How to Set Up WhatsApp Business in Nigeria: A Beginner's Guide

If you are starting to sell on WhatsApp in Nigeria, WhatsApp Business is the first thing to set up properly. It is free, it takes about twenty minutes to configure well, and it is the difference between looking like a random contact and looking like a real business the moment someone opens a chat with you.

This guide walks through the setup in the right order, so nothing important gets skipped.

Step 1: Download WhatsApp Business and choose your number

WhatsApp Business is a separate app from regular WhatsApp, available free on the Play Store and App Store. When you install it, you will be asked to verify a phone number.

You have two choices here:

• Use your existing personal number. Faster to set up, but your business and personal chats live in the same place.
• Use a separate number. Takes a little more effort, but keeps your business feel clean and lets you switch phones or staff onto it later without handing over your personal line.

If you are just starting out and already have customers messaging your personal number, it is fine to convert that number to WhatsApp Business. You will not lose your existing chats.

Step 2: Fill in your business profile completely

This is the step most sellers rush through, and it shows. Your profile is often the first thing a new customer checks before deciding whether to trust you. Go to Settings, then Business Tools, then Business Profile, and fill in every field:

• Business name. Use your real business name, not a nickname only your friends recognise.
• Category. Choose the one that best matches what you sell.
• Description. One or two lines on what you sell and who it is for.
• Address. Even a general area, like “Lekki, Lagos,” helps if you serve a local market.
• Business hours. Set real hours so customers know when to expect a reply.
• Website or link. If you have a website, add it here. It is one of the few places WhatsApp lets you point people beyond the app.
• Profile photo. Use your logo or a clear photo of your product, never a blurry or random image.

A complete profile signals that you are organised and here to stay, which matters a lot to a first-time buyer who has never bought from you before.

Step 3: Set up your catalogue

Go to Business Tools and select Catalogue. Add your products one at a time with a clear photo, a name, a price, and a short description. A few things worth getting right:

• Use one clear photo per product, taken in good light, not a blurry phone snap.
• Always show a price. “DM for price” quietly pushes buyers away.
• Keep names simple and specific, like “Ankara Wrap Dress, Medium” rather than just “Dress.”

The catalogue is a good starting point, but keep in mind it only shows to people who are already chatting with you or who find your link. It will not show up on Google, and it looks the same as every other seller’s catalogue. Many sellers eventually pair it with a real website that ranks and looks like their brand.

Step 4: Write a greeting message

A greeting message is sent automatically to anyone messaging you for the first time, or after a period of inactivity. Set it up under Business Tools, then Greeting Message. Keep it short, warm, and specific to your business. For example: state your business name, what you sell, and invite them to say what they are looking for.

This one message does a lot of work. It tells a new customer they have reached the right place, even if you are not able to reply immediately.

Step 5: Set up quick replies for common questions

Quick replies let you save a response and fire it off with a short keyword, instead of typing the same answer for the hundredth time. Go to Business Tools, then Quick Replies, and set up answers for the questions you get most:

• Delivery times and areas you cover.
• Payment options and account details.
• Return or exchange policy, if you have one.
• Sizing or product details customers frequently ask about.

This alone can cut your response time significantly, especially during busy periods when you cannot type out full answers to everyone at once.

Step 6: Set up an away message

An away message covers you when you are asleep, busy, or simply away from your phone. Go to Business Tools, then Away Message, and set the hours it should send. A good away message tells the customer you saw nothing yet, sets an expectation for when you will reply, and keeps them from feeling ignored.

Something as simple as letting them know you will respond by a certain time the next morning stops a customer from assuming you have gone quiet on them.

Step 7: Use labels to stay organised as orders come in

Once messages start coming in, labels help you track where each conversation stands. Go to Business Tools, then Labels, and create a few simple ones like New Order, Paid, and Shipped. Apply them as conversations move along, so a quick glance at your chat list tells you exactly what needs attention.

The shortcut: let TextMint handle the rest

Setting up WhatsApp Business properly is a strong first step, but it is still just one piece. A catalogue alone cannot get you found on Google, and typing out order details by hand does not scale as you grow. TextMint builds you a real website from a WhatsApp chat, adds an Order on WhatsApp button so customers land in your chat with the order already filled in, and sets up a checkout that confirms payments for you. You describe your business, it does the work, and you approve before anything goes live.