Connect WhatsApp to Shopify: step-by-step integration guide

To connect WhatsApp to Shopify, install a WhatsApp app built on the official WhatsApp Business Platform, such as Kanal, link a phone number through Meta's sign-up window, then turn on the flows you need: order confirmations, shipping updates and abandoned checkout reminders. With Kanal it takes about 5 minutes and no code. If you only want a "chat with us" button, a free click-to-chat link is enough, but it will not send any message for you.

This guide covers both options, then the full Kanal setup step by step: what to prepare, how the Meta connection works, which Shopify events trigger a WhatsApp message, how to collect opt-ins at checkout and the five tests to run before you go live. For an overview of what the connection does once it is live, see WhatsApp for Shopify.

Two ways to connect WhatsApp to Shopify

A click-to-chat link is a URL in the form https://wa.me/ followed by your number in international format, without the plus sign. WhatsApp documents it in its Help Center. Put it on a button in your header, product pages or contact page, and every click opens a conversation with the number running WhatsApp or WhatsApp Business on your phone.

That covers support questions. It does not cover anything the store should send by itself: an order confirmation, a tracking link, a cart reminder or a campaign. Those run on the WhatsApp Business Platform, which Meta opens to businesses through solution providers and apps. The rest of this guide sets it up with Kanal.

What you need before you start

1. A phone number with no active WhatsApp app account. The number you register must not have an account on the WhatsApp app or the WhatsApp Business app installed on a phone. Use a new number, or free your current one first.
2. Admin access to your Meta Business Manager (business portfolio), with your Facebook login. If you don't have one, Meta creates it during sign-up.
3. Full admin rights on Shopify, to install the app and edit the checkout settings.
4. Your brand details: the display name customers will see, your category and your website URL. The display name must match your brand.

How to connect WhatsApp to Shopify with Kanal

Step 1: install Kanal from the Shopify App Store

Open Kanal on the Shopify App Store and click Install. The app connects to your store's products, customers, checkouts and orders, so the flows you build later run on real store events.

On October 19, 2026, the listing showed a 5.0 rating from 132 reviews, the Pro plan at $89 a month and the Scale plan at $149 a month.

Step 2: connect your Meta account

In your Kanal dashboard, click Connect my Meta account. A secure pop-up managed by Meta opens. Log in with your Facebook credentials, then:

• choose the Business Manager that will own your WhatsApp account;
• create a new WhatsApp Business Account (WABA), which will hold your templates and campaigns.

This is the official Embedded Signup flow that Meta provides to solution providers: you never share a password with Kanal.

Step 3: set up the profile and verify the number

Still in Meta's window:

• enter your display name, your category ("Shopping and retail" fits most stores) and your website URL;
• enter the phone number, choose phone call as the verification method, and type the 6-digit code that the automated call reads to you;
• confirm the last screens to authorize Kanal. The window closes and you are back in Kanal, connected.

If the call does not arrive within a couple of minutes, check that the line is not on "do not disturb" and that anonymous calls are not blocked. These steps follow Kanal's help article on connecting your number.

Step 4: add the WhatsApp widget to your theme

In Shopify, go to Online Store > Themes > Customize, click the apps icon on the left and select Kanal Widget. Enter your number in international format, your brand name and an avatar (your logo or a team member's photo). You can add up to three buttons, each linked to a keyword that starts a Kanal automation, as explained in the widget help article.

Step 5: turn on the WhatsApp opt-in at checkout

A phone number given for order notifications does not allow you to send promotions. Collect explicit marketing consent at checkout:

1. In Shopify, open Settings > Checkout.
2. Under Marketing consent, check SMS marketing. In Europe, leave the box unchecked by default so the consent stays valid under the GDPR.
3. Click Manage checkout language, search "SMS" and rewrite the label to mention WhatsApp, for example: "Send me exclusive offers and order tracking on WhatsApp."
4. Save.

There is nothing else to set in Kanal: it syncs each customer's opt-in status, leaves out of your campaigns anyone who did not tick the box, and updates the status when a customer replies STOP.

Step 6: write your templates and activate your first flows

Any message that starts a conversation (a cart reminder, an order update, a campaign) must use a template approved by Meta. Write it in Kanal and submit it: Meta's review can take up to 24 hours. Then activate the flows below in order.

Which Shopify events trigger a WhatsApp message?

