Lewis SelbyCo-Founder, Maxme11 min read
To sell on WhatsApp in Ghana, install the free WhatsApp Business app on a number you keep for the shop, fill in the profile, load your best sellers into the catalog, post new stock to Status, and answer with saved quick replies. Take MoMo or a payment link before dispatch, and message only people who asked to hear from you.
Is WhatsApp Business free, and what does it add?
Yes. WhatsApp describes WhatsApp Business as a free app for Android and iPhone, and you need no Facebook Page or Instagram account to use it. WhatsApp sells some optional extras, covered below, but the core app costs nothing beyond your data. Statista puts WhatsApp use at 98.4% of Ghana's internet users in October 2025, so your buyers already have it open every day.
Use a number that belongs to the shop. WhatsApp needs a different number for each app, so one number cannot run on WhatsApp and WhatsApp Business at the same time, and the Business app also accepts a landline. Keep the business name the same as your Instagram name, your MoMo merchant name and your receipts, so a buyer sees one name at every step.
These are the tools that matter for a shop, with the limits WhatsApp states at the time of writing (October 2026):
Swipe the table sideways to see every column.
| Tool | What it does for a shop | Limit |
|---|---|---|
| Catalog | Products buyers browse and add to a cart inside the chat | Up to 500 items; 10 photos or videos per item |
| Quick replies | Saved answers you send with a shortcut | 50 saved replies |
| Labels | Tags that sort chats by order stage | 20 labels; WhatsApp is turning labels into lists |
| Greeting message | Sent on a first message, or after 14 days without a chat | One, on or off |
| Away message | Sent outside your hours or on a schedule you set | One, on or off |
| Broadcast lists | One message sent to many people as private chats | 256 contacts per list; only people who saved your number get it |
| Status | Photos and videos your contacts can see for 24 hours | Videos up to 90 seconds |
| Linked devices | Staff answer from other phones or a computer | 4 devices plus your phone |
How do you set up a WhatsApp Business profile that sells?
Fill in every field of the business profile: name, category, description, address, hours, email and website or Instagram link. Write the description for a stranger, in three short lines: what you sell, where you deliver and how to order. For example: "Ladies' shoes, sizes 36 to 42. Delivery in Accra and Tema, other regions by courier. Tap Catalog to see prices."
Set a greeting message for first chats. WhatsApp sends it when someone messages you for the first time, and again after 14 days without a chat, so use it to point at the catalog and give your delivery fee. Set an away message for outside business hours, or on a custom schedule, that says when you will reply.
Then save quick replies for the questions you answer all day: price, delivery fee by area, how to pay and delivery time. WhatsApp stores up to 50. Give them shortcuts you will remember, such as /delivery and /pay, so anyone on the team sends the same clear answer in seconds.
WhatsApp also creates a short link for your business, and the QR code sits under Tools, then Short link, then View QR code. Print the QR code on packaging and flyers, and put the link in your Instagram and TikTok profiles. Our guide 'How to sell on Instagram in Ghana' shows how to add it to your bio.
How do you make a WhatsApp Business catalog?
The catalog is a shop window inside the chat. WhatsApp's own resource page says you can upload up to 500 items, and each item can carry up to 10 photos or videos, with each video up to 50 MB. Each item needs a title and at least one image, and WhatsApp asks for the country of origin. Buyers add items to a cart and send them to you as one order.
Put the price on every item if your app shows a price field. WhatsApp says catalog prices are available only in certain countries and does not name them, so if you see no price field, start the description with the cedi price instead. Add the size, colour, what is in the box and an item code that matches your stock book.
WhatsApp reviews items before buyers can see them, and says it checks collections within 24 hours. Check the rules before you load stock. WhatsApp's business policy bans selling alcohol, tobacco, drugs and medical and healthcare products, and Meta's commerce rules for WhatsApp catalogs also ban ingestible supplements, used cosmetics outside their original packaging, and counterfeits. A business that sells banned goods can still chat on WhatsApp, but it cannot use the catalog.
WhatsApp gives no photo size for catalogs. Meta's specification for its Commerce Manager catalogs asks for square JPEG or PNG images of at least 500 by 500 pixels, with 1024 by 1024 recommended. Shoot in daylight against a plain background, then share single items or the whole catalog as links in chats, on Facebook and Instagram, and straight to your Status.
How do you sell with WhatsApp Status?
Status is where your regular buyers check what is new. Photos and videos stay up for 24 hours, and videos can run to 90 seconds. By default your Status goes to everyone in your contacts, and a buyer sees it only if they have saved your number too. Save every buyer's number, then ask them to save yours: "Save this number to see new stock on our Status."
Post the things buyers want to check: a new arrival with the cedi price written on the photo, a short video of the item in someone's hand, parcels leaving for delivery, and catalog items, which you can share to Status from the catalog itself. Answer replies to your Status with quick replies, and move the buyer on to the order.
