How to sell on WhatsApp with a website: links in the chat, orders on the store

Selling on WhatsApp works because your buyers are already there. It stops working when every order is a conversation: photos of products, 'price?', 'available?', a typed-out total, a UPI screenshot, an address sent in three messages. Each sale costs ten minutes of someone's time.

The fix is not to leave WhatsApp. It is to let WhatsApp carry links, and let a website carry the catalogue, the prices, the cart and the payment.

WhatsApp Business catalogue vs your own website

The WhatsApp Business app has a built-in catalogue, which is a good start for a handful of products. A website adds what a growing business needs: search across your whole range, variants such as sizes and pack sizes, stock that updates itself, a cart and checkout with online payment or COD, delivery charges, order tracking, invoices and returns — and a page Google can find.

A simple setup that works

1. 1

   Put your catalogue on a website

   Every product gets its own link with photos, options, stock and price. That link is what you send instead of a photo and a typed price.

2. 2

   Add a WhatsApp button to the store

   Buyers who have a question tap a button on the product page and land in a chat with you, with the product already named. Use the WhatsApp Business app on that number so your business name, hours and quick replies show.

3. 3

   Reply with links

   When someone asks 'do you have this in blue?', reply with the product link. They choose the variant, add it to the cart and check out — no total to calculate, no address to retype.

4. 4

   Share curated lists

   For a regular buyer or a new arrival drop, send one link to a curated list of products and quantities instead of a dozen photos.

5. 5

   Post the store link where people already look

   Your WhatsApp Business profile, status updates, Instagram bio and the card in every parcel.

For wholesalers: Never send trade rates in a chat or a PDF — they get forwarded. Send product links instead. On a store with gated pricing, each buyer who opens the link sees only the price they are approved for.

How this works on Slaby

One honest limit: automatic WhatsApp order updates from Slaby (confirmed, payment verified, shipped with a tracking link, delivered with a review link) are available only once WhatsApp is set up on Slaby and your store switches them on in Settings → Order alerts; buyers can reply STOP to opt out. Until then, buyers receive order updates by email, and you can message them on WhatsApp yourself.

• Save your number (with +91) in Settings → Branding and product pages show an 'Enquire on WhatsApp' button that opens a chat with the product name, SKU and link pre-filled — never a price.
• Turn on the floating WhatsApp button to show a chat button on every storefront page.
• Create share links from the admin: a curated list of products and quantities that a buyer opens at their own price view and adds to the cart in one tap.
• No WhatsApp API account or provider is needed — the buttons use WhatsApp's free click-to-chat links.

Common questions

Can I sell on WhatsApp without a website?

Yes, with the WhatsApp Business catalogue and manual payments, and many small sellers start that way. A website becomes worth it once you are spending real time answering price and availability questions, or want online payment, COD rules, invoices and returns handled for you.

Do I need the WhatsApp Business API?

Not for chat buttons and links. Click-to-chat links work with any WhatsApp or WhatsApp Business number. The API is for sending automated messages at scale.

How do buyers pay if they found me on WhatsApp?

Through your store's checkout: online through your own Razorpay or Cashfree account, or cash on delivery if you offer it.

Can I share my whole catalogue in one link?

Yes — share your store or a category link. For a specific selection, a share link lists exactly the products and quantities you choose.

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