Building a Custom WhatsApp Helpdesk with React & Node.js
By 5MinutesAPI Engineering•
Escaping Per-Seat Licenses
Customer support SaaS tools charge massive per-seat licenses for WhatsApp integration. With 5MinutesAPI, you can build your own shared inbox for your team and completely avoid these licensing fees.The Architecture
- Inbound (Webhooks): When a user replies on WhatsApp, our Golang engine POSTs to your Node.js server.
- Database: Node.js saves the message to PostgreSQL and emits a WebSocket event.
- Frontend (React): The agent's UI updates in real-time. When the agent types a reply, React posts to Node.js, which forwards the payload to 5MinutesAPI.
The 24-Hour Free Window
Because inbound customer service messages open a 24-hour service window, you can chat with the user freely. Using our $99/mo Dedicated WABA, you pay $0.00 markup on these inbound interactions, keeping support costs minimal.