How to Configure SMS Notifications in Magento 2: Simple Guide

Sending SMS notifications in Magento 2 is a doubt-win strategy!

Let me tell you how. You build an engaging relationship with your customers as you keep updating them about their store activities and, in return, enjoy a higher retention rate as they love such user experience.

In this blog post, I will show you how to configure SMS Notifications in Magento 2 step-by-step without any technical difficulties.

Table of Contents:

• Benefits of Using SMS Notifications in Magento 2
• Types of SMS Notifications You Can Send
• How to Set up Magento 2 SMS Notifications?
• Bonus Tips to Personalize SMS Notification Messages

Benefits of Using SMS Notifications in Magento 2

Notifying the customers via SMS in addition to email can bring several benefits, like:

• Reach the message inbox directly, bypassing spam folders (a general problem with email campaigns)
• Enjoy a higher open rate compared to email campaigns
• Connect with customers with low internet connection access
• Enhance your brand loyalty with an exceptional customer experience
• Create an uninterrupted flow of engaging communication

Types of SMS Notifications You Can Send

When using the SMS notification, you are not limited to sending order update messages. You can use this feature to your complete advantage and send different types of SMS notifications.

Here, you can set up two types of SMS notifications in Magento 2:

• Customer Notifications: Keeping your customers well informed about the latest updates on their accounts, orders, delivery, etc.
• Admin Notifications: Helping you as a store owner to efficiently manage new orders, send product review requests, etc.

How to Set up Magento 2 SMS Notifications?

The default Magento feature lets you notify customers about their store activity only via email.

You can use a Magento extension to implement SMS notifications in your store. Setting up Magento 2 SMS Notifications is a pretty straightforward task with the right extension at hand. For example, The Meetanshi Magento 2 SMS Notification extension simplifies the process without any technical constraints and is also free to use.

Here’s how you can set up Magento SMS notifications using the extension SMS notification extension.

Step 1: Install Magento 2 SMS Notifications Extension

First, install the SMS notification extension in Magento.

Extract the zip folder of the extension and upload it to the root of your Magento 2 directory via FTP.

After this, log into your Magento 2 SSH and run the following commands one by one to install the extension:

php bin/magento setup:upgrade
php bin/magento setup:static-content:deploy –f
php bin/magento cache:flush

The Magento 2 SMS notification extension has been successfully added to your store.

Note: You must install the Twilio library even if you are not using the Twilio SMS gateway for our extension.

Step 2: Connect SMS API Provider

You’ll need to connect your SMS API account to use for notifications. It supports all major SMS Gateway providers like Twilio, Msg91, and others that support cURL.

In your Magento admin, navigate to Stores > Configuration > SMS Notification. Here, you’ll get an option to enable the extension and enter the admin mobile number – that’s where you want to receive admin-side notifications.

Scroll down to the API Settings section, where you can choose your SMS API provider and enter the credentials to connect it.

For example, we’ve connected our MSG91 SMS API account with the extension here.

You can also connect to a custom API that supports cURL. Once you’ve configured the API, click the “Save” button.

In the Pro version of the extension, you can quickly test the Magento 2 SMS API connection by sending a test message.

Step 3: Customize SMS Notification Messages

Once you have connected the SMS API, you can start drafting your personalized messages for the notifications. You can set message texts to send to store admin and customers on various events like order placement, shipping, cancellation, and credit memo generation.

For example, you can enable a specific notification type for the customer and/or admin and customize the text for the message. Here, you can use variables like {{first_name}} and {{last_name}} to personalize the messages.

Similarly, set up Magento SMS notification texts for all the important events and save the configuration.

Here’s the complete list of SMS Notifications supported by Meetanshi’s extension:

Free Version	Pro Version
Customer Notifications: Order placed Order shipped	Customer Notifications: Registration using OTP Mobile number update using OTP Order verification using OTP Order plaed Order invoiced Order shipped Order canceled Order credit memo generated Review reminder
Admin Notifications: New order received Order shipped	Admin Notifications: New customer registration New order received Order invoiced Order shipped Order canceled Order credit memo generated New review received New contact inquiry received

Step 4: Monitor SMS Notifications

Once you’ve connected the SMS API and configured the messages, the extension will automatically send SMS notifications to customers and admin for various events.

In the Pro version of the extension, you get a separate grid in the backend that logs all the history of SMS notifications. You can find date and time, message, and the response from the API provider.

Bonus Tips to Personalize SMS Notification Messages

Now that you can send SMS to your customers, the main point to consider here is personalization.

It is a key to a higher open rate.

Using system variables like {{first_name}}, {{last_name}}, {{shop_name}}, {{order_id}}, and more, you can add a dash of personalization to your messaging.

While customizing your message in the third step above, you can easily use these variables to craft personalized SMS notifications.