Turning website visitors into WhatsApp enquiries: a simple guide

01Use WhatsApp Business, not your personal number

The free WhatsApp Business app runs on a normal phone and keeps your shop chats apart from family groups. It adds things a personal account does not have:

• A business profile with your address, hours, website and a short description.
• A greeting message for first-time chats and an away message for after hours.
• Quick replies - saved answers to common questions, sent by typing a shortcut like `/price`.
• Labels such as “New enquiry”, “Quote sent” and “Paid”, so nothing is forgotten.

02Build your click-to-chat link

A click-to-chat link opens a WhatsApp chat with you without the customer saving your number. It looks like this: wa.me/919876543210 - the country code 91 followed by your 10-digit mobile number, with no +, spaces, dashes or leading zero.

You can add a ready-made first message, so you know where the chat came from. Put `?text=` after the number and write the message, with spaces as `%20`. For example: wa.me/919876543210?text=Hi%2C%20I%20saw%20your%20website.

03Put the button where people decide

One link in the footer is easy to miss. Place the button wherever a customer is ready to ask:

• At the top of the page, next to your phone number.
• Under every service and price, with a message about that service.
• On the contact page, beside the map and the enquiry form.
• On your digital business card, so people who scan it can message you straight away.

Write a clear label. “Chat on WhatsApp” or “Get a quote on WhatsApp” works better than a lone icon, because people know exactly what will happen.

04Keep a form for people who prefer it

Not every customer wants to chat. Some are at work, some want to send details once and wait for a quote, and some write after midnight. A short enquiry form catches them.

With forms and inquiries, every form on your OREYM website lands in one inbox. On a phone, each inquiry has Call and WhatsApp buttons, so you can reply in the channel the customer likes.

05Reply fast - and reply well

The first business to reply usually wins the customer. Speed matters more than a perfect message.

• Aim to answer within an hour during opening hours. Set an away message that says when you will reply.
• Greet by name and answer the question asked - price, timing or availability - before anything else.
• End with one clear next step: “Shall I send a technician tomorrow at 11?”
• Send a photo of your work or your price list instead of a long description.

06Follow up once, then let it go

Many enquiries go quiet because the customer got busy, not because they said no. A single polite reminder a day or two later brings many of them back.

Do not send broadcast offers to people who have not agreed to hear from you. WhatsApp lets people block and report a business, and too many reports can restrict your account.

07Your checklist

Set this up in one afternoon:

1. WhatsApp Business app installed with a full business profile
2. Greeting, away message and five quick replies saved
3. A wa.me link with a first message for each main page
4. A labelled chat button at the top, under each service and on the contact page
5. A short enquiry form for people who prefer not to chat
6. Labels to track each enquiry from first message to payment

Common questions