Most customers in India already use WhatsApp, so it’s often the easiest way for them to reach you. The WhatsApp Business app is a free version of WhatsApp built for small businesses, with a business profile, a catalog and tools that save you time on repeat questions. This guide shows how to set it up in seven steps, and when you might need something bigger. If your other profiles aren’t ready, start with our social media profile setup checklist.
WhatsApp Business App or Business Platform?
There are two WhatsApp Business products, and it helps to know the difference.
- The WhatsApp Business app is a free app for iOS and Android. It gives you a business profile, a catalog, quick replies, greeting and away messages, and labels. You send and receive messages manually.
- The WhatsApp Business Platform (the API) is a paid product, accessed through an approved provider rather than an app. It’s built for businesses that message at scale and need automation, chatbots, team inboxes and CRM connections.
Most small businesses should start with the free app. You can also use the app and the Platform together later through WhatsApp’s coexistence feature, which Meta describes in its Business Platform documentation.
WhatsApp Business App: 7 Steps
1. Download the Business app and choose your number
The Business app is separate from regular WhatsApp. Use a phone number you’ll keep for the business, since it becomes the number customers save and use.
2. Complete your business profile
Add your business name, description, address, opening hours, website and email. Use your logo as the profile picture. Our guide to logo file formats explains which version to upload.
3. Build a catalog
Add your products or services with photos, prices and short descriptions. The app currently allows up to 500 catalog items, which is plenty for most small businesses.
4. Set a greeting message and an away message
The app lets you keep one greeting message and one away message active. The greeting welcomes new customers, and the away message replies when you’re closed. Keep both short and useful, for example: “Hi, thanks for contacting us. We reply between 10 am and 7 pm, and we’ll get back to you as soon as we can.”
5. Save quick replies
Quick replies let you store frequent answers and bring them up by typing “/” in the message box. The app allows up to 50. Save the answers to questions you get every day, such as your price range, location, timings and how to order. You still choose when to send each one.
6. Use labels to organise chats
Create labels such as New customer, Awaiting payment and Follow up, so no enquiry gets lost in a long list of chats.
7. Share your WhatsApp link and QR code
Look for the short link and QR code option in the app’s business tools, then add them to your website’s contact page, your social media bios, your invoices and your Google profile. Our guide to small business website pages explains what your Contact page should include.
Keep Customers Happy
Only message people who have contacted you or agreed to hear from you. Broadcast lists only reach contacts who have saved your number, and each list is capped at 256 contacts, so they aren’t a substitute for real conversations. Reply quickly, and make sure your hours are accurate. You can also send your Google review link on WhatsApp after a job, as our guide to get more Google reviews explains.
When to Consider the API
Look at the Platform when you have several people answering messages, want automated flows, or need your messages connected to a CRM. It’s a paid product accessed through an approved provider, so it makes sense only when the free app’s manual tools stop being enough. For the latest changes in pricing and features, see our guide to WhatsApp Business API updates.
Common Mistakes
Using a personal number, leaving your hours blank, writing long auto-replies, replying days later, and sending messages to people who didn’t ask for them are the usual problems. Fix them once, and your WhatsApp becomes a reliable sales channel.
Quick Questions
Is the WhatsApp Business app free?
Yes, the app is free to download and use. The Business Platform (API) is a paid product.
Do I need the API?
Not to start. Most small businesses do well with the free app.
Can I plan WhatsApp messages in a content calendar?
For updates and offers, yes. See our guide to a content calendar for small business.
The Bottom Line
The WhatsApp Business app is one of the simplest tools a small business can use: a complete profile, a catalog, saved replies and a link to share. Set it up in an afternoon and answer quickly. If you’d like help with your brand and online presence, our branding services are a good place to start.
