How to sell on WhatsApp in India — the 2026 playbook
WhatsApp is where Indian customers already are, which makes it the cheapest place to start selling and the messiest place to keep selling. This playbook covers the setup, the order flow, payments, shipping and the habits that turn a number into a business.
By Manan Agrawal, Founder · Updated August 23, 2026
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The House of Urmila · Jewellery
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The Pet Journal · Pet products
Testimonial video · August 11, 2026
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Surroor House · Clothing store
Store launch · August 13, 2026
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To sell on WhatsApp well, pair a WhatsApp Business number with a store link. The link shows your products with prices, sizes and stock, collects the address, and lets the buyer pay by UPI or COD or send the order to your WhatsApp in one tap. You keep the conversation; you lose the copying, chasing and guessing. On SitesPlaced the store is free to publish with unlimited products and 0% commission, with Razorpay, cash on delivery, WhatsApp checkout, Shiprocket and Shipmozo integrated.
Why WhatsApp works for selling — and where it breaks
Customers open WhatsApp dozens of times a day, they trust a seller they can message, and they can pay by UPI without leaving their phone. That is why everyone from home bakers to saree wholesalers sells there. The problem is that WhatsApp was built for conversation, not commerce. Every order is a thread to manage, and threads do not scale.
- ✓Price and availability questions arrive one at a time and must be answered one at a time.
- ✓Addresses and pincodes are typed by you from voice notes and screenshots.
- ✓Payments are UPI screenshots you match to conversations from memory.
- ✓You have no list of what sold this week without reading every chat.
- ✓Growth means more of the same work, not less — the opposite of what a shop should do.
The fix is not to leave WhatsApp. It is to give WhatsApp a shop to point at.
Three stages of selling on WhatsApp
Most sellers move through these stages in order. There is nothing wrong with stage one; the aim is to reach stage three before the order volume forces you there.
| Manual DMs | WhatsApp catalogue | Store link + WhatsApp checkout | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Best for | Your first few customers | A small fixed range, chat-first buyers | Anyone with more than a few orders a week |
| How buyers see products | Photos you send or post on status | WhatsApp catalogue inside the app | A store page with search, categories and variants |
| How they order | Free-text message | Per-product enquiry | Cart → address → ‘Checkout on WhatsApp’, UPI or COD |
| Payments | UPI screenshot | UPI screenshot | Razorpay (UPI, cards), COD, or pay after confirming |
| Record of sales | The chat | The chat | Dashboard with order IDs, invoices and status |
| Shipping | Manual courier booking | Manual courier booking | Shiprocket / Shipmozo with tracking page |
| Cost | Free | Free | Free, 0% commission |
How each stage behaves for a small seller in India, August 2026. WhatsApp catalogue and broadcast behaviour as published by WhatsApp at the time of writing.
Set up WhatsApp selling in six steps
Roughly half an hour end to end, most of it adding products. Nothing here needs code or a developer.
Set up a WhatsApp Business profile
Install WhatsApp Business on a number you are happy to share publicly. Fill in the business name, category, hours, a short description and an address if you have a shop. This is the number your orders will come to.
Open a free store on SitesPlaced
Go to /naari, pick a theme and add products with photos, prices, variants and stock — or import them from Instagram, a PDF or an existing site. Publishing costs ₹0 and there is no product cap.
Link the store to your number
Settings → Store details → WhatsApp number. Leave ‘Show WhatsApp checkout’ on so customers can send their cart, address and total to you in one tap. Add the store link to the website field of your WhatsApp Business profile.
Turn on payments and delivery
Connect Razorpay for UPI and cards, enable cash on delivery with an optional COD charge, and set shipping rates. Connect Shiprocket or Shipmozo so orders can be pushed to a courier with tracking.
Share the link, then keep sharing it
Bio, status, broadcast lists, groups you are allowed to post in, packaging QR codes. Every share is the same link, and every order from it arrives with an ID in your dashboard.
Follow up from the order, not the chat
Confirm, mark paid, ship and share tracking — all from the order record. Regulars can still chat; you just stop reconstructing what they bought from scrollback.
Everything above is on the free plan: ₹0 to publish, unlimited products, 0% commission, with Razorpay, COD, WhatsApp checkout, Shiprocket and Shipmozo included. The ₹499/month Ecommerce plan (early-bird; ₹999 after the first 30 stores) adds a custom domain, branding removal, AI copy, analytics, Meta Pixel + Conversions API and WhatsApp Business API alerts sent from your own number. See pricing.
Six plays that sell more on WhatsApp
The store handles the order. These habits handle the demand. All of them are free and most take a minute a day.
Status is your shop window
Post new arrivals and restocks to WhatsApp status with the store link. Viewers are people who already saved your number, which is the warmest audience you have.
Broadcast lists, used sparingly
Broadcasts only reach contacts who have saved your number, so ask customers to save it on their first order. One useful message a week beats daily blasts that get you blocked.
Prefilled openers
Give every link a prefilled message — ‘Hi, I’d like to order:’ — so even chat-first buyers start with intent. Our free link generator does this.
QR on every parcel
A WhatsApp QR code on the packaging and invoice makes reordering one scan. It costs nothing and works for customers who never visit Instagram.
Offers that run themselves
Coupon codes and Buy-X-Get-Y offers live on the store, so ‘festival offer’ is a link you share rather than a discount you remember to apply in chat.
Reply fast, but let the store reply faster
A store link answers price, size and availability before you wake up. Your reply then confirms an order instead of starting a negotiation.
