Expert Texting
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Configuring ExpertTexting with WordPress WPSMS
THIS ARTICLE IS OBSOLETE, YOU CAN USE EXPERTTEXTING OFFICIAL WORDPRESS PLUGIN NOW. [Click here]
Configure ExpertTexting with WordPress WPSMS Plugin
WordPress is a free and open-source content management system that have thousands of plugins developed that you can add to WordPress.
WPSMS is one plugin that adds the ability to send SMS on different triggers within the wordpress.
You can go ahead and download the plugin on your WordPress and follow the instructions thereon to configure using ExpertTexting SMS Gateway with your wordpress.
Once plugin has been installed, you should see SMS menu in your left menu bar.
Click on the settings option to see General Tab, Enter your number in international format without + or 00 in the Admin mobile number field, We have used our ET number as the admin number for all alerts by wordpress.
Press save changes and click Gateway tab.
From the gateway list, select Experttexting.com if it is not already selected.
You are required to fill in following details from your ET Account on the settings page.
| Option | Details | Where to find ? |
|---|---|---|
| API username | This is same as your ET account username. | Your ET Username |
| API password | This is same as your ET account password. | Your ET Password |
| Sender Number | In most cases set this to DEFAULT to use default settings by ET, If you have a dedicated number or SenderID activated on your ET account
you can use it here instead of DEFAULT. |
Use DEFAULT |
| API Key | API Key as generated from your ET Customer Portal, Profile or Account Settings option | Where is my API Key ? |
Your Settings page should look like this with your Configurations.
Hit Save Changes on the bottom of the page, If the integration is successful you should see this.
Successful integration would show your current ET account balance in Result request field.
If you still donot see Active status, please feel free to reach out to our support team by sending an email to sms.support@experttexting.com from your registered email address and our team will be able to assist you further.
Happy Texting 🙂
ExpertTexting does not maintain or is associated with WP SMS or its development. “WP SMS” which is an open source software maintained by third party developers and available as free and professional version.
TLS Upgrade
TLS v1.2 Upgrade – What you Need to Know.
ExpertTexting uses HTTPS to securely exchange sensitive data such as credit cards/Paypal payments processing and allowing API Access for integration purposes. To encrypt these communications, we use the Transport Layer Security (TLS) protocol.
TLS 1.2 is one of the most secure versions of SSL/TLS protocol that is designed to prevent eavesdropping, tampering, or message forgery. ExpertTexting now requires TLS 1.2 in order to ensure the continuous security adhere to industry best practices.
What’s Required:
All API Customers must update their software, browser and hardware to support security protocol TLS v1.2.
Why do we need to make this change?
The PCI Security Council sets the rules on which technologies are acceptable for use in transmitting cardholder data. They have explicitly identified TLS 1.0 & TLS 1.1 as no longer being a strong form of encryption because they are vulnerable to many known attacks.
This is not an action ExpertTexting is taking alone. EVERY website that transmits or processes credit card data will be making this change. If you are using an insecure or unsupported browser or API client, you will find that all secure websites will stop working very soon.
From March 01 2018, the ExpertTexting API and it’s web portal will require TLS v1.2 in order to ensure the continuous security adherence to industry’s best practices.
Browser Support
Most browsers have supported TLS 1.2 for several years.
The following browsers DO NOT support TLS 1.2 and will no longer work.
- Google Chrome 29
- Firefox 26
- Internet Explorer 10
- Safari 8
- iOS 4
- Android 4
How do I upgrade my integration from TLS 1.0 to TLS 1.2
JAVA support
Version = JDK/JRE 7 Client (Yes, but support for TLS v1.2 must be enabled manually)
Version = JDK/JRE 7 Server & above (Yes, TLS v1.2 is enabled by default)
Version = JDK/JRE 6 or below (Not supported)
Open SSL support
Your Open SSL version must be 1.0.1 or higher.
.NET
- .NET 4.6: TLS 1.2 is used automatically. No changes are necessary.
