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Creating a Sequence

What you need first​

Before building a sequence, make sure you have:

How to create a sequence​

Go to Sequences from the sidebar and click New Drip Sequence. The builder has three steps: Details & Audience → Messages → Launch.

Step 1 — Details & audience​

Name your sequence.

  • Drip sequence name (required) — shown in your list and analytics. Use something you'll recognize, like "Welcome series" or "Cart recovery".
  • Description (optional) — a private note for your team. Customers never see it.

Choose who receives it. Under Who receives this sequence, pick Send to a fixed list, then build your audience:

  • Select contacts individually
  • Select groups to enroll everyone in those groups
  • Paste phone numbers, one per line
  • All contacts, optionally narrowed with a filter (name, company, tags, and more)

Leave Send only to opted-in contacts on (recommended) so you only message people who agreed to hear from you.

note

Auto-enroll on event (automatically adding contacts as they're tagged or added to a group) is marked Coming soon and isn't available yet.

Set your delivery settings and send window. Step 1 also includes two delivery toggles and a "When messages are sent" window. These have their own page — see Send Window & Delivery Settings.

Click Continue when you're ready.

Step 2 — Messages​

This is where you build the actual journey. Each step is one approved template, and you choose how long to wait before it sends.

  1. Click Add step and Pick a template. Only approved templates appear, grouped into All / Marketing / Utility tabs. (One-time-passcode "Authentication" templates and carousel templates aren't available in sequences.)
  2. If the template has variables (like a customer's name), fill in the Variable Configuration: type your text and type $ to insert a contact field — for example, $first_name, welcome!. Add a fallback for any field in case a contact is missing it (without one, WhatsApp may block the message).
  3. If the template has an image, video, or document header, upload the media file. It's sent as the header to every contact on that step.
  4. Set the delay before the step sends:
    • Step 1 always sends immediately when a contact is enrolled — it has no delay.
    • For every later step, choose a number and a unit (Minutes / Hours / Days), measured from the previous message. The maximum is 30 days per step.
  5. Repeat until your journey is complete (up to 7 steps). You can reorder, duplicate, or delete steps, and the live Message Preview shows how each one looks in WhatsApp.
tip

A common welcome pattern: Step 1 right away, Step 2 after 1 day, Step 3 after 3 days. Short, spaced-out messages tend to feel helpful rather than pushy.

Click Continue. Waplify checks that every step has a template, all variables are filled, and any required media is uploaded before moving on.

Step 3 — Review & launch​

Review the summary — sequence name, audience, number of steps and how long the journey takes, your send window, and your delivery settings — and check the Message timeline on the right, which shows exactly what each contact receives and when.

Then choose when to start:

  • Run now — saves the sequence and takes you back to the list. Nothing sends until you click the Run button on that row (just like sending a campaign). This gives you a final chance to confirm.
  • Schedule for later — pick a timezone, date, and time and the sequence starts automatically when that moment arrives. You can schedule up to 90 days ahead.

Click Create Sequence (or Schedule Sequence) to finish. To actually start a "Run now" sequence, head to the list and press Run — see Managing Sequences.

Tips & best practices​

  • Start small. Try a 2–3 message sequence on a small group before rolling it out to your whole list.
  • Personalize with variables. A message that opens with $first_name feels far more personal and tends to get better engagement.
  • Mind the gaps. Delays are measured from the previous message, so they stack up — three "3 day" steps means the last message lands about 6 days after enrollment.
  • Keep opted-in only on. Messaging people who opted out can hurt your WhatsApp quality rating.

Frequently asked questions​

Can I edit the audience after launching?​

No. The audience is locked once the sequence starts — contacts are enrolled at launch and continue through the messages. You can still edit the messages and delivery settings (pause it first), and you can remove individual contacts from the Activity tab. See Managing Sequences.

Why does the first message ignore my send window?​

By design — Step 1 always sends right away so contacts get an immediate response. Only the follow-up steps wait for your send window.

Is there a test send?​

Not yet. Use the live Message Preview in Step 2 and the Message timeline in Step 3 to check each message, and consider running a short version against a small group first.

Which templates can't I use?​

Authentication (one-time passcode) templates and carousel templates aren't supported in sequences. Image, video, and document templates are — just upload the media when you add the step.