The name, photo and details customers see when they message you on WhatsApp can all be changed from the add-on. Open WhatsApp Settings and go to the WhatsApp profile tab. You don’t need WhatsApp Manager or a Facebook login.

If your number was set up in a hurry, the name may be something WhatsApp made up, like “Sam Taylor’s Business”. That is worth fixing first.

Changing your display name

  1. On the WhatsApp profile tab, type the name under New display name.
  2. Press Send to WhatsApp for approval.

WhatsApp reviews every new name, and that can take a few days. The tab shows where it has got to. Once it’s approved, the add-on switches your number over to the new name. You don’t need to do anything else.

You can change the name up to 10 times in 30 days. That limit is WhatsApp’s.

Names WhatsApp accepts

WhatsApp checks the name against your business, mostly by looking at your website. It turns down names that don’t match. In practice:

  • Write it exactly as it appears on your website, with the same capitals and spacing. “Harbour Plumbing & Heating” on the website means “Harbour Plumbing & Heating” here, not “HARBOUR PLUMBING”.
  • Not a person’s name on its own. Your trading name is fine.
  • Not a plain description like “Plumber” or “Boiler Repairs”, and no slogans.
  • No emoji, and no punctuation or symbols that aren’t part of your name.

If WhatsApp turns a name down, the tab says so and you can send another. A short name customers know you by is fine, as long as your website uses it too.

Where customers see the name

Your name always shows on your WhatsApp profile, the page a customer sees when they tap on you. It also shows at the top of their chat and in their chat list once WhatsApp has verified the name. WhatsApp does that by itself when your number moves up to a higher sending limit. Until then, the top of the chat shows your number.

A customer who has saved you in their phone’s contacts sees the name they saved you under, whatever your display name is.

Photo and profile details

Photo. Your logo works best. Any photo from your phone or computer will do: the add-on crops it to a square, so keep the important part in the middle.

About is the one line under your name, up to 139 characters. Description, address, email and up to two websites sit underneath. Leave the address empty if you work from home and would rather not show it.

Industry is WhatsApp’s list, and it has no category for trades. Professional services is the closest.

These details don’t need approval. Press Save profile and customers see them straight away.

If your number is also in the WhatsApp Business app

If you connected with the option that keeps WhatsApp on your phone, the WhatsApp Business app owns your profile. The tab shows what’s there, but you change it in the app: open Settings, then Business tools, then Business profile. WhatsApp may ask you to sign up for Meta Verified before it will review a new name on a number shared with the app.