Clickatell’s bulk SMS gateway allows you to send or receive Short Message Service (SMS) communications
to or from more than 1000 mobile networks.
Thousands of customers trust Clickatell to send millions of SMS text messages around the world every day. With one easy SMS API integration,
you can also enjoy the benefits of our global reach and SMS-enable any application, website or system, facilitate international
two-way messaging using long numbers and short codes, and more.
An SMS API allows you to integrate SMS services with your website, third-party application or service, mobile app, CRM etc. An API for sending SMS messages is the easiest way to send automated bulk SMS messages directly from your own platform.
In basic terms, an API like the SMS gateway APIs offered by Clickatell, are a means by which the functions of one computer program or script are made available for use by another. By using an SMS API to connect to Clickatell’s SMS gateway, you have the ability to start sending and receiving messages, via any application, instantly.
You can communicate with our SMS API in PHP, C#, Javascript, or just about any other coding language your development team is working in. For example, an e-commerce site may integrate an SMS API for authentication purposes as well as to send delivery status messages and notifications of special promotions; the education sector integrates an SMS API for reminders for exams and parent-teacher meetings as well as new student recruitment; retailers integrate an API for text messaging to increase foot traffic to their brick and mortar stores; and event organizers often use SMS API integration to confirm event details with attendees. These are just a few of the plethora of ways that our customers are currently integrating our SMS APIs.
SMS messages can be created and delivered to the
recipient’s phone within a matter of minutes.
SMS marketing costs significantly less than other
advertising options such print, radio, or TV. Combined
with the brilliant open rates, the low cost makes bulk SMS
one of the best options for a maximum return on
investment (ROI) that you’ll find.
Not only are nearly all SMS messages opened, they’re
typically read within 90 seconds of being sent.
Not only are nearly all SMS messages opened, they’re
typically read within 90 seconds of being sent.
SMS marketing costs significantly less than other
advertising options such print, radio, or TV. Combined
with the brilliant open rates, the low cost makes bulk SMS
one of the best options for a maximum return on
investment (ROI) that you’ll find.
SMS enjoys a staggering open rate of 98%. That means
that nearly every single text message sent is being opened.
In comparison, emails are only opened 22% of the time.
Bulk SMS is not only used for marketing purposes though. Many businesses use one-way SMS messaging to improve internal
processes and communication between employees, for example, and financial institutions take advantage of the
immediacy of SMS for time sensitive messages like one-time PINs.
Clickatell currently offers two SMS APIs to integrate with our SMS gateway via Clickatell Platform. Which API you choose really depends
on your development capabilities, so if you’re not sure which to go with, don’t hesitate to contact our support team
who’ll be more than happy to assist.
Our HTTP API enables you to send basic HTTP/S calls to the SMS API. You can loop through your database of mobile numbers and make HTTP/S requests to send your bulk text messages to them. This is the most basic form of API and is extremely easy to use and integrate. It also offers simplified integration and testing and is a great option if you’re looking for a limited development alternative.
REST makes use of a specific set of constraints or programmatic rules which are applied over the HTTP protocol layer. Simply put, REST refers to the way in which HTTP should be used. A greater variety of API calls and features are available, and therefore, greater development capability. The REST API is still extremely easy to integrate and allows for the use of a number of structured rules for webhooks.
API developer documentation
We’ve put together a range of documents to help you write applications and interact with the Clickatell Platform SMS APIs.
Join more than 15000 global brands who have chosen Clickatell as their preferred SMS gateway provider.
Clickatell Platform is a powerful bulk SMS system that enables you
to send messages securely, reliably, and instantly via the Clickatell REST API.
Platform is cloud-hosted, user-friendly and the wizard-driven code generation makes integration into
your existing systems super easy. Platform is scalable, capable of delivering thousands of SMS
messages per second, and completely customizable to suit your specific text messaging needs.