WhatsApp Business catalog: a guide for Pakistani sellers

Most Pakistani buyers will message you before they order. A catalog means that when they ask “price?” or “aur designs dikhayen”, you send one link instead of twenty photos. Here is how to set it up so it sells, and where it stops being enough.

What the WhatsApp Business catalog does, and doesn’t

The catalog is a product list that lives on your WhatsApp Business profile. Per WhatsApp Business’s own catalog page, as of October 2026 you can:

• add up to 500 items, each with up to 10 photos or videos
• group items into collections, such as new arrivals or sale
• hide items that are out of stock without deleting them
• share a single item, a collection or the whole catalog in a chat or on your status

What it does not do:

• No checkout. A buyer can add items to a cart, but the cart reaches you as a message. Address, delivery charge and payment are still sorted out in the chat.
• No stock count. You hide and unhide items by hand.
• No order list. Orders sit between your other chats. Which ones are confirmed, shipped or returned is up to your memory or a notebook.
• No courier or tracking record tied to the order.

So treat it as your showroom inside WhatsApp: good for answering “what do you have”, weak for running orders once there are more than a few a day.

Set up your catalog, step by step

1. Install WhatsApp Business, not regular WhatsApp. Use a number you will keep; buyers save it.
2. Fill your business profile first: business name, category, a short description, hours, and an address if you have one. A blank profile makes the catalog look like a side account.
3. Go to Settings > Business tools > Catalog, then tap Add new item.
4. Add photos, the item name, price, description, a link if you have one, and an item code. Save.
5. Repeat for each product, then open Collections and group them.
6. Open your own catalog from another phone to see it the way a buyer will.

Items are added one at a time in the app, so start with your ten best sellers rather than everything you own. A catalog of ten clear items sells better than 200 half-filled ones.

Write items that sell

Every question a buyer asks in chat is a line missing from your item. Fill these in before they ask:

• Name: what it is, not a code. “3-piece lawn suit, printed, mint green” beats “Article 4471”.
• Price: always. “DM for price” adds one message per buyer and loses the ones who don’t send it.
• Photos: the first photo is the thumbnail, so make it the product alone in daylight. Then a close-up of fabric or finish, one worn or in use, and the size chart. Our guide to product photography at home covers light and backgrounds, and the background remover and image compressor clean up and shrink photos before you upload them.
• Description: size, fabric or material, what is included, delivery time and whether cash on delivery is available. The product description generator writes one in English, Roman Urdu or both.
• Item code: use the same code you write on the parcel. When a buyer sends a cart, you will know exactly which piece to pack.

Keep collections few and obvious: New, Lawn, Formal, Sale. When something sells out, hide it the same day, so nobody sends a cart for a piece you cannot ship.

Share your catalog link

The whole catalog has a link. You can copy it from the app, or build it: WhatsApp’s developer docs give the format as https://wa.me/c/ followed by your number with the country code. For a Pakistani number, drop the leading zero and add 92:

0300 1234567 becomes wa.me/c/923001234567

Where to put it:

• Your greeting message and quick replies, so new chats get it without you typing.
• Your Instagram and Facebook bio, and pinned on your status when new stock comes in.
• A QR code on packing slips and inserts, so a buyer who liked the parcel can order again. The QR code generator makes one from the link.

Share single items and collections, not just the full catalog. A buyer who asked about bedsheets should get the bedsheet collection, not all 300 items. For broadcasts, Status and how often to message past buyers, see our guide to WhatsApp marketing in Pakistan.

When a cart arrives

A cart is the start of an order, not an order. For cash on delivery, the routine is the same as any other chat order:

1. Reply quickly with the total, including the delivery charge.
2. Ask for name, full address with landmark, city and a second phone number. Ask once, in one message.
3. Confirm size and colour against the item code before you pack.
4. Book the courier, and send the buyer the tracking number.
5. Label the chat, for example New, Confirmed, Shipped, Returned.

Skipping the confirmation is how parcels come back refused. Our guide to reducing COD returns has the exact words to use on the call, and the courier charges calculator tells you what delivery to quote. If buyers also message you from posts and ads, the WhatsApp order link generator makes a link that opens a chat with the order details already filled in. For the exact words to send at each step, copy the order confirmation message templates for WhatsApp.

Limits and banned products

Every catalog item is checked against WhatsApp’s Business and Commerce Policy. It does not allow selling, among other things, drugs, medical and healthcare products, alcohol and tobacco, weapons, live animals other than livestock, and adult products. If you sell herbal remedies, weight-loss products or hair oils with medical claims, those are the items most likely to be rejected. Lawn, jewellery, bags, home decor, food and most cosmetics without medical claims are what the catalog suits best.

The other limit is the one in the name: it lives inside one phone number. If two people answer chats, or you sell from Instagram as well, there is no single place where all orders land.

Catalog not showing? Check these

• Item still under review. New and edited items are checked before buyers see them. Give it time before you re-upload.
• Item rejected. The app marks it in your catalog. Read the policy, change the wording or photo if it was a mistake, and ask for another review from the item.
• Item hidden. Hidden items stay in your list but buyers cannot see them.
• Catalog turned off. Per WhatsApp’s docs, a disabled catalog makes catalog links show “Invalid catalog link”.
• Wrong link. Check the number in your wa.me/c/ link has 92 and no leading zero.

When to move orders to a store

The catalog works while you can hold every order in your head. These are the signs you have outgrown it:

• You scroll back through chats to find who ordered what, and what was shipped.
• Buyers ask “is this available?” because they cannot see stock.
• You sell on Instagram, Facebook and WhatsApp, and orders come in three places.
• You want your brand on its own address, not just a phone number.

At that point, take orders in your own store and keep WhatsApp for what it is best at: talking to buyers and confirming orders. Our guide to online selling websites in Pakistan compares every option on fees and who owns the buyer, and how to start an online store in Pakistan walks through the setup.

Questions sellers ask

How many products can I add to a WhatsApp Business catalog?

Up to 500 items, each with up to 10 photos or videos, according to WhatsApp Business’s own catalog page. Group them into collections so buyers are not scrolling through all 500.

How do I share my WhatsApp catalog link?

Open the catalog in the WhatsApp Business app and use the share or link option, or build it yourself: https://wa.me/c/ followed by your number with the country code and no leading zero, for example wa.me/c/923001234567. You can share single items and collections the same way.

Is the WhatsApp Business catalog free?

Yes. The catalog is part of the free WhatsApp Business app. There is no charge to add items or share them in chats.

Can customers pay through the WhatsApp catalog in Pakistan?

No. A cart reaches you as a message with the items and quantities. Price, address, delivery charge and payment are all settled in the chat, so for cash on delivery you confirm the order and book the courier yourself.

Why is my WhatsApp catalog not showing?

Common reasons: the item is still being checked against WhatsApp’s Commerce Policy, it was rejected because the product is not allowed, it is hidden, or the catalog itself is turned off, in which case catalog links show an invalid link message.

Can I sell medicines or herbal remedies on the WhatsApp catalog?

WhatsApp’s Commerce Policy lists drugs and medical and healthcare products among the things businesses cannot sell on WhatsApp, so items like these are likely to be rejected. Read the policy before you list anything in this area.

Storelala is the Shopify alternative in Pakistan: your own store at yourbrand.storelala.com, cash on delivery, JazzCash and Easypaisa built into checkout, PostEx, Leopards and TCS booked from the order screen, and no marketplace commission. It runs from your phone and is free to start, with no card needed. Start your store and give your catalog a proper home.