Real stores selling through WhatsApp and Instagram
Not mockups — real sellers with stores live on SitesPlaced, taking orders with UPI, COD and WhatsApp checkout. Open any of them in a new tab.
The House of Urmila
A handcrafted jewellery label running its full catalogue on its own domain — UPI & COD checkout built in.
Visit live site
Surroor House
An oversized-tee label running its full catalogue on its own domain — trending designs, sizes and COD checkout.
Visit live site
The Pet Journal
India's first guided journal for pet parents, selling direct from its own domain instead of through DMs.
Visit live siteShipping a WhatsApp order
Shipping is where chat-only selling hurts most, because a wrong pincode costs a return. With the store link, the buyer types their own address into separate fields, and the order can be pushed to Shiprocket or Shipmozo from the dashboard — AWB number back, tracking shown on your Track Order page. Local deliveries and pickups work the same way without a courier: confirm on WhatsApp, mark delivered in the order.
Free tools for the chat side
The store handles orders; these handle the links. Build a wa.me link with a prefilled opener for your bio and ads, and a QR code for parcels, bills and shop boards.
WhatsApp link generator
Turn your number plus a prefilled message into a wa.me link you can paste anywhere — bio, website button, ad.
Open the toolFree toolWhatsApp QR code generator
A scannable QR that opens a chat with you. Print it on packaging, bills, visiting cards and shop boards.
Open the toolWhen to move to the paid plan
Stay free until the store is clearly working. The ₹499/month Ecommerce plan (early-bird for the first 30 stores; ₹999 after) is for when you want your own domain and no badge, AI-written product copy, analytics, Meta Pixel + Conversions API for Instagram ads, and WhatsApp Business API notifications from your own number so even UPI and COD orders ping you and confirm to the buyer. Payments and shipping integrations do not change between plans.
Razorpay, Shiprocket, Shipmozo, WhatsApp API, Meta CAPI: all built in.
Razorpay, cash on delivery, WhatsApp checkout, Shiprocket and Shipmozo are on the free plan. The ₹499/month Ecommerce plan adds the Meta integrations: Pixel + Conversions API and WhatsApp Business API alerts, bring your own credentials, plus your own domain, branding removal, AI and analytics. No app store, no per-integration fees.
Payments
- Free
UPI, cards, net banking and wallets at checkout. SitesPlaced takes 0% commission; Razorpay's standard gateway fee applies.
- Free
COD at checkout with an optional COD charge you set.
- Free
Order via WhatsApp for buyers who prefer to chat before paying.
Shipping
- Free
Push orders to Shiprocket, get AWB numbers back, and show live tracking on your Track Order page.
- Free
ShipmozoNew
Courier selection, pickup scheduling and tracking status synced back to each order.
Messaging
- ₹499
Every new order sends you an alert and the customer a confirmation, from your own WhatsApp Business number via Meta's Cloud API. Bring your own credentials.
Marketing
- ₹499
Meta Pixel + Conversions APINew
Your own Pixel on the storefront plus server-side Purchase events from the order record, deduplicated, so Instagram and Facebook ads report real sales. Bring your own credentials.
- ₹499
Custom head code
Paste Google Analytics, Clarity or any tag into your live site.
Growth
- ₹499
yourbrand.com with one-click DNS setup for most Indian registrars.
- Free
Create and edit your store by chatting with your AI assistant.
- Free
Bring a catalogue in from Instagram, your existing website, a PDF, dm2buy or Shopexer.
Give your WhatsApp a shop to point at
Open a free store, add your WhatsApp number and share one link. Customers browse, pay by UPI or COD, or send you the order on WhatsApp — and every order has an ID. ₹0 to publish, 0% commission.
Start selling free →Our team helps connect Razorpay and Shiprocket and can migrate an existing catalogue.
Frequently asked questions
How do I start selling products on WhatsApp in India?
Set up a WhatsApp Business profile, put your products on a free store link, and share that link in your bio, status and chats. Customers browse, add to cart and either pay by UPI or COD or send the order to your WhatsApp in one tap. On SitesPlaced the whole setup is free — ₹0 to publish, unlimited products, 0% commission.
Do I need a GST number to sell on WhatsApp?
Whether you need GST registration depends on your turnover and what you sell, not on using WhatsApp — the same rules apply as for any other sales channel. SitesPlaced generates a PDF invoice for every order from your dashboard; if you are registered, add your GSTIN and business details in the invoice wording (Settings → Payments & invoices) so they print on each one. Please check the current thresholds with a CA for your situation.
How do I take payments when selling on WhatsApp?
Three options that work together: UPI, cards, net banking and wallets through Razorpay at checkout; cash on delivery with an optional COD charge; or the customer sends the order via WhatsApp and pays a UPI request after you confirm. You switch each one on or off in your store settings.
Is a WhatsApp catalogue enough, or do I need a store?
A catalogue is enough to show products to people already chatting with you. It has no cart, address fields or payment step, so every order still needs manual work. A free store link adds those and still sends the order to WhatsApp, which is why most sellers switch once they pass a few orders a day.
Can I get order alerts on WhatsApp from my own number?
Yes, on the ₹499/month Ecommerce plan. Every new order — including UPI and COD orders placed without a chat — sends you an alert and the customer a confirmation from your own WhatsApp Business number via Meta’s Cloud API. You bring your own credentials. The plan also adds a custom domain, branding removal, AI copy, analytics and Meta Pixel + Conversions API.