- .NET 4.5: The SecurityProtocolType needs to be changed to Tls12 (using the SecurityProtocol Setter), add the following line above the first request.ServicePointManager.SecurityProtocol = SecurityProtocolType.Tls12
- .NET 4.0: TLS 1.2 is supported, but there’s no named
SecurityProtocolTypeenumeration. Use(SecurityProtocolType)3072. - .NET 3 and below: Must be upgraded to 4.5
PHP
TLS 1.1 and TLS 1.2 are supported since OpenSSL 1.0.1
Forcing TLS 1.1 and 1.2 are only supported since curl 7.3.4
Reference URL for CURL Options: https://curl.haxx.se/libcurl/c/CURLOPT_SSLVERSION.html
If you are using older versions of PHP or OPENSSL use following command to update packages.
yum update nss curl openssl
After the updates you should see that cURL is working with TLS greater than 1.0. Simple test code:
<?php
$ch = curl_init();
curl_setopt($ch, CURLOPT_URL, “https://www.howsmyssl.com/a/check”);
curl_setopt($ch, CURLOPT_SSLVERSION, 6); // TLS 1.2
curl_setopt($ch, CURLOPT_RETURNTRANSFER, true);
$response = curl_exec($ch);
curl_close($ch);$tlsVer = json_decode($response, true);
echo “<h1>Your TSL version is: <u>” . ( $tlsVer[‘tls_version’] ? $tlsVer[‘tls_version’] : ‘no TLS support’ ) . “</u></h1>”;
In case the workaround doesn’t work, please try to update your Operating System to the newer version.
Ruby
Ruby uses the system openssl. OpenSSL v0.9.8 will no longer work, but later versions work without any changes required.
In-case you still need any support with the upgrade, Get in touch with our support team at sms.support@experttexting.com
Sender ID supported countries
Below are the countries where Sender ID is supported, We have also mentioned list of countries where Sender ID have to be Registered with Carriers / Networks. Few countries specifically requires some documents like Company formation or License copy. On the other hand, many of the countries do not require registration with their networks, so you can just login to Customer Area, Goto Send Message, and click Add Sender ID and it’ll be instant.
Countries where SenderID is supported.
| Country | Registration required | Processing time |
|---|---|---|
| Albania | No | Instant from Customer Area |
| Andorra | No | Instant from Customer Area |
| Angola | No | Instant from Customer Area |
| Anguilla | No | Instant from Customer Area |
| Antigua & Barbuda |
No | Instant from Customer Area |
| Armenia | No | Instant from Customer Area |
| Aruba | No | Instant from Customer Area |
| Australia | No | Alpha Dynamic |
| Austria | No | Instant from Customer Area |
| Bahamas | No | Instant from Customer Area |
| Bahrain | No | Instant from Customer Area |
| Barbados | No | Instant from Customer Area |
| Belarus | Yes | 7-8 days | Contact Live chat Support |
| Belize | No | Instant from Customer Area |
| Benin | No | Instant from Customer Area |
| Bermuda | No | Instant from Customer Area |
| Bhutan | No | Instant from Customer Area |
| Bolivia | No | Instant from Customer Area |
| Bosnia & Herzegovina |
No | Instant from Customer Area |
| Botswana | No | Instant from Customer Area |
| Brunei Darussalam |
No | Instant from Customer Area |
| Bulgaria | No | Fixed Numeric Senders |
| Burkina Faso | No | Instant from Customer Area |
| Burundi | No | Instant from Customer Area |
| Cambodia | No | Instant from Customer Area |
| Cameroon | No | Instant from Customer Area |
| Cape Verde | No | Instant from Customer Area |
| Central African Republic |
No | Instant from Customer Area |
| Chad | No | Instant from Customer Area |
| Comoros | No | Instant from Customer Area |
| Cook Islands | No | Instant from Customer Area |
| Cote dIvoire | No | Instant from Customer Area |
| Cuba | Yes | 7-8 days | Contact Live chat Support |
| Cyprus | No | Instant from Customer Area |
| Czech Republic | No | Instant from Customer Area |
| Denmark | No | Instant from Customer Area |
| Djibouti | No | Instant from Customer Area |
| Dominica | No | Instant from Customer Area |
| Egypt | No | Random Numeric Sender |
| Equatorial Guinea |
No | Instant from Customer Area |
| Estonia | No | Instant from Customer Area |
| Falkland Islands |
No | Instant from Customer Area |
| Faroe Islands | No | Instant from Customer Area |
| Fiji | No | Instant from Customer Area |
