Enable SMS Support for WordPress with MSG91 - Tutorial

In our last blog, we discussed 2 factor authentication and why its mandatory for the stronger security of an organization, its employees, and its customers. We also discussed MSG91, the application which can help us in achieving 2FA in various modes. Further, MSG91 is an enterprise SMS solution which provides services like Bulk SMS, Transactional SMS API, Regional SMS, OTP Verification APIs, Promotional SMS via powerful & robust SMS Gateway.

In this blog, we will discuss an open-source plugin from MSG91, using which e-commerce businesses can have a greater connection with their customers thus increasing customer satisfaction. This plugin will regularly update customers about their order status, shipping details, cancellation requests, refund status, re-order status, etc via SMS service.

WooCommerce is a fully customizable, free and open source e-commerce plug-in which can be used to integrate MSG91 seamlessly with WordPress. This will allows you to send SMS automatically at all levels, at all times, right from your own e-commerce website. This feature can give your website the functionality which is similar to e-commerce websites like Amazon or Flipkart. These online shopping portals notify customers via an SMS about their order confirmation including details like order ID etc. The plugin gives you the flexibility to send SMS automatically at all levels from your e-commerce website thus having a greater connection with your customers.

SMS Integration Plugin – Functionality

The MSG91 WooCommerce SMS Integration Plugin uses MSG91 SMS API. It simply works by providing MSG91 API key and a sender ID to the plugin. After validating the conditions specific to the setup, the plugin will send an automated message. The plugin can be enabled or disabled, it can send SMS to the customer, admin or both also, and it can send specific information to the customer about various order statuses.

Features in a Nutshell

1. The plug-in is easy to use and provides an extremely fast response via SMS.
2. SMS can be sent to customers of the e-commerce website using the WooCommerce plugin.
3. SMS for under processing, completed, failed or canceled order can be sent to buyers, admin or both.
4. The SMS functionality can be easily enabled or disabled for a specific type of messages.
5. The plug-in is easy to customize using order status, order ID, order amount, order currency etc.
6. The plug-in offer feature of using OTP during login for enhanced security.
7. Mobile number verification is possible during signup process.
8. Route selection is allowed for sending SMS.
9. Option to set custom sender ID and change password using OTP.
10. One-touch enabled bulk SMS extension API.
11. 5000 free transactional messages.
12. 18X7 transactional support.

Tutorial to Install And Send SMS With MSG91 SMS Extension For WooCommerce

The plugin can be downloaded from the Wordpress plugin store, it can then be installed by uploading it to the plugin section of WordPress. Post-installation it requires an AuthKey to send SMS which can be created after an account creation on MSG91. After successful account creation on MSG91, login and navigate to the MSG91 panel and copy the AuthKey and follow the below steps for a successful installation:

Step 1 – Navigate to Settings> ‘SMS Settings’

Step 2 – Change the ‘Settings’ as per your flexibility and enter the Generated AuthKey.

Step 3 – In the ‘New page’ where you wish the plugin to be displayed write the shortcode [twy_otp_ini]

Step 4 – The default account page can be changed to this newly created page by modifying it in the following path ‘WooCommerce> Settings > Accounts > My Account Page’

Configure the MSG91 SMS extension

Step 1 – Select the route specific to your requirement, for instance for transactional SMS use the transactional route. For further information on the same, visit the link https://goo.gl/Qs8A16.

Step 2 – In the sender field, add the desired sender ID, this will define your identity and intent of the message, it will serve the purpose of the subject line of your email. Further details on sender ID can be found at https://goo.gl/ymEqep.

Step 3 – Create message logs for SMS delivery.

Step 4 – Configure your custom SMS’ for order status and type in your SMS content in the message box provided. Also, tags can be used for creating customizable SMS content

Step 5 – Click on ‘Save Config’ tab to save settings.

This whole process will help in sending custom messages whenever an order status is changed from one state to another. The above process will help you a great deal in easily integrating the SMS API to your WordPress website.

Why should we use WooCommerce with MSG91?

Well, the thumb rule is that the customer is the king. If we have loyal customers they will help in generating leads indirectly and help us grow our business. There are multiple ways to retain customers, the most important one is to provide greater customer satisfaction. A method to attain customer satisfaction is to keep your customer updated with all the information related to the orders, the shipping, payment etc. Even if the order is delayed by a certain time frame and the customer is notified on time of the delay, the damage done can be reduced and the e-commerce store will achieve authenticity and create trustworthiness.

These timely notification to customers are very crucial and having an automated SMS system for these will help the customer as well as the organization being on par with the sales process. MSG91 with WooCommerce plugin provides this feature to all small online business using Wordpress and thus giving your business a holistic approach to sales and customer retention.

Conclusion

With extended features, lots of add-ons, no prior coding and technical knowledge and the simplicity of installing and downloading the plugin, millions of stores are already running on MSG 91 WooCommerce. You can get started with the free version of WooCommerce, it will have some limitations on the functionality but is great to start with. Later on, if you wish to have the extra benefits, the premium version can be bought.