WhatsApp Is Releasing A New "Business" App. Here's What You Need To Know About It

The app is so popular that it has transformed itself from a noun to a verb. Nowadays, we don't send messages to people from our phones, we "WhatsApp" them.

Moving forward, the app plans to impact businesses like how it did on individuals; by introducing a new version of its popular app.

It will be almost identical to the standard version of the app with a number of changes.

One of the most interesting and useful of these concerns landline compatibility.

Users can link their company's landline number to the Business app. This means messages and calls from customers will reach the landline number, but Business account users will be able to access them on their mobile.

"If you have separate business and personal phone numbers, you can have both WhatsApp Business and WhatsApp Messenger installed on the same phone, and register them with different numbers," the company said as quoted by The Sun UK.

This is a godsend for many small business owners since they would be able to separate their personal and professionals lives, which would help in decluttering and not to mention, save A LOT of stress.

Businesses will have to go through a vetting process to get the verified tick (similar to Facebook) to help customers know if they are dealing with a legitimate business or otherwise. 

The Statistics section is an analytics-type tool that offers in-depth information on messages coming in and out of the app.

Meanwhile, Business Settings lets users customise their profile and set automated responses for customers trying to get in contact during out of office hours.

TechCrunch reported that the app will initially be free but it does plan to charge for the service.