# WhatsApp Course Requirements

There are several things to be aware of when formatting and scheduling courses
for WhatsApp that differ from SMS or email. Here is a short list of common
things to be aware of when planning out and designing your WhatsApp delivered
courses:

 1. Setting Delivery Time
    WhatsApp has a rule that with a 24 hour lapse in response from the WhatsApp
    user, the window for custom (course) messages from Arist closes. Several
    messages can pass back and forth in a 24 hour period as long as the Learner
    is responsive/engaging. When scheduling, it's best to set it to "deliver
    anytime" rather than a set delivery time due to the 24 hour constraint. This
    ensures the best user experience.
    
    

 2. Keep Your Activation Message Short and Sweet
    Keep the activation short and repeat the action they need to take. WhatsApp
    courses cannot have line breaks in the activation message.
    
    > "Welcome! and short one-liner of what to expect from this course."
    
    Adding asterisks '*' before and after will bold the statement like this:
    
    > "Welcome! Respond START to receive your first lesson!"
    
    
    
    Also keep in mind that a default system activation message will always send
    to the learner even if a custom one is not added, so if you're looking to
    create the shortest/simplest version possible, you can omit a Custom
    Activation Message in the Course Builder if you'd like. The automated
    activation message looks like this:
    
    > Hello! This number has been enrolled in [course name].
    > 
    > Reply with START to begin receiving messages, then add this number to your
    > contacts for a better experience.
    > 
    > 
    > 
    > This is a self-paced course, which means that your response to each
    > question will trigger the next lesson until you have made it through the
    > entire course. If your lesson doesn't have a question, just respond with
    > NEXT to continue your course. Reply with STOP at any time to stop
    > receiving messages or visit [magic link] to manage your enrollment. For
    > help, respond with SUPPORT.

 3. Using Images In Courses Through WhatsApp
    WhatsApp does not support the sending of GIF images and will display them as
    a link rather than a picture. If you plan on using images in your courses
    then be sure to upload in a JPEG or PNG format.
    
    
    
    NOTE: Activation messages do not include images due to WhatsApp Sending
    restrictions. Users must reply START to initiate the course and then lessons
    will include media content if uploaded.
    
    

 4. Character Limit To WhatsApp Messages
    If your lesson and first question have a combined length of more than 1,000
    characters, WhatsApp will convert images into URLs and will not display them
    in the message. To avoid this, we recommend you keep your lesson body and
    first question prompt's combined length under 1,000 characters so that
    images send properly through WhatsApp.
    
    
    
    Tips to help with this:
    
    * Use bullet points to breakup ideas and cut the fluff.
    
    * Use the response to learner (800 characters) to continue the lesson where
      needed.
    
    * Adjust the sequence of questions with the lesson - free-response questions
      allow for 1000 characters total between the lesson body and the question
      whereas multiple choice allows for 980. This is especially helpful because
      multiple-choice questions are longer than a free-response question.
    
    * Use a True/False multiple-choice question to save character count.

 5. Course Enrollment Limit
    WhatsApp only allows users to be enrolled in up to 12 courses at once.
    
    

 6. Nudges Are Not Currently Supported
    The reason Nudges are not supported is because they skip the activation
    message which prompts the learner to reply START. Since they're just one
    message, and it's a custom message, the WhatsApp window can never open to
    begin with in order to get the Nudge through to the WhatsApp user.
    
    

 7. Custom Scheduler Cannot Be Used
    The custom scheduler cannot be used for WhatsApp because it would result in
    a poor learner experience, given the need for learners to respond START, and
    24-hour window requirement.
    
    

 8. No Activation Message for Instant Schedules
    
    Activation messages cannot be used for WhatsApp enrollments that are set to
    an "Instant" cadence. This is a WhatsApp specific limitation. Please make
    sure to delete activation messages if you plan to use an "Instant" delivery
    cadence.