Take orders on WhatsApp

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. 1Open your store dashboard and go to Settings → Store details.
2. 2Fill 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. 3Press 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.

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. 1Go to Settings → Checkout and find the Order methods card.
2. 2Make 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. 3Tick WhatsApp is the only way to order.
4. 4Press 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.

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.

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 for the rest of that section.

Message a customer from an order

1. 1Open the Orders tab and click an order to open it.
2. 2In the Customer card, press the green WhatsApp button. It sits next to the customer's phone number and email.
3. 3WhatsApp 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.