Whether it is a lettings agency fielding viewings, a salon juggling bookings or a plumber pricing jobs between visits, the moment WhatsApp becomes a business channel, the phone keyboard becomes the bottleneck. WhatsApp Web puts those same conversations on a proper screen: full keyboard, copy and paste for quotes, and customer chats alongside the rest of the day’s work.
This guide covers how WhatsApp Web works with both the standard app and WhatsApp Business, logging in and staying signed in, what works in the browser and what stays on the phone, the ceiling a growing team hits, and the habits that keep a business number secure.
How WhatsApp Web works
WhatsApp Web (web.whatsapp.com) is an official client that runs in the browser. It joins your account through linked devices: the phone stays primary, and the browser becomes a companion sending and receiving as your number.
Since multi-device, a linked browser keeps working even with the phone offline. Each account supports up to four companion devices, in any mix of browsers and the Windows and macOS desktop apps.
The standard app and WhatsApp Business behave the same in the browser. A Business number shows the same chats, plus part of the business toolkit.
Signing in, and staying signed in sensibly
Tick "Keep me signed in" only on a machine you control. On the shared front-desk PC, leave it unticked and log out at the end of the shift: anyone at that screen can message customers as the business.
- 1
Open web.whatsapp.com
On the computer, open web.whatsapp.com in any modern browser. A QR code appears.
- 2
Open Linked devices on the phone
In WhatsApp or WhatsApp Business: the three-dot menu (Android) or Settings (iPhone), then Linked devices, then Link a device.
- 3
Scan the code
Point the phone camera at the QR on the screen. Chats load within seconds.
- 4
Or link with your number
Choose "Link with phone number", enter the number with the +44 country code, and type the one-time code WhatsApp shows into the phone.
Related: WhatsApp QR codes and linked devices
WhatsApp Business in the browser: what works
- Works on the web: sending and receiving, quick replies (type / in the composer), labels, viewing the catalogue and sharing items, media, voice notes and groups.
- Phone-only: editing the business profile, greeting and away messages, catalogue editing, creating broadcast lists, and account settings including two-step verification.
- Reporting: the Business app’s basic statistics live on the phone; the browser adds no analytics of its own.
Where it stops being enough for a team
For a sole trader, WhatsApp Web is close to perfect. The friction arrives when two or three colleagues answer one number:
- No accountability: every linked session sees every chat, but nothing records who replied or who owns which enquiry.
- No assignment or queue: a chat cannot be organised, routed to the right colleague, or marked as handled. Coordination happens over shoulder taps.
- No automation: no auto-replies from the browser, no scheduled messages. The Business app’s greeting and away messages are set on the phone and are the extent of it.
- Four-device ceiling: the fifth team member has no seat, and rotating devices signs people out mid-conversation.
- Fragile sessions: a companion offline too long unlinks itself, and some office networks block web.whatsapp.com outright.
Keeping sessions secure
- Only scan a login QR you opened yourself on web.whatsapp.com or the official desktop app. Anyone sending you a QR to scan "for verification" is attempting an account takeover.
- Review Linked devices regularly and log out anything you do not recognise.
- Log out of shared computers, every time.
- Turn on two-step verification, so a stolen SIM or intercepted code alone cannot re-register the number.
When the business outgrows WhatsApp Web
The pattern repeats from trades to agencies: WhatsApp Web works brilliantly until several people must answer one number in an organised way. Then the same pieces are always missing: who owns this chat, what was already promised, why did Friday’s enquiry go unanswered, and how do we reply this evening without passing the business phone round.
That is the gap Spun fills. It connects to your existing number through the same linked-devices mechanism as WhatsApp Web, one QR scan with history and groups carried across. Every colleague then gets their own login to one shared inbox: assignment, labels, full history, AI-drafted replies and summaries, voice-note transcription, scheduled messages and out-of-hours auto-replies. Pricing is flat, in pounds, from £39 per month with unlimited team members, so growing the team costs nothing extra.