There are two ways for a business to be on WhatsApp — and since 2025, a third option that combines them.

WhatsApp Business App (free, manual)

A phone app for small businesses: business profile, catalog, labels, and quick replies. Everything is manual — fine for a handful of chats a day, but you can't automate order updates, recover carts automatically, or send campaigns at scale.

WhatsApp Business API / Platform (automation at scale)

The API has no interface of its own; it connects your number to software like SuperLemon. That unlocks:

• Automation — abandoned cart recovery, order confirmations, shipping updates, COD verification, review requests.
• Campaigns — bulk marketing sends to opted-in customers, with scheduling and analytics.
• Team inbox — multiple people answering one number from a shared inbox, desktop or mobile.
• Your brand identity — display name, logo, business profile, and eligibility for the blue verified checkmark.
• Integrations — Shopify events, Shopify Flow, Judge.me/Loox, and more.

Coexistence: run both on one number

Since 2025, Meta supports Coexistence — the same number active in your WhatsApp Business App and on the API. Keep chatting from your phone; let SuperLemon automate in the background. How Coexistence works →

Rule of thumb

Under ~10 orders a month, the free app (plus SuperLemon's widgets and manual messages) is enough. Beyond that, automation pays for itself — most merchants recover more from abandoned carts alone than the subscription and message fees cost.