You'll need the Basic plan (£10 a month, 1 store, 30-day free trial) or the Teams plan (£25 a month, up to 5 stores, handy if you run more than one brand). Compare plans.
Part 1: Set up your store
Pick a look, add your banner and logo, and connect the WhatsApp number your orders will go to.
Step 1: Open the store editor
Go to backend.crocadilo.com and log in with your email and password, or with Google.
- In the menu on the left, click Stores.
- In the top-right corner, click the blue Create New Store button.
The editor has two halves:
- Left: the settings, split into tabs (Setup, Categories, Products, Business Hours, Popups, Policies, Settings, Advanced).
- Right: a live phone preview that updates as you work, so you see exactly what your customers will see.
Step 2: Choose a theme
Click Choose a Theme at the bottom-left of the editor. Pick the one closest to your business:
- Restaurant and takeaway: for cafés, delis and pizza places. Big food photos, dietary labels and quick add-to-bag buttons.
- Gift shop and homewares: for makers, ceramics and small boutiques. Lots of white space, with room for materials and sizes.
- Pet supplies and grooming: clear item blocks with pack sizes and prices easy to compare.
- Trades and services: for electricians, plumbers and garages. Fixed-price packages and consultation bookings.
- Fashion and accessories: a simple, clean look with photo carousels, size guides and small sale labels.
You can switch themes later without losing anything. Your products, categories, prices, descriptions and photos all stay put.
Step 3: Add your banner and logo
On the Setup tab:
- Language: the language for the basket buttons, checkout and other standard text (for example English UK).
- Banner: a JPG or PNG that's exactly twice as wide as it is tall, for example 1200 × 600 or 800 × 400 pixels. This stops it being cropped oddly on phones.
- Logo: click Choose File under Logo. The logo is also wide, twice as wide as tall (for example 400 × 200 pixels). A PNG with a see-through background, or a plain white background, looks sharpest.
If your logo is square or round, place it in the middle of a wide canvas (twice as wide as tall) with some space around it before you upload. Otherwise it may look squashed.
Step 4: Add your store details and WhatsApp number
Still on the Setup tab, fill in:
- Store name: the name customers know you by, for example "Cotswold Artisan Bakery".
- Store greeting: one short line shown at the top of your store, for example "Handmade homewares. Free local delivery over £30."
- Currency: for example GBP (£), EUR (€) or USD ($). All your prices use it.
- Country code and WhatsApp number: choose your country code (for example +44 for the UK), then type the mobile number where orders should arrive. Make sure someone actually checks it.
- WhatsApp footer text: a closing line added to every order message, for example "Thanks for your order! We'll confirm your delivery time shortly."
- Personalised link: your store's web address, for example backend.crocadilo.com/cotswold-bakery. A green tick means it's free. Click Save.
Check your number carefully. When you've chosen +44, leave off the first 0. Type 7700900123, not 07700900123. If the number is wrong, orders won't reach you.
Part 2: Add your products
Sort your items into categories, add prices and photos, set your hours and, if you like, a welcome offer.
Step 5: Create categories
Before adding products, open the Categories tab and click Create New (or Add Category):
- Category name: short and clear, for example "Sourdough", "Vases", "Coffee beans". Under 20 characters fits nicely on a phone.
- Thumbnail image: a square picture. It appears as a small button at the top of your store, so shoppers can tap to jump to that category.
Four to eight categories is plenty. Put the ones you most want to sell first, such as "Weekend specials" or "Best sellers", so people see them without scrolling.
Step 6: Add your products
Open the Products tab and click Add Product (or Create New) for each item:
- Category: pick which category it belongs to.
- Badge (optional): a label such as New, Sale, Popular, Best Seller or Chef's Pick. It shows on top of the photo.
- Image: a sharp, well-lit photo on a plain background. Square, or slightly taller than wide (4:5), looks best on phones.
- Name and short description: the name, plus one line shown in the store, for example "Hand-thrown terracotta vase with a speckled white glaze".
- Full description: sizes, materials, care instructions, ingredients, allergens or anything else people should know. This shows when a customer taps the product.
- Price: enter the regular price (for example 28.00). If it's on offer, add a sale price (for example 22.00) and the regular price shows crossed out. Leave the sale price empty if it's full price.
- Status: In Stock or Out of Stock. Out-of-stock items show as sold out and can't be added to the basket.
Click Save after each one. It appears in the phone preview straight away.
