhatsApp automations for Shopify](https://getkanal.com/automations).

## Kanal features

- [WhatsApp automations](https://getkanal.com/automations): WhatsApp marketing automation for Shopify, on autopilot

## Go deeper: articles

- [WhatsApp Business API: What It Is, Costs and Setup (2026)](https://getkanal.com/blog/whatsapp-business-api-guide): The WhatsApp Business API explained: Cloud API, templates, webhooks, per-message costs, messaging limits and the three ways to get access.
- [WhatsApp Cloud API vs On-Premises: What the 2025 Sunset Means](https://getkanal.com/blog/whatsapp-cloud-api-vs-on-premise): Meta shut down the WhatsApp On-Premises API on October 23, 2025. What Cloud API offers, how it is priced and how to move a number still stuck on it.
- [Best WhatsApp Business API Providers 2026 (14 BSPs, Prices)](https://getkanal.com/blog/whatsapp-business-api-providers-compared): 14 WhatsApp BSPs compared with prices read October 24, 2026 (Twilio $0.005 a message, 360dialog €49 a number), Meta fee markup and Shopify fit.

## Related terms

- [WhatsApp Business API](https://getkanal.com/whatsapp-marketing-glossary/whatsapp-business-api)
- [WhatsApp Business Platform](https://getkanal.com/whatsapp-marketing-glossary/whatsapp-business-platform)