How to use WhatsApp Business: complete setup guide

O WhatsApp Business is free and turns your number into a commercial channel with a company profile, catalogue, labels and automatic messages. This guide sets everything up, feature by feature, in the right order — from download to first professional service — and shows where the app reaches its limits.

The context: 89% of Brazilian companies already sell via WhatsApp^[1], and Meta reports that most consumers prefer to talk to companies via message^[2]. Using the regular app for this is throwing away free resources.

Step 1 — Installation and number

1. Download "WhatsApp Business" from the cell phone store (separate app from the regular one; both coexist on the same device with different numbers).
2. Confirm business number. If you are going to migrate your personal number, the app offers to import the history — make a backup first.
3. Choose your business name carefully: it cannot be changed easily afterwards (Meta restricts changes).

Step 2 — Profile that conveys trust

Incomplete profile is the biggest cause of “is this a scam?”. Fill everything in Settings → Business Tools → Business Profile:

• Photo: clean logo, readable in small size.
• Category: as specific as possible.
• Description: what you sell + differential, in 1-2 sentences.
• Address, opening hours and website: everything. Customer checks before paying.

Step 3 — Catalog

In Commercial Tools → Catalog, register products/services with photo, price and description. The practical benefit: instead of sending a separate photo, you share the catalog item within the conversation — with name and price together, without rework. Take care in the first photo of each item; This is what appears in the thumbnail.

Step 4 — Native automatic messages

• Greeting: triggers on first contact (or after 14 days of silence). Use anatomy recognition + identification + expectation + question — ready-made models in the guide welcome message.
• Absence: sends messages outside the configured time. Say when you respond.
• Quick Answers: shortcuts with "/" for frequent texts. The native accepts few and no organized media — serious library is for step 7.

Step 5 — Tags

In each conversation, tap the contact name → Tags. The app offers up to 20 manual labels. Start with 5 that mirror your funnel: New lead, In conversation, Pending payment, Customer, After-sales. Apply religiously — forgotten etiquette is a lying funnel.

Step 6 — Short link and QR Code

In Business Tools → Short Link, the app generates a wa.me from your number with a standard message. Spread: Instagram bio, website, email signature, QR on the counter. For links by channel (each with its own message, identifying the origin), use the free link generator — details in the guide how to create WhatsApp link.

Step 7 — Connect WhatsApp Web (and make it truly professional)

Answering calls all day on your cell phone doesn't scale. Connect to web.whatsapp.com (Connected devices → scan QR) and answer with keyboard and large screen. This is where native Business goes through the roof — 20 manual tags, 1 greeting, zero funnel, zero reports — and where a CRM extension assumes: Kanban, unlimited and automatic tags, chatbot and multiservice, all about the Web.

First day checklist

• ✅ 100% completed profile (photo, category, description, hours, address)
• ✅ Catalog with at least the 5 best-selling items
• ✅ Active greeting and absence
• ✅ 5 funnel labels created
• ✅ Short link in Instagram bio and website
• ✅ WhatsApp Web connected to the customer service computer

Common mistakes for beginners

• Reply "when possible" — on WhatsApp, hours of waiting = lost sale. Configure the greeting to hold the lead.
• Outdated catalog — wrong price in the catalog creates friction at closing time.
• Ignore tags — without them, all tracking depends on memory.
• send promotion messages to the entire calendar — blocking path. Volume requires method: see the guide secure bulk messaging.

Sources

1. [1] Como o WhatsApp pode ajudar a impulsionar suas vendas — Sebrae (2023). accessed 2026-05-19.
2. [2] How people use messaging to connect with businesses — Meta Newsroom (2024-01). accessed 2026-05-19.