# Take orders on WhatsApp > The four WhatsApp tools on your store and when to use each: WhatsApp checkout, WhatsApp as the only way to order, a chat button in place of the cart, the floating chat bubble, and messaging a customer from an order. Guide: https://sitesplaced.com/help/online-stores/whatsapp-ordering · Section: Online Stores · Last reviewed: 2026-09-20 ## The options at a glance Many sellers close the sale in a chat, not on a payment page. Your store has several WhatsApp tools, and they do different jobs. Pick the one that matches how you actually sell. - **Show WhatsApp checkout** puts WhatsApp next to the normal checkout and the shopper chooses. It is on by default. - **WhatsApp is the only way to order** keeps the cart but sends every order to your WhatsApp. **Direct Order** is removed. - **Take every order on WhatsApp** removes the cart. Each product button opens a chat. It works on one template only. - **WhatsApp chat bubble** is a floating button for questions, not an ordering method. It needs the Growth plan. - The **WhatsApp** button on an order in your dashboard messages that customer. ## First, add your WhatsApp number 1. Open your store dashboard and go to **Settings → Store details**. 2. Fill in **WhatsApp number**. The note under the box says to include the country code, for example 91 for India, so an Indian number looks like `919999999999`. 3. Press **Save** in the bar at the bottom. Every WhatsApp button on your store uses this one number. If it is empty, none of the options below can work. > **Forgot the 91? Indian stores are covered:** WhatsApp links only work with the country code in front. If your store sells in rupees (INR) and you saved a plain ten-digit Indian mobile number, one that starts with 6, 7, 8 or 9, your storefront adds 91 for you when it builds the link. A number that already has a country code is left exactly as you typed it. Stores in any other currency get no automatic code, so type yours in full, for example 965 for Kuwait or 974 for Qatar. ## WhatsApp checkout, next to normal checkout This is how a new store starts. In **Settings → Checkout**, the **Order methods** card has **Show WhatsApp checkout** ticked. On the cart page, shoppers see a switch with two choices, **Direct Order** and **WhatsApp**. The **Default method** buttons at the top of the card decide which one is selected when they arrive. A shopper who picks WhatsApp fills in their details and presses the button, which reads **Checkout on WhatsApp** unless you changed it under **Checkout wording**. The order is saved to your **Orders** tab first. Then WhatsApp opens with a message already written to you: their details, every item with quantity and price, any coupon, the delivery charge, the total and your store link. You agree payment in the chat. ## Make WhatsApp the only way to order Choose this when you want a proper cart, with quantities, coupons and delivery charges worked out, but you want to talk to every buyer before money changes hands. 1. Go to **Settings → Checkout** and find the **Order methods** card. 2. Make sure **Show WhatsApp checkout** is ticked. A second checkbox, **WhatsApp is the only way to order**, appears beside it. It is hidden while WhatsApp checkout is off. 3. Tick **WhatsApp is the only way to order**. 4. Press **Save**. On the cart page the **Direct Order** / **WhatsApp** switch is gone, and so are the payment choices that belong to Direct Order: pay online, Cash on Delivery and bank transfer. There is one button, and it sends the order to your WhatsApp. Every order is still saved to your **Orders** tab before the chat opens, so you can confirm, ship and invoice it as usual. > **When this setting is ignored:** It only takes effect while **Show WhatsApp checkout** is on **and** your store has a WhatsApp number. Without both, shoppers would have no way to order, so the normal choices come back. Two more cases: a cart that contains a digital download always checks out as a Direct Order, because a download is released on payment and cannot be settled in a chat. And if you have switched on 1-click checkout with Shiprocket or Razorpay Magic, the cart shows those buttons in place of the normal form, so switch them off if you want WhatsApp only. ## Replace the cart with a chat button **Take every order on WhatsApp** is the green-tinted checkbox in the same **Order methods** card. With it on, there is no cart. Each Buy, Book or Order button opens WhatsApp