Lesson 2 of 7 5 min
WhatsApp that sells
The four WhatsApp tools on your store and which fits how you sell, status as a daily shop window, broadcast lists done honestly, and when automatic confirmations are worth paying for.
Most Indian sellers already sell on WhatsApp. The difference between a chat that sells and one that eats your evening is whether the store does the typing. Let the store collect the address, the size and the total; use the chat for the part only you can do — the reply.
Four tools, one number
Every WhatsApp button on your store uses the number under Settings → Store details, with the country code in front. Add it first; nothing below works without it. Then pick the tool that matches how you sell:
- WhatsApp checkout next to the normal checkout. On by default, free. The shopper fills in the cart and their details, the order is saved to your Orders tab, then WhatsApp opens with the order already typed to you. Keep this if you take UPI, cards or COD and some buyers prefer to chat.
- WhatsApp as the only way to order. Free. The cart, coupons and delivery charge still work; the one button sends the order to you. For sellers with no payment gateway yet, or who confirm every order by hand.
- Take every order on WhatsApp. Replaces the cart with a chat button on each product. Nothing is saved as an order, so you keep the records yourself. Today it works on the Astrology & Consultation Store template only.
- The floating chat bubble. A round button on every page for questions before buying, with a pre-written opening line. Not an ordering method. Part of the Growth plan.
The switches, and the cases where one setting overrides another, are in Take orders on WhatsApp. Whichever you choose, the WhatsApp button on any order in your dashboard opens a chat with that customer.
Status is your daily shop window
A status is seen by everyone who has your number, with no algorithm in between. Post one a day, not five: a product with its price and the link; a parcel being packed; 3 left when it is true. Use the link, not DM me — a page with a pay button sells while you sleep. The WhatsApp link generator makes a pre-filled Hi, I want to order… link for a story or bio; the WhatsApp QR code generator turns it into a code for the counter.
Broadcast lists, honestly
A broadcast list sends one message to many chats at once. WhatsApp only delivers it to people who have saved your number in their contacts; everyone else gets nothing, and you cannot tell. So ask customers to save your number — put the line on the thank-you card — and keep broadcasts rare: a new drop, a sale with an end date, a restock someone asked for.
The WhatsApp Business app adds a catalogue and a profile with a website field. Put your store link in both, so someone who opens your profile has a page to tap.
Automatic alerts and confirmations
Automatic messages — a new-order alert to you and a confirmation to the customer, from your own WhatsApp Business number when an order is placed — are a different thing: the WhatsApp Business API, part of the Growth plan, with your own Meta credentials and a second number for the API. Meta charges per message to your own account; SitesPlaced adds nothing. Worth it once you have more orders than you can confirm by hand, not before. See WhatsApp order notifications.
Do not spam
A broadcast to people who never asked for it, or the same message in a group twice, gets a number reported, and a reported number gets banned. Status is free and safe; broadcasts are for people who have bought or asked.
Write down
Order method I use: ______. One status a day at ___ o'clock. Thank-you card says: save this number ______.
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