Your WhatsApp Display Name is what the customers first view on your WhatsApp Business Profile to recognize your Brand. Choosing a Display Name for your WhatsApp Business API Account that is unfamiliar to your customers might cause confusion & lead them to block you on WhatsApp.
According to WhatsApp, "All Display names should be related to your business and must not violate WhatsApp Commerce and Business policies. Also, the display name must comply with display name and formatting guidelines to qualify for the WhatsApp Official Business Account."
That's why you must choose the right WhatsApp Business Display name that's in line with Display Name Guidelines & is familiar with your brand identity.
In the guide, we'll show you how to choose the best WhatsApp Display name for your WhatsApp Business Account.
At a Glance
How to choose WhatsApp Business Display Name
WhatsApp Display Name Ideas & Guidelines
How your Display Name appears on WhatsApp
How to choose a WhatsApp Business Display Name?
How hard can creating a WhatsApp Business Display name be? After all, it's just a name. You might want to hold that thought! There are multiple Display name & formatting guidelines you must follow to create a WhatsApp Display.
WhatsApp has provided some clear formatting guidelines. In order to get your display name approved, it is important to comply with these rules (unless the business is already branded in a specific way that may not be in line with the default rules).
Note: If you work with a WhatsApp Partner like AiSensy, they'll help you set up the right WhatsApp Display Name for your Business. Apply for WhatsApp Business API for Free with AiSensy & get approved within 10 minutes (full onboarding & support provided).
WhatsApp Display Name Ideas & Guidelines
Here are the WhatsApp Display name Guidelines as well as some WhatsApp Display name ideas to choose a name that gets approved within 5 minutes.
1. Display Name must represent your Business Identity
Your WhatsApp display name needs to represent your business, its product, service, or department. Even if it’s a test or demo account, it still needs to have a clear association with your business, reflected in the display name (e.g. “Jennifer’s Cupcake Bakery”).
WhatsApp will probably reject a Display Name if it is a person’s full name, a generic term (such as “Beer”), a generic geographic location (like “India”), a slogan, or a long description. Also, note that an organization affiliated with a government will need to get the WhatsApp team’s specific approval.
If you're finding this hard, you can take the assistance of a Business Name Generator to create a Display Name for you!
2. Avoid Capitalisation
A display name should not contain all CAPITAL LETTERS. It must have grammatically correct capitalization, exactly the same as mentioned in your Business Name.
For example, PRIYA'S PICKLE E-STORE will get rejected. The correct display name would be Priya's Pickle E-Store.
Note: "PRIYA'S PICKLE E-STORE" display name would be acceptable if the business already brands using all caps.
Now, if you are adding permitted words, the first letter should be Capitalized. For example, "Li'l Cupcakes Test" will get approved whereas "Li'l Cupcakes demo" won't.
3. Be mindful about spacing in the Display name
The spacing used in the display name should not differ from the spacing in the Business name. For example, If a Business named Li'l Cupcake Store uses the display name Li' l Cupcake Store then it won't get approved.
There shouldn't be any extra characters, symbols, emoticons, or punctuations. So, Priya's_Pickle_E-Store or Li'l Cupcake Store™ will straightaway get rejected.
4. Don't add extra words
You shouldn't add any extra words to your brand's Display name unless they indicate country or region, department or function, or, Test or Demo accounts. For example, "Li'l Cupcakes Mexico" or "Li'l Cupcakes Customer Support" is acceptable but "Li'l Cupcake Official Account" isn't.
5. Must have atleast 3 characters
A display name must contain at least 3 characters. For example, for a Business named "KT Sir", the display name "KT Sir" is acceptable, but only "KT" isn't as "KT" has less than two characters.
6. Never add URLs in Display Names
A display name should not be in the URL Format. For example, "FreshProduce.com" is not acceptable.
7. Consistency with external branding
A WhatsApp display name must have consistent branding with external sources (e.g., a company’s website).
