How do I format and upload a CSV file of contacts for WhatsApp messaging?

To successfully upload a customer database for WhatsApp messaging, your CSV file must be formatted correctly. The most important part is the format of the phone numbers.

CSV File Requirements

• The first row of your file must contain column headers (e.g. Phone Number, User ID, Name).
• Each subsequent row should represent a single contact.
• Values must be separated by commas.
• The file must be saved in UTF-8 encoding.
• The maximum allowable file size is 100 MB.

Contact Formatting

1. Phone Number column: Numbers must be in E.164 format, including the + sign and the country code — for example +15551234567. The whatsapp: prefix is the internal WhatsApp contact format and is applied when you map the column during import; you do not need to add it to the source file.
2. User ID column: You must include a column with a unique identifier for each user, such as their email address or an internal user ID.

You can name your columns as you see fit (e.g. Mobile instead of Phone Number), as you will map them to the correct system fields during the import process.

Example CSV structure:

Phone Number,User ID,Name,Location
+15551234567,john.doe@email.com,John Doe,New York
+442071234567,jane.smith@email.com,Jane Smith,London

Optional columns such as Name, Location, Birthday, Language, Customer Type and any custom tags can be mapped to Pushwoosh tags for segmentation.

Upload and Mapping Process

1. Go to Campaigns > WhatsApp messages > Upload contacts, or alternatively Audience > Import CSV > Import WhatsApp contacts > Upload CSV.
2. Select and upload your prepared CSV file.
3. Map your columns: match the column containing the phone numbers to the WhatsApp Contact field and your unique identifier column to the User ID field.
4. Map any other columns (like Location or Language) to tags for user segmentation.
5. Start the import.

After the import completes, your contacts will be available in your Segments list and User Explorer, ready to be used in your WhatsApp campaigns.

See Register phone numbers for WhatsApp.