Website ads that click to message

Updated: May 7, 2026

Copy for LLM

Ads in WhatsApp Status are available via the Marketing API. Learn more about ads in WhatsApp Status.

Website ads that click to message let you add a messaging banner to your website destination ads. When customers click the ad on mobile, the website opens in an in-app browser for Facebook and Instagram. At the bottom of the page, customers see a footer with a button to redirect to the specified messaging destination and can click on it to have a conversation about your products or services.

Website ads that click to message and click-to-message ads are distinct products that use different API field combinations:

Field	Website ads that click to message	Click-to-message
`destination_type`	`WEBSITE` or `UNDEFINED`	`MESSENGER`, `WHATSAPP`, or `INSTAGRAM_DIRECT`
`optimization_goal`	Choose based on your objective: - Sales: `OFFSITE_CONVERSIONS` - Leads: `OFFSITE_CONVERSIONS` - Engagement: `OFFSITE_CONVERSIONS` - Traffic: `LANDING_PAGE_VIEWS` - Awareness: `REACH`	`CONVERSATIONS`
CTA type	`LEARN_MORE` (or other website CTAs)	`MESSAGE_PAGE` or `WHATSAPP_MESSAGE` with `app_destination`
`asset_feed_spec`	`message_extensions: [{"type":"messenger"}]` (or `whatsapp`, `instagram_message`)	Not used
Primary user action	User lands on your website with a messaging button as a secondary entry point	User is sent directly to a messaging conversation

Prerequisites

An ad account with access to the Marketing API.
A Facebook Page linked to your messaging destination (WhatsApp Business number, Messenger, or Instagram Professional account).
A valid access token with the ads_management permission.
Your ad set must use destination_type: WEBSITE or UNDEFINED. Website ads that click to message do not work with other destination types.

Step 1: Create an ad campaign

Create an ad campaign with a supported objective. The supported objectives vary by messaging channel:

Channel	Supported objectives
Website to WhatsApp	Sales, Traffic, Engagement, Leads, Awareness
Website to Messenger	Sales, Traffic, Leads, Awareness
Website to Instagram Direct	Sales, Traffic, Leads

curl -X POST \
  -F 'name=Website-to-Messaging Campaign' \
  -F 'objective=OUTCOME_TRAFFIC' \
  -F 'buying_type=AUCTION' \
  -F 'status=PAUSED' \
  -F 'special_ad_categories=["NONE"]' \
  -F 'access_token=<ACCESS_TOKEN>' \
https://graph.facebook.com/v26.0/act_<AD_ACCOUNT_ID>/campaigns

On success, your app receives a JSON response with the ad campaign ID.

{
  "id": "<CAMPAIGN_ID>"
}

Step 2: Create an ad set

Set destination_type to WEBSITE or UNDEFINED.

Note: Do not use messaging-specific destination types such as MESSAGING_WHATSAPP, MESSAGING_MESSENGER, or MESSAGING_INSTAGRAM_DIRECT.

curl -X POST \
  -F 'name=Website-to-Messaging Ad Set' \
  -F 'campaign_id=<CAMPAIGN_ID>' \
  -F 'daily_budget=500' \
  -F 'bid_amount=200' \
  -F 'billing_event=IMPRESSIONS' \
  -F 'optimization_goal=LANDING_PAGE_VIEWS' \
  -F 'destination_type=WEBSITE' \
  -F 'promoted_object={"page_id":"<PAGE_ID>"}' \
  -F 'status=PAUSED' \
  -F 'targeting={"geo_locations":{"countries":["US"]},"age_min":18,"age_max":65,"publisher_platforms":["facebook"],"facebook_positions":["feed"]}' \
  -F 'access_token=<ACCESS_TOKEN>' \
https://graph.facebook.com/v26.0/act_<AD_ACCOUNT_ID>/adsets

On success, your app receives a JSON response with the ad set ID.

{
  "id": "<AD_SET_ID>"
}

Step 3: Create an ad using an inline creative

You must pass the creative inline in the POST /ads request.

Note: Creating a standalone creative via POST /adcreatives with message_extensions is not supported and returns error code 3.

The message_extensions property in asset_feed_spec determines the messaging channel:

Channel	`message_extensions` value
Website to WhatsApp	`[{"type": "whatsapp"}]`
Website to Messenger	`[{"type": "messenger"}]`
Website to Instagram Direct	`[{"type": "instagram_message"}]`

Use a non-messaging call_to_action type such as LEARN_MORE.