In simpler terms, your website should include your WhatsApp Display Name. If you choose "Fresh Produce Cold Pressed Juices" as your Display name, then the same should be visible on your website. Here's what will be acceptable & what won't be acceptable in a WhatsApp Display Name:
Accepted: Fresh Produce Cold Pressed Juices (exactly as it is branded on your website)
Rejected: Fresh Produce Juices (you changed branding by removing ‘Cold Pressed)
Also Not accepted: FP Cold Pressed Juices (abbreviations or short forms are not allowed).
8. Show a clear relationship with your business
Another thing required is that your display name needs to have an obvious relationship with your business.
In other words, it needs to be mentioned on the company website or in references in outside media.
This means, for example, a charity's name that is stated on the website of a nonprofit organization will be approved, but a charity's name that is not published on any other websites will not be eligible.
If the relationship between the business and the brand is not clear, you should indicate it using “by [business name]”, such as “Accessories by Yogi Fashion”.
Additionally, your company's display name shouldn't contain the name of a management company or any other third party. For instance, you cannot use the display name "Sunlight Agency for Jolanda's Beer Mugs".
How will your Display Name appear on WhatsApp?
You can either have a standard WhatsApp Business API Account, which displays a number on the user's screen, or you can have an official Green Tick Verified WhatsApp Business Account, which appears with the Display Name on a user's screen.
As shown below, for a general WhatsApp account, the display name appears to the right of your contact number.
IC - Facebook
The display name appears without a number on a user's screen for an official WhatsApp Business Account, as illustrated in the below image. The Display name appears with a Green tick which is a direct acknowledgement from WhatsApp that the business is credible & trustworthy.
To be WhatsApp verified, you must be a recognized business with organic media coverage (paid media coverage doesn't count). Here's how to get the green tick on WhatsApp.
How to change the WhatsApp Display name in WhatsApp Business API account?
You can change your WhatsApp Display name 10 times in 30 days, after which you need to contact Facebook support to change it again.
If you have an official WhatsApp Business Account (Green Badge), Contact Facebook's Direct Support & provide the following details to change display name in your WhatsApp Business Account:
- Question Topic: Request an Official Business Account
- Request Type: Update OBA Display Name
For a general WhatsApp Business Account, follow the below steps to change your display name:
- Go to Business Manager and select your business.
- Click "WhatsApp Accounts" & thereon choose WhatsApp Manager.
- In WhatsApp Manager, click on "Account Tools".
- Now, navigate to the left-most menu and click Phone Numbers.
- Under the Name column, hover over your current display name and select the pencil icon.
- In the Edit Display Name section, enter a new display name.
- Select Next.
That's it!
If your new Display Name is in line with the formatting rules, it will get changed in 2-3 hours!
Get started with effective communication via WhatsApp business API
There's only one thing you need to do to get your WhatsApp Business Display name approved- Stick by the rules!
Following the above-mentioned rules, AiSensy clients have been able to get their WhatsApp Business Display names approved as quickly as 10 minutes.
With AiSensy, you’ll be able to broadcast messages to thousands of users in one go via the AiSensy.
You’ll be to give your users 24-hour chat support with WhatsApp Chatbot & Live Chat.
Also, you can send your users automated notifications like appointment updates, application drop-offs, payment reminders, etc.
Want our customer success team to help you set up your WhatsApp Business API Account for Free? Apply for WhatsApp API for free today.
WhatsApp Display Name FAQs
The display name is the name that your users can see once they open your WhatsApp Business API account profile. It is similar to any name we assign for our WhatsApp Apps.
Only official WhatsApp Business Accounts appear with their WhatsApp business name instead of a number on a user's screen. General WhatsApp Business Accounts will appear with their number on the user's screen.
WhatsApp Display Name Verification takes anywhere between 5 minutes to 3 hours to get verified. For special organizations e.g. Governments- it might take up to 2 days to get verified.
Generally, WhatsApp rejects display names when they aren't present in your website branding or don't show a clear relation with your branding. WhatsApp rejects display names with: 1. A person's full name (e.g. Shivam Aggarwal) 2. A Generic Term (like Cricket) 3. A Generic Geographic (like India) 4. A Slogan or long description.
Yes, the green tick is assigned with the same display name. Hence, it’s really important to choose the Display Name wisely. But you also get an option of proving an alternative name for the Green Tick.
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