A WhatsApp catalogue lets customers browse your products inside the chat instead of asking for photos one by one. There are three main ways to set one up: the catalogue built into the WhatsApp Business app, a Meta commerce catalogue connected to the WhatsApp Business Platform, or products synced from your own website shop.
Each suits a different size of business. This article compares them and explains how to keep photos, descriptions and stock accurate. For the wider picture, start with our guide to selling on WhatsApp in the UAE.
The app catalogue
The WhatsApp Business app has had a built-in catalogue since 2019. WhatsApp described it at launch as “a mobile storefront for businesses to showcase and share their goods”, with a price, description and product code for each item.
It suits a business that:
- has a small, fairly stable range, such as a home bakery or a boutique;
- runs WhatsApp from one phone with one or two people answering;
- does not have a website shop, or does not need the two to match exactly.
The limits show up as you grow. Items are added and edited by hand in the app, stock is not linked to anything else, and orders arrive as chat messages that someone must copy into a system.
Meta commerce catalogues
A commerce catalogue is created in Meta’s Commerce Manager or through Meta’s API and then connected to your WhatsApp Business account. Meta’s developer documentation describes it as “a structured inventory of products or services that you upload to Meta”.
Once connected, a business on the WhatsApp Business Platform can send:
- a catalogue message showing the full range;
- a single-product message for one item;
- a multi-product message, which Meta’s documentation says can present up to 30 products organised into sections;
- product carousels customers can scroll through.
The same catalogue can also feed Facebook and Instagram shopping and ads. The catch is upkeep: unless the catalogue is fed from another system, someone still updates it by hand, and it can drift away from what is really on the shelf.
Syncing from your website shop
If you already sell online, the most reliable source of truth is usually your website shop. With a WooCommerce store, products, variations, photos and stock live in one place, and the chat reads from the same data.
| App catalogue | Meta commerce catalogue | Website-synced | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Where products are edited | In the app | Commerce Manager or a feed | Your shop |
| Stock levels | Not tracked | Only if a feed updates them | Live from the shop |
| Orders | Chat messages | Cart sent in chat | Real orders in the shop |
| Fits | Small, stable ranges | Businesses also using Meta shopping | Shops with a website |
The Help Centre explains managing products by message once your shop is connected. If your products are still in a spreadsheet or a PDF price list, a catalogue import can bring them in with categories, options and photos.
Photos and descriptions
Whichever option you choose, customers judge the product by its photo and the first line of text.
- Photos: plain background, good light, the real product. Show the size or pack where it matters.
- Names: what the customer would type, for example “Zaatar manakish, family size”, not an internal code.
- Descriptions: two or three short lines covering what it is, who it is for and key details such as weight, ingredients or allergens.
- Options: sizes and colours as variations, not separate products, so the customer picks in one place.
Writing hundreds of descriptions is slow. You can draft product descriptions in your brand voice and approve them before they are saved. Restaurants and shops with a printed list can also create draft products from a menu photo and review them before publishing.
Keeping stock accurate
An out-of-date catalogue causes the most awkward chats: a customer orders, pays or waits, and then hears the item is not available.
- Pick one source of truth. If you have a shop, update stock there, not in three places.
- Mark items out of stock, do not delete them. The product page stays, and customers can ask to be told when it returns.
- Check weekly. Look for items with no photo, no stock count or an old description.
- Tell the assistant what is seasonal. Ramadan boxes or National Day items should disappear when the season ends.
A sample reply when an item is sold out:
“The large date box is sold out at the moment. Would you like a message when it is back, or shall I show you the medium box?”
How Dub Ai helps
Dub Ai connects a WooCommerce catalogue to your WhatsApp number, so the assistant shows products with photos, answers questions about options and builds baskets inside the chat using live stock. You update products, prices and stock by sending a message, and changes that affect many products need your confirmation first.
If your products are not online yet, the Dub Ai team can import them from spreadsheets, PDFs or an old store and flag missing photos and duplicates. Descriptions can be written or rewritten in English and Arabic, and you approve them before they are saved.
Frequently asked questions
How many products can a WhatsApp catalogue hold?
It depends on the type. The app catalogue and Meta commerce catalogues each have their own limits, which Meta can change, so check the current figure in WhatsApp’s help pages or Commerce Manager. What is fixed in Meta’s documentation is per message: a multi-product message can show up to 30 products. Larger ranges usually work better synced from a website shop.
Does the catalogue update automatically?
The app catalogue does not: you edit each item by hand. A Meta commerce catalogue updates automatically only if a data feed or integration keeps it in sync. When the chat reads directly from your website shop, a change to price or stock in the shop is what the customer sees in the conversation, with no second list to maintain.
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