Step 7: Opening hours and search settings
Business Hours tab: set your opening and closing times for each day, Monday to Sunday. If someone visits when you're closed, your store shows a notice telling them when you'll reply.
Search and sharing settings:
- Favicon: a small square icon (64 × 64 pixels) for browser tabs and bookmarks.
- Meta title: the title shown in Google and in link previews, for example "Cotswold Artisan Bakery | Fresh bread and cakes, Cirencester".
- Meta description: a short summary shown under the title in Google and when your link is shared on WhatsApp.
- Meta keywords: search words, separated by commas.
Step 8: Pop-ups
Open the Popups tab:
- Newsletter pop-up: asks visitors for their email address, so you can build your own customer list for new products or offers. Only send marketing to people who said yes.
- Information pop-up: for announcements, holiday deadlines or discount codes. You can add:
- Confetti effect: a burst of confetti when the page opens.
- Image: a picture to go with your message.
- Title and description: for example "10% off your first order" with a code.
- Button: the button wording (for example "See best sellers") and where it goes.
Part 3: Policies, delivery and orders
Add your shop policies, choose how people get their order, and learn how orders arrive and how to track them.
Step 9: Add your store policies
Open the Policies tab. Clear policies help customers trust you and save you answering the same questions:
- Privacy policy: what personal details you collect, how you store them and how you contact customers, in line with UK GDPR and the Data Protection Act 2018.
- Terms and conditions: how ordering works, when an order is accepted, what happens if a price is wrong or an item runs out, and the limits of your liability.
- Returns, refunds and delivery: how long people have to return things (for example 14 days), what condition items must be in, how refunds are paid, which areas or postcodes you deliver to and your order cut-off times.
- Customer support: how to reach you (email, phone, WhatsApp) and how quickly you usually reply.
These are your policies as the seller. If you're not sure what to include, it's worth checking official guidance for UK businesses or asking an adviser.
Step 10: Delivery options and invoice numbers
Open the Settings tab.
Delivery options: tick as many as you offer:
- Delivery: the customer gives their address, postcode and any delivery notes.
- Takeaway: the customer gives their name and when they'll collect.
- Dine-in / table order: the customer gives their table number.
Invoice prefix: a short tag such as INV-BAKE or ROAST-. Each order gets a number in order: INV-BAKE-001, INV-BAKE-002 and so on. The number appears at the top of every WhatsApp order, which makes it easy to match orders against your till or packing list.
Step 11: Advanced settings
On the Advanced Settings tab:
- Enable PWA: turn this on. Customers can then save your store to their phone's home screen in one tap, and it opens full screen, like an app. No app store, nothing to download. (PWA, or progressive web app, is just the technical name for this.)
- Language switcher: adds a small language menu for customers who prefer another language.
- Custom CSS and custom JS: for people comfortable with code, for example your own fonts, Google Tag Manager, a Meta or TikTok pixel, or a chat widget. Leave them empty if you don't need them. If you add tracking, make sure you ask for cookie consent where the law requires it.
Step 12: How orders arrive, and how to manage them
Here's what happens when someone orders:
- The customer browses your store and adds items to their bag.
- They choose delivery, takeaway or dine-in.
- They tap Checkout via WhatsApp.
- WhatsApp opens on their phone with the full order already typed out.
- They tap Send, and the order lands in your WhatsApp chat.
An order message looks something like this:
*NEW ORDER: INV-HOME-008*
--------------------------------
1x Terracotta Glazed Vase - £28.00
2x Hand-Poured Soy Candle - £32.00
--------------------------------
TOTAL: £60.00
--------------------------------
*Fulfilment:* Local Delivery
*Address:* 42 High Street, Redland, BS6
*Notes:* Please leave behind side gateReply in the chat to confirm the order, agree a delivery or collection time and sort out payment, the same way you'd talk to any customer.
Keeping track of orders: click Orders in the menu on the left of your dashboard (backend.crocadilo.com/orders). For each order you'll see:
- Order number: the same number the customer sees in WhatsApp.
- Date and time: when the customer placed the order.
- Delivery details: the address, the collection name or the table number.
- Status: mark each order as Pending, In Progress, Fulfilled or Settled.
No commission. Big delivery and marketplace apps take a cut of every order. Crocadilo takes nothing. You pay your plan price, keep every penny of each sale, and the customer's details stay with you.
Need a hand?
Email us at hello@cvcinternational.com and tell us which step you're on. If you haven't made a digital business card yet, the card setup guide covers that, and you can read more about the store itself on the WhatsApp store page.