> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://howto.paigeme.dev/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Thinking in flows

> Flow design as a way of thinking — when a structured flow beats free text, how to order the questions, how to write messages people tap, and the common shapes conversations take.

A good WhatsApp conversation is designed, not just written. The difference between a flow people finish and one they abandon usually isn't the technology — it's the *shape*: what you ask first, how much you ask at once, and whether tapping is easier than typing.

This page is about that thinking. It's not about the buttons in the builder — for how to actually create, preview, and publish flows in Paige, see **[Flows Builder](/guides/flows-builder)**. Here we're one level up: how to decide what the conversation should look like before you build it.

<Info>
  "Flow" is used two ways. Broadly, it means the shape of a whole conversation — the order you take someone through. Specifically, a **[WhatsApp Flow](/concepts/flows)** is a multi-screen form that opens inside the chat. This page is mostly about the first sense, and it'll tell you when to reach for the second.
</Info>

## When a flow beats free text — and when it doesn't

Structure helps when the answer needs to be *specific*. It gets in the way when the question is *open*.

<Columns cols={2}>
  <Card title="Reach for structure" icon="list-checks">
    * You need a specific value — a date, a choice from a set, a valid email.
    * There's a right set of options and you want to prevent typos and dead ends.
    * The same information gets collected every time (bookings, intake, sign-ups).
    * You want the data clean enough to save straight to a database.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Leave it open" icon="message-square">
    * The customer has a question you can't predict.
    * You're offering support, advice, or anything conversational.
    * Forcing buttons would feel robotic or block what they're trying to say.
    * One free-text reply is genuinely faster than three taps.
  </Card>
</Columns>

<Tip>
  A strong pattern is to lead with **free text** ("Hi, how can I help?"), understand intent, and only *then* drop into a **structured flow** once you know the person wants to book, sign up, or file something. Structure is a tool you reach for at the right moment — not a cage you put every conversation in.
</Tip>

## How to structure the steps

Once you've decided a stretch of the conversation should be structured, the order and size of the steps decide whether people finish.

<Steps>
  <Step title="Ask the easy, motivating thing first">
    Open with a low-effort choice that moves things forward — a "Book a table" button, a "Get started" tap. Momentum early makes people more likely to stay. Save anything that feels like *work* (long text fields, personal details) for after they're committed.
  </Step>

  <Step title="One idea per screen">
    Don't stack five questions on one screen. Ask for a little, confirm it, move on. Short steps feel fast even when there are several of them; one crowded step feels like a form and gets abandoned.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Order by drop-off risk">
    People leave when effort spikes. Put the highest-friction step (payment details, a long note) as late as you can, so anyone who was going to drop off has already got value from the earlier steps.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Confirm at the end">
    Close with a short summary of what you captured and a clear confirmation. It reassures the person it worked, and it's your last chance to catch a wrong date before it becomes a problem.
  </Step>
</Steps>

<Note>
  If a flow starts feeling long, that's a design signal, not a reason to cram. Cut optional steps, combine related fields, or split one long journey into two shorter flows triggered in sequence. Fewer, cleaner steps almost always beat one exhaustive form.
</Note>

## How to craft the messages

WhatsApp is not email. The whole thing is read on a phone, in a thread that's mostly friends and family, in a few seconds. Write for that.

* **Keep it short.** A sentence or two per message. If you're scrolling to read it, it's too long. Break a big idea into two messages rather than one wall of text.
* **Match the register.** Warm and direct, the way a helpful person texts — not the way a company writes a policy. Contractions are fine. A well-placed emoji is fine. A paragraph of legalese is not.
* **Make the next step obvious.** Every message should make it clear what to do next. If you're asking a question, ask *one*.
* **Write buttons as actions.** A button gets tapped when its label says exactly what happens — "Book a table", "See today's menu", "Talk to a person". Vague labels like "OK" or "Continue" make people hesitate. Keep them short; long labels get truncated.

### Buttons vs. a list

Both let people tap instead of type. Which one depends on how many options there are.

|                   | Reply buttons                            | List menu                                           |
| ----------------- | ---------------------------------------- | --------------------------------------------------- |
| **Best for**      | 2–3 clear choices                        | 4 or more options                                   |
| **How it looks**  | Buttons sit right under the message      | A single "View options" opens a scrollable list     |
| **Feels like**    | A quick fork in the road                 | A menu to browse                                    |
| **Rule of thumb** | Use when the choice is obvious and small | Use when there are too many buttons to show at once |

<Tip>
  If you can phrase it as two or three options, use buttons — they're visible without a tap, so people act faster. Reach for a list only when the choices genuinely outgrow that. See [Message Types](/learn/message-types) for what each looks like in a chat.
</Tip>

## Common shapes

Most useful conversations are a variation on a handful of shapes. Recognising which one you're building tells you how to order the steps.

<CardGroup cols={2}>
  <Card title="Capture" icon="user-plus">
    Turn a stranger into a known contact. Get the few details you need — name, and one way to reach them — and nothing more. Short is the whole point; every extra field costs you completions.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Qualify" icon="filter">
    Work out who this person is and what they need before spending time on them. A couple of routing questions — what are you after, how soon, what budget — then branch to the right next step.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Book" icon="calendar-check">
    Get someone to a confirmed slot. Choose a service, pick a date and time, confirm. A [WhatsApp Flow](/concepts/flows) shines here because dates and time slots want proper pickers, not typed text.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Confirm" icon="badge-check">
    Close the loop after something happened — an order, a booking, a submission. Summarise what you've got, confirm it back, and tell them what comes next. Short, reassuring, done.
  </Card>
</CardGroup>

Most real conversations chain these together: *qualify* to find out someone wants to book, *book* them in, *confirm* the slot, then *capture* anything you'll need for next time.

## Where to next

<CardGroup cols={2}>
  <Card title="Flows Builder" icon="wrench" href="/guides/flows-builder">
    Ready to build one? This is the hands-on guide to generating, previewing, and publishing flows.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Message types" icon="layout-list" href="/learn/message-types">
    The full set of building blocks — buttons, lists, media, and more — with what each is for.
  </Card>
</CardGroup>