with a short message already typed, such as “Hi, I'd like to order: Rose Quartz Bracelet”, with the price and a link to the product. It suits consultants and sellers who take every booking by chat and have no payment gateway yet. > **This works on the Vastu Sanctum template only:** The checkbox appears in every store's settings, but today only the **Vastu Sanctum** template acts on it. New stores on that template have it switched on from the start. On every other template, ticking it changes nothing on your storefront. If you are on another template and want all orders on WhatsApp, use **WhatsApp is the only way to order** above. It works on every template. Know the trade-off. These chats are not orders. Nothing is saved to your **Orders** tab, there is no order number or invoice, no coupon or delivery charge is worked out, and stock is not deducted. You keep track of them yourself, which is why the note under the checkbox says to turn it off once your payment gateway is connected. ## The floating WhatsApp bubble The bubble is a round WhatsApp button that sits in the corner of every store page, for questions before buying. Find it under **Settings → Sales boosters → WhatsApp chat bubble**. Tick **Show a floating WhatsApp button on my storefront**, and optionally fill in **Prefilled message (optional)** so the chat opens with a line already typed, such as “Hi! I saw your store and have a question...”. It uses the number from Store details. It is part of the **Growth plan** (₹499/month); on Free and Starter the setting is saved but the bubble does not show. See [Sales boosters](https://sitesplaced.com/help/md/online-stores/sales-boosters.md) for the rest of that section. ## Message a customer from an order 1. Open the **Orders** tab and click an order to open it. 2. In the **Customer** card, press the green **WhatsApp** button. It sits next to the customer's phone number and email. 3. WhatsApp opens a chat with that customer. Nothing is typed for you, so you can write whatever you need. The button only shows when the order has a phone number. Most Indian shoppers type ten digits without the country code, and WhatsApp refuses such a number. So for orders in rupees, the dashboard adds 91 to a plain ten-digit Indian mobile number, and drops a leading 0 if the shopper typed one. A number that already carries a country code is used as it is. The **Reply on WhatsApp** button in the **Messages** tab adds the 91 in the same way. ## Which one should I use? - You take UPI, cards or COD, and some buyers prefer to chat: keep **Show WhatsApp checkout** on and leave the rest off. - You have no payment gateway yet, or you confirm every order by hand: tick **WhatsApp is the only way to order**. - You sell consultations or made-to-order pieces on the Vastu Sanctum template and never want a cart: use **Take every order on WhatsApp**. - Shoppers keep asking the same questions before buying: add the **WhatsApp chat bubble**. - You want the customer to get an automatic WhatsApp confirmation from your own business number: that is a different feature, the WhatsApp Business API. See [WhatsApp order notifications](https://sitesplaced.com/help/md/payments-and-orders/whatsapp-order-notifications.md). **Q: Do WhatsApp orders show in my Orders tab?** Orders placed through WhatsApp checkout do, whether WhatsApp is one option or the only option. The order is saved before the chat opens. Chats started from Take every order on WhatsApp, or from the bubble, are not orders and are not saved anywhere on SitesPlaced. **Q: The WhatsApp button opens a chat with nobody, or says the number is wrong.** The number is missing its country code, or has a typing mistake. Open Settings → Store details and re-enter it with the code in front, such as 919999999999. Stores that sell in rupees get 91 added to a plain ten-digit mobile number automatically; every other store must type the code. **Q: I ticked WhatsApp is the only way to order but shoppers still see Direct Order.** Check three things. Show WhatsApp checkout is ticked and you pressed Save. Store details has a WhatsApp number. And 1-click checkout with Shiprocket or Razorpay Magic is off. A cart with a digital download will always use Direct Order. **Q: Does WhatsApp ordering cost anything?** No. WhatsApp checkout, WhatsApp as the only way to order, and Take every order on WhatsApp are included on every plan, with 0% commission. Only the floating chat bubble needs the Growth plan.