Journey Builder
The canvas where a WhatsApp, Instagram or Messenger journey is built — nodes, connections, the toolbar, validation, preview, settings and the card that switches it on.
Opening a journey from the Journeys list opens the builder at
/dashboard/automation/journeys/<id>: a canvas of connected nodes, one node per thing the journey
says or does. It is the same builder on every channel; what it offers follows the journey's own
channel.
The Four Regions
| # | Region | What it is |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Canvas | The journey itself — nodes and the arrows between them |
| 2 | Toolbar (top centre) | Save, validate, undo/redo, auto layout, settings |
| — | Start card (bottom centre) | Shown while nothing starts the journey yet — see Switch It On |
| 3 | Components panel (right) | The nodes you can add. Becomes the node editor when you select a node |
| 4 | Controls (bottom left) and minimap (bottom right) | Zoom in and out, fit to view, lock the canvas — and a map of a journey too big for one screen |
Add and Connect a Node
Drag a component from the right-hand panel onto the canvas. It lands where you drop it.
Drag from one node's handle to another's to connect them. The arrow is the path the conversation takes.
Click a node to open its editor in place of the Components panel. Fill in the message, media, buttons or settings it needs.
The builder saves on its own about a second after you stop changing the canvas. Save in the toolbar writes straight away; it greys out to "All changes saved" once nothing is waiting.
Saving is not the same as going live — and the reverse is true too. A journey that customers are already reaching picks up every saved change at once, half-finished edits included. Clone a live journey and edit the copy instead.
The Toolbar
| Control | Does |
|---|---|
| Save | Writes the journey now rather than waiting for the automatic save. Disabled — "All changes saved" — when there is nothing to write |
| Validate flow | Checks the structure and reports the first problem it finds |
| Undo / Redo | Ctrl/Cmd + Z and Ctrl + Y also work |
| Auto layout | Re-arranges every node — Vertical or Horizontal — then fits the view |
| Settings | Opens Journey settings (below) |
| Preview (top right) | Runs the journey in a phone frame |
Components
The panel groups nodes by what they do. Components that the journey's channel does not support are hidden, so an Instagram journey and a WhatsApp one show different lists.
| Group | Nodes | Channels |
|---|---|---|
| Basic Messages | Text · Image · Video · Audio | All three |
| Document | WhatsApp, Messenger | |
| Interactive | Input | All three |
| Reply Buttons · List · Call-To-Action URL · Template · Catalog | ||
| Templates | Cards · Quick Reply | Instagram, Messenger |
| Continue on WhatsApp | Instagram, Messenger | |
| Product Template · Follow Check | ||
| Location & Contacts | Location · Contacts | |
| Flow Control | Pause · Start | All three |
| WhatsApp Flow | ||
| None Interactive | Assign | All three |
| Lead |
The Instagram and Messenger nodes are covered on Instagram Journeys and Messenger Journeys.
Nodes worth knowing
| Node | What it needs, and what to watch |
|---|---|
| Start | Where the journey begins. Its Start Message field is read-only. Exactly one per journey — what starts it is the rule, not this node |
| Text | Up to 1024 characters |
| Reply Buttons | A body, an optional header and footer (footer max 60 characters), and up to 3 buttons |
| List | A Button Text, then sections with rows — each row has a title and an optional description |
| Call-To-Action URL | Button Text and the URL that opens when it is tapped |
| Input | Collects one answer — text, number, email, phone or date |
| WhatsApp Flow | Opens a flow for structured input |
| Template | Sends an approved template |
| Pause | Pause Duration plus a unit — Seconds or Minutes |
| Assign | Assign To Me or Assign To Staff; for staff, optionally Assign only if assignee is online |
| Lead | WhatsApp only. Lets a Meta lead ad form start the journey — the wizard's Lead ad form choice relies on it. One per journey, for lead journeys only |
| Continue on WhatsApp | Instagram and Messenger only. Moves the chat to one of your WhatsApp numbers — see below |
Continue on WhatsApp
The Continue on WhatsApp step sends the customer a card with a button that opens a WhatsApp chat with one of your numbers. When they send the message it prepares, RateUp knows their Instagram (or Messenger) account and their WhatsApp number are the same person, and joins the two contacts into one — with no one having to merge them by hand.
| Field | What it is |
|---|---|
| WhatsApp number | Which of your numbers the chat continues on. With none connected, the picker says "Connect a WhatsApp number first." |
| Message | The card's text — "Tap below to continue this chat on WhatsApp." by default. Up to 80 characters |
| Button label | The button — Open WhatsApp by default. Up to 20 characters |
| Prefilled message | What the customer's WhatsApp message starts with — "Hi! I'd like to continue our chat here." by default. A short code is added after it |
The journey reaches the step. RateUp creates a one-time code for this customer and sends the card;
its button opens wa.me/<your number> with the prefilled message and the code — for example
"Hi! I'd like to continue our chat here. ref:K7P2QM9X".
