The business name customers see on WhatsApp, how Meta reviews it, how to change it, and how it differs from your Avox connection name and your WhatsApp username.
A display name is the business name WhatsApp shows customers for your number - on your business profile and in their chats. Meta reviews every display name before it's used, and it belongs to the phone number, not to Avox.
It's easy to mix these up, so here's each one:
A customer chatting with you sees Acme Bakery. Your team sees Support - Mumbai store across
the dashboard and in emails about the connection. WhatsApp users can search for you as
@acmebakery, or open your chat from the link.
Which path you pick on the first step of the setup wizard, Number type, decides where the display name comes from:
Meta checks a display name against its own display name guidelines. In plain words, Meta looks for a name that:
Names that fit the guidelines
Names Meta tends to decline
Meta's guidelines are the authority and can change - check them in Meta's WhatsApp Business help before choosing a name. A name that hasn't been approved yet, or was declined, can hold the number back from sending (Meta reports this with its own error codes; see Meta error codes).
Business verification and a strong, consistent brand name tend to go together - the name on your verified business portfolio makes a clear match for your display name. See Meta concepts.
Open the number in Meta
Edit the display name
Wait for Meta's review
Changing the display name doesn't affect your Avox connection: the connection name, API keys, message forwarding settings and history all stay the same.
Renaming the connection in Avox (the pencil next to its name) only changes your team's label. To change what customers see, change the display name in Meta as above.
A username lets customers find your business by a name such as @acme_support, and gives your
number a short link, wa.me/<username>, so customers can open a chat without typing your phone
number. An Admin sets it on the connection's card, or under WhatsApp username on its page: click
Set a WhatsApp username, type a name or pick one of Suggested by Meta for this number, and
save. Once it's set, the row shows @ and your username - click it to change it.
A username is 3 to 35 characters: letters, numbers, periods and underscores, with at least one
letter. It can't start or end with a period or have two in a row, can't start with www, and can't
end like a web address (.com and so on). Avox lowercases what you type and shows a checklist as you
go. Meta has the final say: it shows as Live once approved, or Reserved where usernames
aren't live in that region yet. If Meta doesn't accept a name, you'll see "Meta didn't accept that
username. It may be taken, protected, or not available for this number yet."
(AVX-3018) - try another, or one of Meta's suggestions. The full steps are
on Your WhatsApp username.
Pick a username that matches your display name, so customers who search for you recognise the business they find.
The connection name is only for your team in Avox. Customers see the display name, which you change in Meta - see Changing the display name.
No. The connection, its API keys, forwarding and history all stay as they are.
Several numbers can belong to the same business, so related names such as "Acme Bakery" and "Acme Bakery Orders" are common. Meta reviews each number's name on its own.
Admins, and Managers an Admin has given the Manage connections permission. See Permissions.
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