| Finland | No | Instant from Customer Area |
| France | No | Instant from Customer Area |
| French Polynesia |
No | Instant from Customer Area |
| Gabon | No | Instant from Customer Area |
| Gambia | No | Instant from Customer Area |
| Georgia | No | Instant from Customer Area |
| Germany | No | Instant from Customer Area |
| Gibraltar | No | Instant from Customer Area |
| Greece | No | Instant from Customer Area |
| Greenland | No | Instant from Customer Area |
| Grenada | No | Instant from Customer Area |
| Guadeloupe | No | Instant from Customer Area |
| Guernsey | No | Instant from Customer Area |
| Guinea | No | Instant from Customer Area |
| Guinea-Bissau | No | Instant from Customer Area |
| Guyana | No | Instant from Customer Area |
| Haiti | No | Instant from Customer Area |
| Hong Kong | No | Instant from Customer Area |
| Iceland | No | Instant from Customer Area |
| India | Yes | 7-8 days | Contact Live chat Support (Trans traffic Only) |
| Iraq | Yes | Contact Support |
| Ireland | No | Instant from Customer Area |
| Isle of Man | No | Instant from Customer Area |
| Israel | No | Instant from Customer Area |
| Italy | No | Instant from Customer Area |
| Jamaica | No | Instant from Customer Area |
| Japan | No (except 1 network – KDDI) |
Instant from Customer Area |
| Jersey | No | Instant from Customer Area |
| Jordan | Yes (For Trans) | Few hours | Send your SenderID and sample content
to support@experttexting.com |
| Kuwait | Yes | 7-8 days | Contact Live chat Support |
| Latvia | No | Instant from Customer Area |
| Lebanon | No | Instant from Customer Area |
| Lesotho | No | Instant from Customer Area |
| Liberia | No | Instant from Customer Area |
| Libya | No | Instant from Customer Area |
| Liechtenstein | No | Instant from Customer Area |
| Lithuania | No | Instant from Customer Area |
| Luxembourg | No | Instant from Customer Area |
| Macau | No | Instant from Customer Area |
| Macedonia | No | Instant from Customer Area |
| Madagascar | No | Instant from Customer Area |
| Malawi | No | Instant from Customer Area |
| Maldives | No | Instant from Customer Area |
| Malta | No | Instant from Customer Area |
| Martinique | No | Instant from Customer Area |
| Mauritania | No | Instant from Customer Area |
| Mauritius | No | Instant from Customer Area |
| Mayotte | No | Instant from Customer Area |
| Moldova | No | Instant from Customer Area |
| Mongolia | No | Instant from Customer Area |
| Montenegro | No | Instant from Customer Area |
| Montserrat | No | Instant from Customer Area |
| Netherlands | No | Instant from Customer Area |
| Netherlands Antilles |
No | Instant from Customer Area |
| New Caledonia | No | Instant from Customer Area |
| Niger | No | Instant from Customer Area |
| Nigeria | No | Instant from Customer Area |
| Norfolk Island | No | Instant from Customer Area |
| Norway | No | Instant from Customer Area |
| Oman | Yes | 3-5 days | Contact Live chat Support |
| Pakistan | Yes | Business NTN required | Contact live chat support |
| Palestinian Territory |
No | Instant from Customer Area |
| Papua New Guinea |
No | Instant from Customer Area |
| Paraguay | No | Instant from Customer Area |
| Peru | No (except 1 network – Claro) |
Instant from Customer Area |
| Philippines | Yes | 2-3 days | Contact Live chat Support |
| Poland | No | Instant from Customer Area |
| Portugal | No | Instant from Customer Area |
| Qatar | Yes | Few hours | Contact Live chat Support |
| Reunion | No | Instant from Customer Area |
| Russia | No | Instant from Customer Area |
| Rwanda | No | Instant from Customer Area |
| Samoa | No | Instant from Customer Area |
| San Marino | No | Instant from Customer Area |
| Sao Tome & Principe |
No | Instant from Customer Area |
| Saudi Arabia | Yes | Pre-Registration required. |
| Senegal | No | Instant from Customer Area |
| Serbia | No | Instant from Customer Area |
| Seychelles | No | Instant from Customer Area |
| Sierra Leone | No | Instant from Customer Area |
| Singapore | No | Instant from Customer Area |
| Slovakia | No | Instant from Customer Area |
| Slovenia | No | Instant from Customer Area |
| Solomon Islands |
No | Instant from Customer Area |
| Somalia | No | Instant from Customer Area |
