How to send WhatsApp order updates from Shopify
Connect your own WhatsApp number to an app that listens to your Shopify orders, get three order templates approved by Meta, and ask customers on the thank-you page whether they want WhatsApp updates. Then each new, shipped or cancelled order sends a message, but only to people who said yes and never after they said STOP.
What you need before you start
You need three things: a Shopify store, a WhatsApp number on Meta's official WhatsApp Business Platform, and a way to link the two. The link is an app that hears about your orders and sends the right WhatsApp message.
Qubox for Shopify is one such app. It is made in India by Billiton Services Private Limited and runs on Meta's official WhatsApp Cloud API. Qubox for Shopify is being prepared for the Shopify App Store. Until it is listed, you can book a demo to try it on your store first.
Step 1: Connect your own WhatsApp number
Your messages should come from your own number, not a shared one. In the Qubox app inside your Shopify admin, the first step is Connect WhatsApp. It opens Meta's own sign-in in a new tab, where you choose or create your WhatsApp Business account and number. When you finish, you come back to the app.
Your WhatsApp account stays yours, and Meta bills message charges to your own WhatsApp account. Our guide on WhatsApp costs in India explains how that works.
If your number is already on the WhatsApp Business app, Meta lets businesses connect it and keep using the app on the same number (Onboard WhatsApp Business app users, Meta for Developers, checked November 2026). Some app features are switched off when you do. Read our guide on using the app and the API on one number first.
Step 2: Get your order templates approved
Outside the 24-hour window after a customer writes, a business can only send approved templates (Pricing on the WhatsApp Business Platform, Meta for Developers). An order update usually goes out when the customer has not written to you, so it needs a template.
When your number is connected, Qubox sends three order templates to Meta for you:
- Order confirmed, sent as soon as an order is placed.
- Shipped, sent when you fulfil the order, with the courier and the tracking link. It goes once for each fulfilment.
- Cancelled, sent when an order is cancelled.
Qubox makes these as utility templates. Meta's Template categorization page lists "Order Management" as a utility use: confirming, updating or cancelling an order with the order's details. It also says these messages must not promote, upsell or include offers (checked November 2026).
Step 3: Ask customers, and keep the proof
Sending order updates on WhatsApp is not just a setting. The customer has to agree, and you should be able to show that they did.
Meta's Get opt-in for WhatsApp page says a business may contact people on WhatsApp if they gave their mobile number and agreed to get messages from that business. The opt-in must clearly say the person is agreeing to messages from you, and name your business. You must also follow the law where you are (checked November 2026).
Qubox gives you two ways to collect that yes.
A tick on the thank-you page
The Qubox block on your Shopify thank-you page and order status page shows two boxes:
- WhatsApp updates about this order.
- Offers and new arrivals.
Neither box is ticked for the customer. They tick what they want and press Save. Qubox keeps the choice until it can read the order, then records the customer's consent with the order as proof. If the order confirmation was held back because there was no consent yet, it goes out then.
The two boxes are separate on purpose. A yes to order updates is not a yes to offers.
Your store's own policy
In the app, you can also confirm that your store tells customers about WhatsApp order updates, for example in your checkout or privacy policy. Qubox then records consent per order, with that order as proof, for people who were never asked before.
This never overrides a no. Someone who said STOP stays stopped. Someone you erased is skipped.
Step 4: Choose which messages go
The last step in the app is choosing which order messages to send: confirmed, shipped, cancelled, or any mix. You can change this later.
Every message passes the same checks before it leaves:
- Does this person have a yes for order updates?
- Did they send STOP to your number?
- Were they erased from your Qubox?
- Is your Qubox plan active? On Shopify, no active subscription means nothing is sent.
Inside the app, each order message shows its own status: Going out, Sent, Delivered, Read or Not delivered.
What happens when a customer replies or says STOP
A reply lands in your team inbox. Click Open Qubox inbox in the Shopify app to answer it. You can reply freely for 24 hours after the customer writes.
If the customer sends STOP, Qubox records it and stops sending them messages that need consent. If they later tick the box on a new order's thank-you page, that new yes counts, because they gave it themselves.
Beyond order updates
The same app can bring your Shopify customers into Qubox as contacts and send two cart reminders. Cart reminders are marketing messages, so they go only to shoppers who said yes to offers and never to someone who turned off promotions from you in WhatsApp. See Qubox for Shopify for the full list.
Sources
- Template categorization, Meta for Developers — order updates are utility; no promotion in them
- Get opt-in for WhatsApp, Meta for Developers — opt-in rules and what an opt-in must say
- Pricing on the WhatsApp Business Platform, Meta for Developers — templates needed outside the 24-hour window
- Onboard WhatsApp Business app users, Meta for Developers — keeping the WhatsApp Business app on the same number
Questions
Do customers need to opt in to WhatsApp order updates?
Yes. Meta's opt-in page says businesses must get opt-in before messaging people on WhatsApp (checked November 2026). Qubox sends order updates only to customers with a recorded yes for updates.
Are the thank-you page boxes ticked by default?
No. Both boxes start empty. The customer ticks them.
Will a customer who said STOP still get order messages?
No. STOP stays STOP until the customer gives a new yes themselves, such as a tick on a later order.
How do Shopify stores pay for Qubox?
Through their Shopify bill, in US dollars. Prices are on the pricing page.
Is Qubox on the Shopify App Store?
Not yet. It is being prepared for the listing. Book a demo to try it first.