Guide · First impression · For the owner who has never tapped their own number's name

Your WhatsApp business profile: the seven fields customers see when they tap your name

When a customer taps your business's name at the top of a chat, WhatsApp opens your business profile: a picture, a short line, your address, a description, an email, up to two websites and a category. Meta's page lists exactly seven fields and their lengths. Most businesses fill in two and leave the rest blank, which is the first thing a new customer notices. Here is what each field is, how long it may be, and the small rules that trip people up.

Published 1 October 2026 · Updated 7 October 2026

The seven fields, with Meta's limits

Profile picture: Uploaded as an image file. The one element a customer sees before opening the profile, because it sits beside every message in their chat list.
About: One line, 1 to 139 characters, shown beneath the picture, number and contact buttons. It cannot be empty once set. Emoji show; links are allowed but do not become clickable; no formatting.
Address: Up to 256 characters. Where you are, written as a customer would search for it.
Description: Up to 512 characters. The paragraph that explains what you do, for whom, and when you are open.
Email: One address, up to 128 characters, in valid email format.
Websites: At most two, each up to 256 characters, and each must be written as a full web address including the https or http prefix. Meta suggests a website, a Facebook Page or an Instagram profile.
Category: One choice from Meta's fixed list, shown in the profile as a label: Clothing and Apparel, Beauty, Spa and Salon, Restaurant, Shopping and Retail, Professional Services, Medical and Health, Education, Travel and Transportation, Automotive, Hotel and Lodging, Food and Grocery, Event Planning and Service, Entertainment, Finance and Banking, Non-profit, Public Service, and a few more, including Other.

What the profile is not

It is not the display name: The name at the top of the chat is set separately, reviewed by Meta against its naming rules, and changed through its own process. The profile fields need no approval.
It is not the blue tick: A complete profile does not make a business an Official Business Account. The tick is applied for and granted to notable businesses on its own criteria.
It is not your catalog: Products shown on the profile come from a connected catalog, switched on in the number's commerce settings, not from these seven fields.

The display name guide, the blue tick guide and the catalog guide cover those three.

One rule worth knowing before you start

Meta's page says the only way to delete a business profile is to delete the phone number. Fields can be rewritten at any time; the profile itself stays as long as the number does.

Filling it in so it works

Write the About line for a stranger. 139 characters is one sentence. "Custom printed packaging for UAE brands, Mon to Sat 9 to 6" tells a new customer what you do and when you answer. A slogan tells them nothing.
Use the description for the questions you answer every day. Opening hours, delivery areas, minimum order, languages spoken. Every line here is one message your team does not have to type.
Match the address and category to your other listings. The same wording as your Google Business Profile and your website, so a customer who found you elsewhere recognises you here.
Put the link that converts first. Two websites only. If the booking page matters more than the home page, it goes first.
Keep the picture the same everywhere. The logo customers already know from your shopfront, your invoices and your social accounts. A changed picture reads as a changed business.

What Meta's own small-business guide says

Meta's how-to on first impressions for the WhatsApp Business app gives the same advice in short: fill in every field, use the name customers already know you by, pick a logo or a clean, well-lit photo because it is what people see in their chat list, keep the description short and specific about what you sell and who you serve, and set business hours so customers know when to expect a reply. Meta says a complete profile makes customers more likely to feel they are dealing with a legitimate business.

The profile on the WhatsApp Business app

The fields above are the Platform's. On the WhatsApp Business app, WhatsApp's Help Center says customers see the business name, description, address, hours and category, plus the month and year the business joined the app. Email, website, a username and linked Facebook and Instagram accounts can be added too. A few rules differ:

Up to three categories: Chosen from WhatsApp's list. A custom category cannot be made, so pick a more general one or Other Business.
Hours: Set as selected hours for chosen days, always open, or by appointment.
Photos: The profile photo and the cover photo are both public by default; the profile photo's privacy can be changed.
Blocked people: Anyone who has the number saved can see the profile, including people the business blocked. A blocked person cannot message the business or see its last seen, but can still view the profile and the catalog.
Chats from ads: A chat opened from a Facebook or Instagram ad shows the business name and image, the year it joined, follower counts from linked accounts, and any greeting message.

The business name, and why customers may see a number

WhatsApp's Help Center says the business name must represent the business. To be eligible for an Official Business Account, it cannot be written in capitals except for acronyms, or carry extra spaces, emoji, symbols or unnecessary punctuation, unless the business already brands itself that way. It cannot be only a person's full name, a generic word, a generic place or three characters or fewer, and it cannot include any form of the word WhatsApp. Changing the name of an Official Business Account may lose that status. Several businesses can share a name.

How the name shows depends on the account. With an Official Business Account, customers see the business name in their chat list even if they have not saved the number. With a regular account, they see the name they saved for the business, or only the phone number if they have not saved it.

Our reading: ask new customers to save the number

Most businesses have a regular account, so a customer who has not saved the number sees digits, not a name. A short request to save the contact, early in the first chat, puts the business name back in their list. The naming rules for numbers on the Platform are in the display name guide.

Questions

Who can change the profile?

Whoever runs your number on the platform, through Meta's business profile API or WhatsApp Manager. No Meta review is involved; changes take effect when saved.

Can we put a clickable link in the About line?

Meta's page says links are allowed there but do not render as clickable. Clickable links belong in the two website fields.

Our category is not on the list. What do we choose?

The closest match, or Other. The list is Meta's and fixed; it cannot be extended with your own label.

Why do customers see our number instead of our business name on WhatsApp?

WhatsApp's Help Center says that with a regular business account, customers see the name they saved for you, or only the number if they have not saved it. Only an Official Business Account shows the business name to everyone.

Can people we blocked still see our WhatsApp Business profile?

Yes. The Help Center says a blocked person cannot message you or see your last seen, but can still view the business profile and the catalog.

How many categories can a WhatsApp Business app profile have?

Up to three, from WhatsApp's list. A custom category cannot be created; the Help Center suggests a more general one or Other Business.

Which fields matter most?

Meta's advice is to complete all of them. The picture matters early because it is what people see in their chat list, and business hours tell a new customer when to expect a reply.

Does a complete profile improve delivery or limits?

Meta's profile page makes no such claim, and this guide does not either. What it does is answer a new customer's first questions before they ask them.

Sources

Meta's developer documentation: Business profiles, read 1 October 2026.
Meta's WhatsApp Business resource library: 5 ways to create a strong first impression with the WhatsApp Business app, read 7 October 2026.
WhatsApp Help Center: About your business profile, read 7 October 2026.
WhatsApp Help Center: How to edit your business profile, read 7 October 2026.
WhatsApp Help Center: About creating a business name, read 7 October 2026.
WhatsApp Help Center: How to customize how your business appears in chats with customers, read 7 October 2026.

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

Never tapped your own number's name to see what a customer sees?

We set up a business's WhatsApp number on a proper system, with the profile written for a stranger, the links that convert in front, and the same picture and wording as every other place the business is listed. A short call is the easiest way to see whether it fits your business.

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