WhatsApp Business Web: WhatsApp Business on a computer

Use WhatsApp Business on a computer

1. On the computer open web.whatsapp.com, or install the WhatsApp desktop app for Windows or Mac.

2. On the phone open the WhatsApp Business app. Android: three dots, then Linked devices. iPhone: Settings, then Linked Devices.

3. Tap Link a device and scan the QR code on the computer.

From then on the computer works without the phone nearby. The same keyboard shortcuts and fixes apply as for a personal account.

Business tools you get on the web

• Quick replies: type / in the message box to insert a saved answer.
• Labels: mark chats as new customer, paid, pending and so on, and filter the chat list by label.
• Catalog: send products and services from your catalog into a chat.
• Business profile: address, hours, website and description shown to customers.
• Greeting and away messages are set up in the phone app and then run for every chat, including those you answer on the computer.

Working as a team on one number

The Business app accepts up to 4 linked devices, so a small team can each link their own computer to the shop's number. The paid Meta Verified for Business plans raise the limit in steps: four devices on the Standard plan, then six, eight and 10 on the higher ones. WhatsApp itself describes this as the way to let more employees answer customers. It works, with three limits that show up quickly:

• Everyone sees and can answer every chat. There is no assigning, no "who is handling this" and no internal notes.
• There are no per-person logins, so there is no record of who said what, and removing a colleague means unlinking a device by hand.
• Nothing connects to your other systems: no CRM record, no order lookup, no automatic messages beyond greeting and away.

When you outgrow WhatsApp Web

The step after the Business app is the WhatsApp Business Platform, usually called the WhatsApp API. It has no app of its own: you use it through software, which gives you a shared inbox with named agents, chat assignment, automation, chatbots and integrations. You are ready for it when two or more of these are true:

• More people need the inbox than the app has device slots.
• Customers wait because nobody knows who is answering whom.
• You want order confirmations, reminders or follow-ups to go out by themselves.
• You want WhatsApp chats inside your CRM or helpdesk, next to email.
• You want to message customers at volume within WhatsApp's rules.

The next steps, in order