Two limits catch growing shops. You cannot post a Status from a linked device, so posting stays on the main phone. WhatsApp Channels can reach an audience of any size, but they are one-way: followers cannot reply, and they do not see your number or profile name. WhatsApp also says Channels are not available to everyone yet.
Other businesses can now pay to appear between people's Status updates. Meta began a gradual rollout of ads in Status in June 2025, and WhatsApp describes them as ads that sit between organic Status content. If the placement shows in your Meta Ads Manager, you can test it like any other ad.
How do you message customers without getting your number banned?
A broadcast list sends one message to many people, and each person receives it as a private chat. WhatsApp allows up to 256 contacts per list and as many lists as you like, but only people who have saved your number receive the message. Broadcast lists work from the phone app, not from WhatsApp on a computer.
WhatsApp bans numbers for spam. Its own advice: do not bulk message, auto-message or auto-dial; message only people who contacted you first or asked you to contact them; and do not use contact lists that are not yours. It adds that frequent broadcasts lead people to report you, and it bans accounts reported many times. Unofficial copies of the app, such as GB WhatsApp and FM WhatsApp, can get a number banned too.
Ghana's law points the same way. The Data Protection Act, 2012 (Act 843) says a business may not use a person's details for direct marketing without their prior written consent, and the person can stop it at any time by written notice. Ask before you add anyone to a broadcast list, note who agreed and when, and remove anyone who asks. Whether a reply in a WhatsApp chat counts as written consent is a question for a lawyer.
WhatsApp is also selling paid business broadcasts, which can reach people who have not saved your number, in select countries. It does not publish the list, so check under Tools in your app. Until you see it there, broadcast lists to customers who agreed are your route.
How do you take payment on WhatsApp in Ghana?
Outside the chat. WhatsApp's payment feature works only in India, Brazil, Mexico and Indonesia at the time of writing (October 2026), and WhatsApp gives no timeline for other countries. Three routes work in Ghana, and each one leaves a record you can check:
Whichever route you use, release goods only when the money shows in your MoMo app, your USSD menu or your payment dashboard. A screenshot or a forwarded SMS proves nothing. Then send a short receipt in the chat: the item, the amount, the date and the delivery day. It answers "have you received it?" before the buyer asks, and it gives you a record if a refund question comes later.
- A MoMo merchant number in your shop's name, so the buyer sees the right name before approving. Our guide 'How to become a MoMo merchant in Ghana' covers MTN, Telecel and AT.
- A payment link, such as a Paystack Payment Page, which takes MoMo and cards with no website. Paystack charges 1.95% per local payment at the time of writing; 'How to open a Paystack account in Ghana' covers the sign-up.
- Payment on delivery, by cash or MoMo at the door, with the order confirmed in the chat first. 'Cash on delivery in Ghana without the fake orders' shows how to cut no-shows.
How do you keep orders straight as chats grow?
Use labels as a simple order board: New order, Pending payment, Paid and Order complete. WhatsApp allows 20 labels and is turning them into lists. If you run ads that open WhatsApp chats, those labels matter twice; our guide 'Click-to-WhatsApp ads in Ghana' explains how they can report sales back to Meta.
Add staff with linked devices. WhatsApp allows 4 devices plus your phone at no cost, and more only with a paid Meta Verified or Meta One plan, where those are offered. Linked devices cannot create broadcast lists or post Status, so keep those jobs on the main phone.
Keep an order record outside the chat as well: date, item, amount, how the buyer paid and where they found you. Phones get lost and chats get cleared, but a notebook or a spreadsheet stays. After a month, the record shows which posts, Status updates or ads bring paying buyers.
A store helps once chats become the bottleneck. Buyers see the price, pick a size and pay with MoMo on their own, while WhatsApp stays open for questions. 'How much does an online store cost in Ghana?' sets out the budget, and Maxme's Store Launch builds one with MoMo checkout and a WhatsApp button for GHS 5,000 (about US$430) on WooCommerce or GHS 6,000 (about US$517) on Shopify, one-off and excluding VAT; see our pricing page.
When should you add click-to-WhatsApp ads?
Add ads once your profile, catalog and replies work without you explaining the basics in every chat. WhatsApp lists ads that click to WhatsApp among the app's tools: a Facebook or Instagram ad with a button that opens a chat with you. Judge them by what each paid order costs you, not by how many chats they start.
'Click-to-WhatsApp ads in Ghana' walks through the setup, and Maxme's Lite plan runs them for you from GHS 2,500 a month (about US$215), excluding VAT and your ad budget. Before you spend anything, Maxme's free Ads & Store Audit looks at every step from "how much?" to paid on your WhatsApp, Instagram or website, and sends a short video on WhatsApp within 2 working days, with the three fixes that matter most.
