To create a WhatsApp catalog, open the WhatsApp Business app, go to Business tools, tap Catalog, then tap Add new item and give each product a photo, a name, and a price. The catalog is free, holds up to 500 items, and sits right on your business profile where customers already message you. One thing to know upfront: the regular WhatsApp app cannot do this, so you need WhatsApp Business installed on your number first.
What is a WhatsApp catalog and why should I set one up?
A WhatsApp catalog is a scrollable product showcase attached to your WhatsApp Business profile. When a customer taps your business name at the top of a chat, they see your catalog right there. They can browse items, open one, and hit Message Business about it without ever leaving WhatsApp.
Compare that to the old way. Sophie runs a candle shop and used to send twelve photos, one by one, to every new customer who messaged her on WhatsApp. Prices lived in her head. Half the time she forgot one. Now she sends a single catalog link and the customer does the browsing themselves.
Each catalog item can hold:
- Up to 10 photos of the product
- A product name
- A price (optional, but you should almost always show it)
- A description
- A website link
- An item code, useful if you track stock elsewhere
Everything syncs to your WhatsApp Business profile automatically once Meta approves the item, which usually takes minutes.
How do I add products to my WhatsApp catalog on Android?
You need the WhatsApp Business app, not regular WhatsApp. If you are still on the standard app, install WhatsApp Business and migrate your number first. Then:
- Open WhatsApp Business and tap the three dots in the top right corner.
- Tap Business tools, then tap Catalog.
- Tap Add new item.
- Tap the image area to add photos from your gallery or camera. Lead with your best shot, because the first photo becomes the thumbnail customers see in chats.
- Type the product name and price.
- Tap More fields to add a description, a website link, or an item code.
- Tap the tick to save.
The item goes into review. You will see a small clock or “pending” state until Meta approves it. Approved items appear on your profile and can be sent in any WhatsApp chat.
How do I add products to my WhatsApp catalog on iPhone?
Same feature, slightly different route:
- Open WhatsApp Business and tap Settings in the bottom right.
- Tap Business tools, then Catalog.
- Tap Add New Item.
- Add up to 10 photos, then fill in the name and price.
- Add the description, link, and item code if you want them.
- Tap Save.
One iPhone-specific tip: if you manage WhatsApp across linked devices, do your catalog editing on the phone itself. The catalog lives in the app on your primary phone, and that is where adding and editing items is most reliable.
How do I share my WhatsApp catalog with customers?
A catalog nobody sees sells nothing. You have three ways to push it in front of people, all inside WhatsApp.
Send it in a chat. Open any conversation, tap the paperclip on Android or the plus button on iPhone, and choose Catalog. You can send the whole catalog or a single item. Either way it lands as a tappable card, not a flat screenshot, so the customer can open it and start an order.
Share your catalog link anywhere. Every WhatsApp Business catalog gets a short link in the format wa.me/c/ followed by your number, for example wa.me/c/12125550164. Find it under Catalog settings, then drop it in your Instagram bio, your email signature, or a Status update on the Updates tab where your regulars will spot it.
Add a line of text when you send an item. A catalog card with no message feels like a flyer shoved under a door. Two sentences on why this product fits this customer changes everything. If you freeze at that step, the WhatsApp catalog message maker turns a product name and price into a ready-to-send pitch you can paste straight into the chat.
And if you typo the caption after sending, press and hold the message and tap Edit. WhatsApp gives you 15 minutes to fix it.
What should I write in my catalog product descriptions?
The catalog card truncates your description, so the first line carries all the weight. Write like a person, not a spec sheet.
Weak: “Premium quality handmade soy candle available now.”
Strong: “Burns for 40 hours. Poured by hand in London. Smells like a fireplace without the smoke.”
A few rules that hold up across every product type on WhatsApp:
- Name items the way customers ask for them. Emma sells “Birthday cake, 8 inch, serves 12” because that is exactly what people type into her chats, not “Celebration Sponge Deluxe”.
- Show the price. “DM for price” kills momentum on WhatsApp. The whole point of the catalog is fewer back-and-forth messages, not more.
- Answer the obvious follow-up. Sizes, delivery area, lead time. Whatever question you get asked ten times a day belongs in the description.
- Use the item code field. When James messages “I want the blue one”, you want a code like
CND-014in the order thread, not a guessing game.
When a product needs a proper announcement message to go with it, run it through the catalog message maker and tweak the result until it sounds like you.
Why did WhatsApp reject my catalog item?
Every item you add is reviewed against Meta commerce policy before it goes live. Most products sail through. When one gets rejected, it is usually for one of these reasons:
- Restricted category. Alcohol, tobacco, weapons, medical products, and a long list of similar items are not allowed in WhatsApp catalogs, even where they are legal to sell.
- Cluttered images. Photos plastered with phone numbers, watermarks, or “50% OFF” text get flagged. Keep the image clean and put the offer in the description.
- Misleading listing. A price in the photo that contradicts the price field, or a name that does not match the product shown.
The fix is usually simple: edit the item, swap the image or reword the listing, and save. It goes back into review automatically. If you believe the rejection was a mistake, open the item and request a review from there.
How do I organize a WhatsApp catalog with collections?
Once you pass about 15 items, a flat list gets painful to scroll. Collections fix that. In the Catalog screen, tap Add new collection, name it something a customer would actually tap, like “New arrivals” or “Under 20”, then tick the items that belong in it.
Collections get reviewed just like items, so give them honest names. A collection called “Free stuff” full of paid products will bounce.
Collections also make the cart flow smoother. Customers browsing your catalog can add multiple items to a cart and send the whole thing to you as one order message. A tidy collection structure means fewer “do you have anything cheaper” messages, because the customer filtered themselves before they ever typed a word.
FAQs
Can I create a catalog on regular WhatsApp?
No. The catalog is exclusive to the WhatsApp Business app. Your personal chats survive the switch if you migrate the same number, but the business profile, catalog, and labels only exist on the Business app.
How many products can a WhatsApp catalog hold?
Up to 500 items, with up to 10 photos each. Very few small businesses hit the cap. If you have more products than that, put your bestsellers in the catalog and link out to your full website from the profile.
Does the WhatsApp catalog cost anything?
Nothing. The WhatsApp Business app and every catalog feature in it, including collections, carts, and the wa.me/c/ link, are free. You only pay if you move up to the WhatsApp Business Platform for large-scale automated messaging.
Can customers pay through my WhatsApp catalog?
In most countries, no. Customers send you an order through the cart, then you arrange payment however you normally do, like a payment link or bank transfer. Treat the catalog as your shop window and order form on WhatsApp, and confirm payment in the chat like Sophie does with a simple message: “Order confirmed, pay at the link and I ship tomorrow.”