Note: Messaging calls to action such as WHATSAPP_MESSAGE, INSTAGRAM_MESSAGE, and MESSAGE_PAGE are not compatible with website ads that click to message.

Website to WhatsApp

curl -X POST \
  -F 'access_token=<ACCESS_TOKEN>' \
  -F 'name=Website to WhatsApp Ad' \
  -F 'adset_id=<AD_SET_ID>' \
  -F 'creative={"object_story_spec":{"page_id":"<PAGE_ID>","link_data":{"image_hash":"<IMAGE_HASH>","link":"<WEBSITE_URL>","message":"<AD_PRIMARY_TEXT>","call_to_action":{"type":"LEARN_MORE","value":{"link":"<WEBSITE_URL>"}}}},"asset_feed_spec":{"message_extensions":[{"type":"whatsapp"}]}}' \
  -F 'status=PAUSED' \
https://graph.facebook.com/v26.0/act_<AD_ACCOUNT_ID>/ads

Website to Messenger

curl -X POST \
  -F 'access_token=<ACCESS_TOKEN>' \
  -F 'name=Website to Messenger Ad' \
  -F 'adset_id=<AD_SET_ID>' \
  -F 'creative={"object_story_spec":{"page_id":"<PAGE_ID>","link_data":{"image_hash":"<IMAGE_HASH>","link":"<WEBSITE_URL>","message":"<AD_PRIMARY_TEXT>","call_to_action":{"type":"LEARN_MORE","value":{"link":"<WEBSITE_URL>"}}}},"asset_feed_spec":{"message_extensions":[{"type":"messenger"}]}}' \
  -F 'status=PAUSED' \
https://graph.facebook.com/v26.0/act_<AD_ACCOUNT_ID>/ads

Website to Instagram Direct

curl -X POST \
  -F 'access_token=<ACCESS_TOKEN>' \
  -F 'name=Website to Instagram Direct Ad' \
  -F 'adset_id=<AD_SET_ID>' \
  -F 'creative={"object_story_spec":{"page_id":"<PAGE_ID>","link_data":{"image_hash":"<IMAGE_HASH>","link":"<WEBSITE_URL>","message":"<AD_PRIMARY_TEXT>","call_to_action":{"type":"LEARN_MORE","value":{"link":"<WEBSITE_URL>"}}}},"asset_feed_spec":{"message_extensions":[{"type":"instagram_message"}]}}' \
  -F 'status=PAUSED' \
https://graph.facebook.com/v26.0/act_<AD_ACCOUNT_ID>/ads

On success, your app receives a JSON response with the ad ID.

{
  "id": "<AD_ID>"
}

Step 4: Publish your ad

When you are ready to go live, update the ad status from PAUSED to ACTIVE:

curl -X POST \
  -F 'status=ACTIVE' \
  -F 'access_token=<ACCESS_TOKEN>' \
https://graph.facebook.com/v26.0/<AD_ID>

Verify your ad

Verify that message_extensions and destination_type are set correctly by making a GET request to the ad:

curl -G "https://graph.facebook.com/v26.0/<AD_ID>" \
  -d "access_token=<ACCESS_TOKEN>" \
  -d "fields=creative{asset_feed_spec{message_extensions}},adset{destination_type}"

The response for a website to WhatsApp ad looks like this:

{
  "creative": {
    "asset_feed_spec": {
      "message_extensions": [{"type": "whatsapp"}]
    }
  },
  "adset": {
    "destination_type": "WEBSITE"
  },
  "id": "<AD_ID>"
}

Identify website ads that click to message

You can identify website ads that click to message by checking the ad set destination_type and the ad creative’s message_extensions configuration.

To determine whether an ad is a website ad that clicks to message, check for both of the following:

The ad set has destination_type: "WEBSITE" or "UNDEFINED"
The ad creative contains asset_feed_spec.message_extensions

Click-to-message ads (such as click-to-WhatsApp) use messaging-specific destination types such as MESSAGING_WHATSAPP, MESSAGING_MESSENGER, or MESSAGING_INSTAGRAM_DIRECT. Website ads that click to message always use destination_type: "WEBSITE" or "UNDEFINED" combined with message_extensions.