| South Sudan | No | Instant from Customer Area |
| Spain | No | Instant from Customer Area |
| St Kitts & Nevis |
No | Instant from Customer Area |
| St Lucia | No | Instant from Customer Area |
| St Vincent & the Grenadines |
No | Instant from Customer Area |
| Sudan | No | Instant from Customer Area |
| Suriname | No | Instant from Customer Area |
| Swaziland | No | Instant from Customer Area |
| Sweden | No | Instant from Customer Area |
| Switzerland | No | Instant from Customer Area |
| Taiwan | No | Instant from Customer Area |
| Tajikistan | No | Instant from Customer Area |
| Tanzania | No | Instant from Customer Area |
| Thailand | Yes | 7-8 days | Contact Live chat Support AIS Network Random numeric only. |
| Timor-Leste | No | Instant from Customer Area |
| Togo | No | Instant from Customer Area |
| Tonga | No | Instant from Customer Area |
| Trinidad & Tobago |
No | Instant from Customer Area |
| Turkey | No | Random International Numeric Sender |
| Turkmenistan | No | Instant from Customer Area |
| Turks & Caicos Islands |
No | Instant from Customer Area |
| Uganda | No | Instant from Customer Area |
| Ukraine | No | Instant from Customer Area |
| United Arab Emirates |
Yes | 7-8 days | Contact Live chat Support |
| United Kingdom | No | Instant from Customer Area |
| Uzbekistan | No | Instant from Customer Area |
| Vanuatu | No | Instant from Customer Area |
| Virgin Islands British |
No | Instant from Customer Area |
| Yemen | No | Instant from Customer Area |
| Zambia | No | Instant from Customer Area |
| Zimbabwe | No | Instant from Customer Area |
Countries Where SenderID is not supported.
| Countries |
|---|
| Afghanistan |
| Algeria |
| Argentina |
| Azerbaijan |
| Bangladesh |
| Belgium |
| Brazil |
| Canada |
| Cayman Islands |
| Chile |
| China |
| Colombia |
| Congo |
| Congo D.R. |
| Costa Rica |
| Croatia |
| Diego Garcia |
| Dominican Republic |
| Ecuador |
| El Salvador |
| French Guiana |
| Ghana |
| Guam |
| Guatemala |
| Honduras |
| Hungary |
| Indonesia |
| Iran |
| Kazakhstan |
| Kenya |
| Kyrgyzstan |
| Laos PDR |
| Malaysia |
| Mali |
| Mexico |
| Monaco |
| Morocco |
| Mozambique |
| Myanmar |
| Namibia |
| Nauru |
| Nepal |
| New Zealand |
| Nicaragua |
| Panama |
| Puerto Rico |
| Romania |
| South Africa |
| South Korea |
| Sri Lanka |
| Syria |
| Tunisia |
| Turkey |
| United States |
| Uruguay |
| Venezuela |
| Vietnam |
Keyword Based Marketing (ShortCode)
Keyword:
SMS Keywords are short words made of letters and/or numbers that can be sent to a shortcode in order to trigger a response. Keywords allow your customers or group members to join your group messaging contact list from their own phones.
By texting the specified keyword (for e.g. CRICKET) to the specified shortcode (for e.g. 66599), a mobile system can perform some type of action, defined by the company offering the keyword/shortcode. This may be as simple as sending a “Thanks for contacting us, we’ll be in touch” message back to the user, or beginning some kind of workflow process such as adding you to some subscriber list.
We, at ExpertTexting, are pleased to announce that ExpertTexting now supports keywords based marketing over shortcode for US.This service will be used by ExpertTexting’s Customers for marketing/alerting purposes only to their opt-in recipients either by using web form or directly subscription via opt-in to their campaign by sending text message.
Creating a Keyword:
You can create your own keyword by following the simple steps as shown in the screenshots:
Step 1:
From Dashboard, Under “Campaign Management” tab – click on “Keywords”
Step 2:
From Keyword screen, click on “Create Keyword”
Step 3:
Select a suitable unique keyword and click “Next”
Note: The first keyword that gets approved is free, the next keyword will be charged accordingly.
Step 4:
Fill in all the required details and check “I agree to terms and conditions above” and click “Submit”
Step 6:
You will be redirected to “Thank you” page and your keyword will be sent to Administrator for approval and it will be reviewed within 48 hours. To see your keyword’s status, click “Go To Main Screen”
Step 7:
On Keyword main screen, your keyword will appear with its current status.