Kanal's flows start on these Shopify events, as listed in its guide to automation triggers:

Two practical rules:

• Shipment flows need tracking data. The tracking number and tracking URL must be on the Shopify order. For the in transit, out for delivery and delivered steps, your carrier also has to send its statuses to Shopify: open a delivered order in your admin and check that the status appears under the tracking number. If it does not, only "order shipped" can be automated until your carrier enables the sync (Kanal's delivery tracking guide includes a message to send them).
• Cart reminders stop by themselves. When the customer orders, the abandoned checkout flow ends, so nobody receives a reminder for a cart they already paid.

Messages can use Shopify data as variables: first name, order number, order total, tracking number, carrier and the order status page. Kanal can also create a unique Shopify discount code inside a flow and add tags to the Shopify customer.

Which flows to turn on first

1. Order confirmation. A utility message right after payment, to customers who opted in.
2. Shipping update. On "fulfillment created", with the tracking link as a button.
3. Abandoned checkout, first reminder. One short message with the product and a button back to the checkout. Measure what it recovers before adding a second reminder. Our abandoned cart recovery page shows how Kanal builds it.
4. Delivery confirmation and review request. Once delivery statuses reach Shopify.
5. Post-purchase cross-sell. A few days after delivery, filtered on the product bought. See post-purchase upsell.
6. Welcome message. For new opt-ins from the widget or a QR code.

Once the flows run, send your first WhatsApp campaign to opted-in customers, and if you use Klaviyo, connect it to reuse its segments and flows: see the Klaviyo WhatsApp integration.

Test before launch: 5 checks

Run these on your own number before you message real customers.

1. Place a test order. The confirmation should arrive with the right first name, order number and total.
2. Abandon a checkout. Enter your details at checkout and leave without paying. Use a short wait for the test, then check the product and the button back to the checkout.
3. Fulfill the test order with a real tracking number and check the shipping message and its link.
4. Send yourself a campaign template and look at it on iPhone and Android: buttons render differently.
5. Reply STOP to a marketing message and check that your contact switches to opted out.

If a message does not leave, the cause is almost always a template still pending at Meta, missing tracking data on the order or a contact without opt-in.

Verify your business with Meta

You can start sending without it, but verification is what lets you grow. According to Kanal's help article on Business Manager verification, a verified business can show its brand name in customers' chat lists even if they did not save the number, takes the first step toward the official business badge, and moves up Meta's messaging limits.

Prepare a business registration document, a proof of address in the company's name and an email address on your website's domain. Enter your details exactly as they appear on your documents: a small difference is the usual cause of a rejection. Meta's answer can come within minutes or take up to 14 business days. For the badge itself, see WhatsApp Business verification and the green tick.

Common problems and how to fix them

• "This number is already registered." The number still has an account on the WhatsApp app or the WhatsApp Business app. Delete that account in the app, then register again.
• No verification call. Turn off "do not disturb" and anonymous call blocking on the line, then ask for a new call.
• Template rejected. Meta rejects messages that read as unsolicited or vague. Name the customer's order or action, keep one clear call to action, and choose the right category (utility for order updates, marketing for promotions). Our WhatsApp Business templates guide has examples.
• Delivery messages never fire. Your carrier does not send statuses to Shopify. Check a delivered order and contact the carrier or your shipping app.
• Campaign reaches fewer people than your list. Only customers who gave marketing consent receive campaigns. Add opt-in points: the checkout box, the widget, a QR code with a magic link.

Optional: show your Shopify catalog in WhatsApp

You can also link your Shopify catalog to your WhatsApp Business account through Meta's Commerce Manager, using the catalog created by Shopify's Facebook and Instagram sales channel. Customers then browse products from your WhatsApp profile, and your team can send product cards from the Kanal inbox. Kanal's catalog help article lists the steps; WhatsApp shows up to 500 products, so create a dedicated collection if your store has more.

Is Kanal the right WhatsApp app for your Shopify store?

Kanal is a WhatsApp marketing and sales app for online stores, and it goes deepest on Shopify: flows on store events, campaigns to segments synced from Shopify and Klaviyo, a shared inbox with the customer's orders, and an AI agent that answers questions and recommends products. It is paid: Pro at $89 a month covers cart recovery, campaigns and the inbox for one user, and Scale at $149 a month adds segments, advanced automations, the AI agent and the Klaviyo, Gorgias, Recharge and Crisp integrations. Meta's message fees are billed at cost on top, with no markup. Our WhatsApp Business pricing guide explains those fees by country.

To compare it with the other WhatsApp apps on the Shopify App Store, read our ranking of the best WhatsApp apps for Shopify. To see the setup on your own store, book a demo: a Kanal expert connects your number and turns on the first flows with you.