The customer taps the button and sends the message as it is.
The message arrives on your WhatsApp number. RateUp finds the code, removes it from the message your team sees, and joins the customer's WhatsApp contact with the Instagram or Messenger one. The older contact is kept; the message and its ticket move to it.
The joined contact shows the link in its history: "Linked automatically from a WhatsApp link on 5 Nov 2026". Its tickets stay one per channel, so the WhatsApp conversation opens its own ticket on your number.
| Limit | Detail |
|---|---|
| Code lifetime | 24 hours, and it works once. A code sent after that, or a second time, is ignored — the message arrives as normal and nothing is joined |
| Organisation | A code only works on your own organisation's numbers |
| Instagram comments | Answering a comment privately can only send text, so the step sends the message with the link on its own line instead of a card |
| No number | If the step has no number, or its number has been disconnected, it is skipped and the journey carries on |
Ask customers to send the prepared message without editing it. Deleting the ref: code means
nothing links, and the WhatsApp chat starts as a separate contact you would have to merge yourself.
A rule that waits for an exact keyword on WhatsApp sees the message with its code, so it will not match the prepared message. Start the follow-up from a keyword the customer types afterwards, or from Any new message.
Validating Before You Save
Validate flow answers a question the canvas cannot: is this journey actually runnable? It reports the first thing that is wrong.
| Message | Meaning |
|---|---|
| "Flow is empty. Please add some nodes." | Nothing on the canvas |
| "Flow must have a start node." | Add a Start node |
| "Flow must have exactly one start node." | Delete the spare one |
| "Only one start node is allowed in the flow." | Shown while you drag a second one in |
| "First node should be a Lead Node." | A lead automation has to open with Lead |
| "Only one Lead node is allowed" | Delete the spare one |
| "Lead node is only allowed lead automation" | Remove the Lead node from an ordinary journey |
A clean structure reports "Flow validation successful!".
Validation checks the shape of the journey, not its wording or its dead ends. A journey can validate perfectly and still trap a customer in a loop — that is what the preview is for.
Preview
Preview runs the journey in a phone frame, following the same arrows a customer would.
Walk it end to end and check every button leads somewhere, no path dead-ends, and the customer can always reach a person.
Switch It On
A card at the bottom of the canvas says when nothing can start the journey yet:
| Card | What to do |
|---|---|
| This journey is off | The rule the wizard made is still switched off. Type the keyword if it asks for one, then Switch on — or Edit rule to open the rule |
| Set up the trigger | No rule exists. Create the rule opens the rule builder with the channel and trigger filled in |
| This journey is switched off | The journey is off on the Journeys list. Switch on |
On Messenger, a Get Started button journey whose Page has no Get Started button yet says "Switching it on also adds a Get Started button to your Page." See Journeys → Switch It On for when each card appears.
Journey Settings
The Settings button opens Journey settings — Basic Information:
| Field | Notes |
|---|---|
| Journey Name | Required, at least 3 characters. An internal name — customers never see it |
| WhatsApp Account | WhatsApp journeys only. Optional — "Link a specific phone number only when your flow sends outgoing WhatsApp messages." |
Click Save changes — "Journey settings saved". Closing with unsaved edits asks Discard Changes? — Keep Editing or Discard.
Troubleshooting
| Symptom | Cause | Fix |
|---|---|---|
| Save is greyed out | There is nothing to save | Everything is already written |
| "Failed to load the journey" | It could not be loaded, or it was deleted | Click Retry |
| A node cannot be dropped | The channel does not support it | Check the group is offered for this journey's platform |
| Customers never reach a node | Nothing connects to it | Drag an arrow into it, then validate |
| The canvas is unreadable | Nodes have drifted | Auto layout → Vertical |
Related Pages
- Journeys — creating, cloning and managing them
- Flow Editor — building the flows a journey can open
- Message Templates
- Instagram Journeys — the same builder on Instagram
- Messenger Journeys — the same builder on Messenger
Journeys
Automated conversations for WhatsApp, Instagram and Messenger in one list — create one from an example, let the wizard set up the rule that starts it, and switch it on or off.
Meta AI Agent
Meta's Business Agent, set up from RateUp — a guided path from connecting with Meta to going live, then insights once it is answering.