Step 8:
After Verification by ET, your keyword will be approved if it meets all requirements. After which you can add contacts to the keyword group by clicking the appropriate icon in the “Action” column.
And that is it. You have successfully created a keyword that can be utilized in a campaign.
Campaign:
Campaigns are an effective way to build rich marketing lists as when you set up a comprehensive text message campaign, you can create messages that will automatically be sent based on subscriber actions. This functionality enables you to provide immediate customer service.
Campaigns work in a simple way just like 1.2.3:
- Create a campaign based on a keyword and set automated response messages based on subscriber action.
- Customers text your keyword to your shortcode number to join your list.
- Customer receives an auto response when they join.
Creating a Campaign:
You can create your own campaign by following the simple steps as shown in the screenshots:
Step 1:
From Dashboard, Under “Campaign Management” tab – click on “Campaigns”
Step 2:
From Campaign screen, click on “Add Campaign” and then choose appropriate campaign.
Alerts / Notification campaigns are used to set a Pre-defined template with dynamic variables which can later be used via Rest API.
Step 3:
Fill in all the required details and click “submit”
Step 4:
You will be redirected to “Thank you” page and your campaign will be sent to Administrator for approval and it will be reviewed within 48 hours. To see your campaign’s status, click “Go To Main Screen”
Step 5:
On Campaign main screen, your campaign will appear with its current status.
Step 6:
After sometime, your campaign will be approved if it meets all requirements.
And that is it. You have successfully created a campaign. Your campaign is now live.
How Does Keyword work ?
Customers can interact with the Keyword by sending the keyword with helper text to the ExpertTexting designated shortcode: 66599* and in return, they will get the automated response set by the campaign’s maker.
* This short code is only limited to the US region.
Following are the ways that the customer can interact with the campaign:
- OPT IN
You need to ask your customer to send text message “JOIN <CampaignKeyword>” to 66599. This will join them in that specific campaign. Example (Text: JOIN BUY1GET2 to 66599)
The response they will get is what you have set in “Opt In” text while creating the keyword.
You can also manually add contacts to the campaign from keyword screen.
Upon adding, they will receive the “welcome” text that you have set while creating the keyword.
- OPT OUT
You need to ask your customer to send text message “STOP <CampaignKeyword>” to 66599. This will remove them from that specific campaign. Example (Text: STOP BUY1GET2 to 66599)
The response they will get is what you have set in “Opt Out” text while creating the keyword.
Customer can also send text message “STOP” to 66599. This will remove them from all campaigns at once.Example (Text: STOP to 66599)
- HELP
You need to ask your customer to send text message “HELP <CampaignKeyword>” to 66599. This will send them detail text regarding that campaign. Example (Text: HELP BUY1GET2 to 66599)
The response they will get is what you have set in “Help” text while creating the keyword.
Customer can also send text message “HELP” to 66599. This will send them detail text regarding ExpertTexting keyword service. Example (Text: HELP to 66599)
** Sender using ET Short Code Service for sending Messages to their Customer will be charged as per pricing mentioned. Customer replying back to Campaign or sending message to 66599 will be charged by their Carrier as per subscription plan(Message &data rates may apply).
If you have any further queries feel free to contact us at support@experttexting.com.
Uploading Contacts made easy !!
You can now upload your contacts to Expert Texting account without the need of having them in international format.
Yes our new intelligent system asks for the default country if your contacts are not properly formatted and does the formatting of numbers in selected country accordingly.
While uploading if your contacts are not in correct format that is International format without country code, popup is displayed asking to select a country to format your numbers. That’s Simple isn’t it ??
Feature Requests
We are open for any feedback, feature requests from our valued customers. Please post any request here, and we will try our best to fulfill your texting needs.
Email 2 SMS
Expert Texting Email 2 SMS feature allows users to easily send SMS to multiple recipients of your email. This feature allows you to send bulk SMS from any email client / application to any mobile phone worldwide. Therefore, you do not need to login your account or remain connected to the Internet for sending SMS.
For Email 2 SMS to work you need to send emails from your registered email address only to number@email.experttexting.com along with APIKEY in the subject of the message followed by content in the body of the email.
Multilingual SMS (Unicode SMS)
Multilingual SMS
ExpertTexting have full support and can send text messages in any language including Arabic. This feature is not active by default for all users.
In order to activate this feature please contact our live Support personal or write to us on support@experttexting.com