Use WhatsApp Business, not the personal app
The free WhatsApp Business app gives you a business profile (address, hours, website, description), a catalogue of products, quick replies for the questions you answer every day, labels to track orders, and a greeting and away message for when you're closed. Set all of them up before anything else.
Links that arrive filled in
WhatsApp supports links in the form wa.me/your-number?text=… that open a chat with a message already written. Put one on every product: "Hi, I'd like 2 × Medium Arabic coffee 500g". The customer only taps send, and you get the item, size and quantity in the first message.
The same link works in your Instagram bio, Google profile, ads and printed QR codes.
A website that does the asking for you
A catalogue in a chat is hard to browse. A simple website lets customers see every product with a photo, choose sizes and quantities, and see the total — then sends the whole order to your WhatsApp in one message. You keep the conversation; the website removes the questions.
- Photos and a clear name on every product.
- Delivery areas and times written once, where everyone sees them.
- How they can pay: cash on delivery, card on delivery or a payment link.
- Opening hours, so late orders know when you'll reply.
Answer in minutes, not hours
Someone ready to buy will message the next shop if you're slow. Quick replies help; an assistant on WhatsApp that answers common questions (hours, delivery, availability) at any time of day helps more, and hands the customer to a person when it matters.
Know where orders come from
If you run ads, tag each link so you can tell which ad or post brought the order. Then you can spend more on what sells and stop what doesn't.