Easy Guide to SMS Confirmation using Twilio — No Stress, Just Success

Posted: February 20th, 2024 Author: Filed under: Announcement, App Builder, Case Study, Features, General, Ionic, Low-code Development, Mobile Backend, Server Code, Template, Tips, Tutorials, Video Tags: , , , , , ,

We are here once again, this time with an easy-to-follow, stress-free tutorial on setting up SMS confirmation using Twilio. And exciting news – we also have a video tutorial for you to follow along with!

How to configure SMS verification for the app registration feature

Remember how we learned to set up SMTP server settings for email confirmations? Today, we’re switching gears to play with Twilio, allowing us to securely verify sign-up attempts via SMS. Cool, right? Let’s jump in!

Step 1: Getting to Know Twilio

Our journey starts with Twilio. Never heard of them? They are experts in sending out SMS verification codes.

  • Head over to the Twilio website and sign up for their free trial account. Once you’re registered and logged in, you can start personalizing your setup. You can either use an existing account or create a new one. I whipped up a new account I like to call SMS Confirmation.
  • Don’t forget to verify your phone number within Twilio. Just drop your number in, await the verification code via SMS, and then pop the received code into the website.
  • You’ll find a few more easy-peasy questions to answer and then hit Get started with Twilio. Congrats, you’re now ready for action!
  • Your Twilio dashboard will display a special phone number. This number is outgoing only and will be used to send confirmation messages to your own app users.
  • While you’re there, note down your Account SID, Auth Token, and your new Twilio phone number.
  • Lastly, ensure that you’ve listed the phone number you are using for testing in the ‘Active Numbers’ list (Phone Numbers > Manage), and that your Verified Caller IDs tab has the verified number ready to receive the authentication codes.

Step 2: Bring On the App Builder

Now that Twilio is all set, let’s put the App Builder to work.

  • Go to the Server Code tab then open the StarterLib library, which was created just for us. We’re planning to send out confirmation SMS, so we’ll need to replace EMAIL with SMS for the confirmation type in the StarterLib script.
  • Next, hop back over to the Twilio console and one by one, copy your Account SID, Auth Token, and Twilio phone number into the corresponding variables on the script in the StarterLib section. Hit ‘Save’ and voila — you’re all set!
  • The moment of truth has arrived. Click TEST on the App Builder page, fill in the sign-up page details, and then wait for the verification code on your mobile device. Once received, drop it into the app, and bingo! Your user is registered.

As you can see, setting up SMS confirmation using Twilio is easier than a walk in the park.

We hope that this short guide will make your app development experience even better.

Remember, we provide a handy two-week trial giving you plenty of time to experiment with our Starter App Template. Plus, you can subscribe to our YouTube channel for even more handy tips.

Thanks for coming aboard this guide, and see you again very soon!

Your Appery.io Team!