Why this works where a form does not
A contact form asks somebody to describe a problem in writing, in a box, with no reply until you get to it. For a lot of enquiries that is more effort than the customer is willing to spend.
Chat removes the friction in three ways. The customer can send a photograph, which for anything physical — a leak, a crack, a skin concern, a car — is worth several paragraphs. They get a reply in the same thread rather than wondering whether the form worked. And they can send it at eleven at night without feeling they are imposing, which a phone call does not allow.
It is also where a great many customers already are. For trades, salons, clinics and anybody whose work is visual or urgent, it consistently outperforms a form for volume of enquiry — though the enquiries are rawer and need qualifying.
The honest trade-off: chat creates an expectation of a quick reply. If you cannot answer within a few hours during the day, an away message that says so is essential, and in some businesses a form is genuinely the better fit.
Use a separate number. This is the one to get right.
A WhatsApp account is tied to one phone number, and a number can be on either WhatsApp or WhatsApp Business, not both.
So if you register the Business app on your personal number, your personal WhatsApp on that number goes. That is the mistake people cannot easily undo, and it is worth five minutes of thought before you tap through the setup.
Your options for a second number:
- A cheap second SIM in a dual-SIM phone, or an eSIM. Simplest, and gives you a number you can hand over if somebody else takes on enquiries.
- Your landline. WhatsApp can verify by voice call, so a business landline works — and it reuses a number already on your signage and van.
- A VoIP number, if it can receive either an SMS or a voice call for verification. Check before you rely on it; some cannot.
Both apps can run on one phone at the same time, on different numbers. That is the arrangement you want: personal chats stay personal, business chats stay findable, and you can hand the business number to somebody else without handing over your life.
The profile, and the two automatic messages
Once verified, the profile is a small amount of work with a disproportionate effect, because it is what a stranger sees before deciding whether you are real.
- Business name, exactly as it is everywhere else.
- Category, address if customers visit, and hours. True hours.
- Your website, and an email as a fallback.
- A description that says what you do and where, in a sentence.
- A catalogue, if you have listed services with prices. For a salon or a clinic this does real work — somebody can see what you offer without asking.
Then the two automated messages, which are the feature most businesses never turn on and the one that changes the experience most.
A greeting message fires on a first contact. Keep it short and useful: who you are, what to send to get a quick answer ("a photo and your postcode helps"), and when you reply.
An away message fires outside your hours. This is the important one. "Thanks — we are closed now and will reply by 9am tomorrow" turns an ignored message into a managed expectation, and it is the difference between a customer waiting and a customer messaging your competitor.
Quick replies are worth ten minutes too — saved answers to the questions you type every week. Pricing, where you cover, parking, what to bring.
The click-to-chat link for your website
Do not just publish the number. A number means the customer has to save a contact, open WhatsApp and find you — three steps, each one a chance to give up.
Use a click-to-chat link instead. The format is https://wa.me/ followed by your number in full international form, with no plus sign, no spaces, no brackets and no leading zero. A UK number starting 07700 900123 becomes 447700900123.
You can prefill the first message by adding ?text= and the message, URL-encoded. Something like "Hi — I found you on your website and I'd like a quote for…" lowers the barrier again, because the customer is editing rather than starting.
Where to put it: next to the phone number in the header, on the contact page, and at the end of any page where somebody has just decided. For a trade or a clinic it belongs beside the call button, not instead of it — some customers will always ring.
Two technical notes. Make it a normal link so it works on desktop as well, where it opens WhatsApp Web. And if you track taps on your phone number — which you should — track taps on this too, or you will not know which route is producing the work.
Things worth deciding before you start
Three that are easier to settle now than later.
Chat messages are business records. A quote agreed in WhatsApp is still a quote, and a complaint raised there is still a complaint. If you handle anything sensitive — health information in a clinic, financial detail, anything about a child — think about what belongs in a chat app at all and what should move to email or a call. A clinic in particular should be clear with itself about what it is willing to receive this way.
Decide who answers, and what happens when they are off. The reason to use a separate number is that it can be handed over; the reason to write that down is that it will need to be.
And know that the Business app is the small-business tier. There is a separate API product for larger operations with multiple agents and integrations, which costs money and needs setup. You almost certainly do not need it, but if somebody tries to sell you one, that is the difference.
The whole job
- Get a second number, or confirm your landline can take a verification call.
- Install WhatsApp Business and register that number — not your personal one.
- Complete the profile: name, category, hours, address, website, description.
- Add a catalogue if you have listed services.
- Write a greeting message that says what to send and when you reply.
- Write an away message with a real time in it.
- Add three or four quick replies for the questions you answer weekly.
- Put a wa.me link in your site header and on the contact page, beside the phone number.
- Prefill the message text so the customer edits rather than starts.
- Track taps on it, the same way you track taps on the phone number.
- Decide who answers it, and what the away message says when they are off.
Numbers one, six and ten are the three that most often get skipped, and each one costs enquiries on its own.
