Skip to content
BitByteCore ConnectBook a demo
Open the product menu
ProductSolutionsPricingHow it worksFAQCompany

Guide · Selling · For the owner selling from the WhatsApp Business app

The catalog and cart in the WhatsApp Business app: adding items, Meta's review, sharing links and what a cart order is

The WhatsApp Business app can show a catalog of products or services on the business profile, and customers can fill a cart from it and send it as a message. WhatsApp's Help Center explains what each item needs, how Meta reviews every item, how to share items and the whole catalog, and what a cart order is and is not. Here is what those pages say.

Published 7 October 2026

What every item needs

WhatsApp's Help Center says the catalog appears on the business profile, and that every product or service in it must have three things: a title no other item uses, at least one image, and the country of origin. The web steps allow up to 10 images per item. Everything else is optional:

Price and sale price
Adding prices is only possible in certain countries, the Help Center notes.
More detail
Extra images and videos, a description, a website link and a product or service code.

A business that already has a catalog with Meta can connect that one to the app instead of building another.

Reviews, collections, and when the catalog misbehaves

Each image added to the catalog is reviewed against WhatsApp's Business Messaging Policy, and an item stays invisible to customers until it is approved. A rejected item shows a red exclamation mark next to its image. If the rejection looks wrong, open the item, tap Request another review and give the reason; if that appeal is turned down too, the Help Center says to reply asking for a third review.

Items can be hidden without being deleted. Hidden items stay in the owner's catalog marked as hidden, and can be shown again from the same edit screen. Items can also be grouped into collections so customers find them faster.

Collections are reviewed too. The Help Center says each new collection is checked against WhatsApp's Commerce Policy, which should take no more than 24 hours, before customers see it. Collections can be renamed, reordered, given more items or deleted later. When the catalog itself misbehaves, its fixes are:

Items not showing
A known temporary issue, the Help Center says. The items are not deleted. Check the connection, update the app, and close and reopen it.
Changes that will not save
Make and save one change at a time rather than bulk edits, use smaller image files, and wait a few minutes before trying again.
A collection that will not delete
Remove every item from it first, then delete the empty collection.
Reordering fails
The order stays as it was before, and reordering works again once the temporary issue clears.

Sharing items and the whole catalog

What can be shared
A link to one item, or to the whole catalog. A collection cannot be shared as a single link; share the catalog and point customers to it, or send its items one at a time.
How
Open the item in Catalog and use the share option: Send product sends it into WhatsApp chats with an optional message, and Copy link gives a link for email or other apps.
Where the link opens
Inside WhatsApp it opens the item or catalog directly; from email or a browser, the person chooses how to open it.

The Help Center warns that the link is generated automatically, cannot be customised, and may stop working if it is edited. Customers can also pass items on to friends in a chat or a status update.

The business can share proactively too. From an individual or group chat, the Help Center's steps send the whole catalog or tick several items to send at once, and the catalog link or an item link can be posted to the business's own status.

The cart, and what comes after

The cart works through a shopping button next to the business name, in the chat and on the profile. Customers browse the catalog, add items, change quantities and then send the cart to the business as a WhatsApp message. The Help Center presents it as a way to begin an order: the cart arrives in the chat, and the business takes it from there.

The cart can be switched off. In Catalog, open Settings and set Add to cart on or off. The Help Center says both the business and its customers need the latest version of WhatsApp for carts to work, and that a change can take up to 24 hours to apply, so carts may still arrive for a day after switching them off. It also says Shops storefronts from Facebook and Instagram no longer appear in the WhatsApp Business app; the catalog is now the app's commerce tool, and the storefronts on Facebook and Instagram are not affected.

WhatsApp's articles on creating order details say they apply only to users in Brazil. Its general article on order details and summaries adds two points that hold wherever such a summary is sent: the business is responsible for every detail in it being correct, and it is not a substitute for an invoice, bill or receipt the business must issue by law.

Our reading: answer a cart like an order form

Reply to each cart with the total, delivery and how to pay, and keep issuing whatever invoice or receipt the business already issues. This is not legal advice on what an invoice must contain.

The same catalog and cart on Meta's developer platform are covered in the catalogs guide, and letting Meta's AI agent recommend from the catalog in the AI selling guide.

Questions

What does each item in a WhatsApp Business catalog need?

WhatsApp's Help Center says a unique title, at least one image and the country of origin. Price, description, website link and product code are optional, and prices are only available in certain countries.

Why can't customers see an item we added to our WhatsApp catalog?

Every item is reviewed against WhatsApp's Business Messaging Policy and stays hidden until it is approved. A rejected item shows a red exclamation mark, and you can tap Request another review.

Can we share one collection from our WhatsApp catalog as a link?

No. The Help Center says links work for one item or the whole catalog, not a collection. Share the catalog link, or send the collection's items one by one.

Can we turn off the cart in the WhatsApp Business app?

Yes. In Catalog, open Settings and switch Add to cart off. WhatsApp's Help Center says the change can take up to 24 hours, so carts may still arrive in that time.

Our WhatsApp catalog items disappeared. Are they deleted?

No. WhatsApp's Help Center calls it a known temporary issue and says the items are still saved. Check the connection, update the app, and close and reopen it.

Does a customer pay when they send a WhatsApp cart?

WhatsApp's Help Center describes the cart as sending the chosen items to the business as a message, and says nothing about paying at that step. Payment and delivery are arranged by the business in the chat.

Can a WhatsApp order summary replace our invoice?

No. WhatsApp's Help Center says an order summary is not a substitute for an invoice, bill or receipt a business must issue by law.

Sources

More plain-language notes like this one are on the guides page.

Want every chat in one place you own?

We set up a business's WhatsApp number on a system its team runs, so every customer conversation sits in one place the business owns. A short call is the easiest way to see how that would work for you.

Book a demo