Is it better to give my WhatsApp link a pre-filled message or leave it blank?
It depends on where the link lives. In a general place such as a bio or a business card, leave it blank: it is shorter and does not push words on a customer whose question may be different. Next to something specific, a product, an offer or a service, add a message that names it, so you know from the first line what the customer is asking about.
The difference in the link itself
Leave the message box empty in the WhatsApp link generator and you get the bare link:
https://wa.me/966501234567
That is only 26 characters, with an example number. Add just the word «مرحبا» and it becomes:
https://wa.me/966501234567?text=%D9%85%D8%B1%D8%AD%D8%A8%D8%A7
One five-letter Arabic word added 36 characters, because each Arabic letter is written as six characters inside a link. That does no harm behind a button or in a QR code, but it makes the link heavier wherever people will see it written out.
When to leave it blank
- In social media bios, where people arrive with all sorts of questions: price, delivery, size, a complaint.
- On a business card or a thank-you card, where the link may be used months later for reasons you cannot predict.
- In an email signature, where the reader already knows why they are writing to you.
- When you use the link to message someone yourself and would rather write inside WhatsApp.
When to add a message
- A button beside a product: naming the product saves you asking 'which item do you mean?'.
- An ad for a specific offer: naming the offer tells you where the chat came from.
- A service with a known first step, such as booking: 'I would like to book an appointment' starts the chat in the right place.
- Customers who hesitate to start: a ready line removes the awkwardness of writing first.
A small detail: a message of spaces only
If the message box holds nothing but spaces or empty lines, the tool ignores it and gives you the same bare link, with no ?text= on the end. That saves you from a link that ends in empty text. The character counter still counts those spaces, but the link does not carry them.
Remember the customer can change it
A pre-filled message is a suggestion, not a requirement. It sits in the message box, the customer can delete or rewrite it before sending, and nothing goes out until they tap send. So never rely on it to carry essential information, and keep it short enough that a customer reads it and taps send without thinking twice.
Common questions
Can I publish both kinds?
Yes. A bare link for your bio and links with different messages for products or ads. All of them open the same chat with your number.
Does a link with no message work the same way?
Yes. It opens the chat with your number and an empty message box, and the customer types whatever they want.