How to Set Up a Facebook Shop on a Business Page

Transforming your Facebook Business Page from a simple timeline into a dynamic storefront is one of a brand's most powerful moves on social media. Setting up a Facebook Shop allows followers to browse and buy products without ever leaving the app, shortening the path from discovery to purchase. This step-by-step guide will walk you through the entire process, from getting your accounts ready to customizing your shop and making your first sale.

First Things First: Eligibility and What You’ll Need

Before jumping into the setup process, a little preparation goes a long way. Making sure you meet the requirements and have all your business information handy will save you a ton of time and keep things running smoothly.

Are You Eligible for a Facebook Shop?

Meta has a few ground rules for who can open a shop on their platforms. At a high level, your business needs to:

• Comply with Meta's Commerce Policies and Terms. These primarily cover what you can and can't sell (no weapons, illegal substances, animals, etc.). Give them a quick skim to make sure your products are on the approved list.
• Sell physical products. Facebook Shops don't natively support digital products or services, though you can use messaging to facilitate those transactions. The primary design is for tangible goods.
• Have a business presence on a Facebook Page. Guest accounts or personal profiles aren't eligible, this feature is specifically for established Business Pages.
• Be located in a supported market. Most countries are supported, but you can find the full list in Meta's Help Center.

Gathering Your Information

Think of this as your setup checklist. Having these details ready and organized will make the process a breeze:

• Admin Access: You must be an admin of the Facebook Business Page where you want to add the shop. You'll also need admin access to your Meta Business Suite (formerly Facebook Business Manager). If you haven't set up a Business Suite account yet, Facebook will guide you through creating one during the shop setup process.
• Product Database: Get all your product information together. This includes product names, detailed descriptions, high-quality images or videos (square format is best), prices, current stock levels, and any product variants (like different sizes or colors).
• Business Details: Have your legal business name, physical address, business email, and relevant tax identification number (like an EIN in the US) on hand. This is required for verification and payment processing.
• Bank Account Information: To get paid for sales made directly on Facebook, you’ll need to link a bank account. Have your routing and account numbers ready.

The Complete Walkthrough: Setting Up Your Facebook Shop in 6 Steps

With your information gathered, it's time to build your shop. The whole process happens within Meta Commerce Manager, the central hub for all your selling activities on Facebook and Instagram.

Step 1: Go to Meta Commerce Manager and Create Your Shop

Commerce Manager is your command center. You'll use it to manage inventory, fulfill orders, handle payouts, and view insights about your shop's performance.

To start, head directly to www.facebook.com/commerce_manager and click the prominent blue button that says something like "Get Started" or "Add Shop." This will launch the setup flow and guide you through the next several screens.

Step 2: Decide How Customers Will Buy From You (Checkout Method)

This is arguably the most important decision you'll make during setup because it defines the customer's path to purchase. Meta gives you three main options:

• Checkout on Facebook or Instagram: This creates the most seamless experience for the customer. They can browse, add items to their cart, and pay directly within the Facebook or Instagram app. Meta processes the payment (for a small selling fee) and provides order management tools. If you don't have an external e-commerce website, this is the perfect choice.
• Checkout on Your Website: If you already have an e-commerce store (like one built on Shopify, BigCommerce, or WooCommerce), this is a fantastic option. When a customer clicks a "Buy" button in your Facebook Shop, they’re automatically redirected to the product page on your website to complete the purchase. This is great for maintaining customer data on your own platform and keeping inventory synced.
• Checkout with Messaging: This option directs interested customers to start a conversation with your page via Messenger. It’s ideal for businesses selling custom products, high-ticket items that require a conversation, or local businesses that arrange a different payment method.

Choose the method that best fits your current business model. For most brands with existing sites, checkout on your website is the most common path.

Step 3: Connect Your Business Page and a Catalog

Next, you'll formalize the connection. First, an account setup screen will appear where you'll select the Meta Business Account that owns your page. Then, you'll choose the specific Facebook Business Page you want to sell from. If you manage multiple pages, be sure to pick the right one.

After selecting your page, you'll be prompted to connect a product catalog. A catalog is essentially the container that holds all your product information (images, prices, descriptions, etc.). If you already have one, you can select it. If not, you'll need to create a new one. Just give it a simple, memorable name like "[Your Brand Name] Catalog."

Step 4: Load Up Your Shelves - Time to Add Products

An empty shop won't make any sales. Now it's time to add your inventory to your catalog. You've got a few ways to do this, ranging from totally manual to fully automated.

Option 1: Add Products Manually

This method involves adding products one by one directly within Commerce Manager. It's the most straightforward choice if you only have a handful of items. For each product, you'll fill out a form with:

• High-quality images or a video: Square dimensions (at least 500x500 pixels) look best. Clean, well-lit photos are everything here.
• Title and Description: Make them clear, descriptive, and aligned with your brand voice.
• Price: Your retail price.
• Inventory Count: How many you have in stock. *Important* if you're using Facebook checkout.
• Website Link: Required if you chose the "Checkout on Your Website" method.
• Category: Help Facebook understand what you're selling (e.g., Clothing > Women's > Dresses).

Option 2: Use a Data Feed or Spreadsheet

If you have dozens or hundreds of products, manual entry isn't realistic. A better option is to upload a data feed, most commonly a spreadsheet (like a CSV file). Meta provides a template you can download and fill in with all your product details. Once your file is ready, you can upload it in Commerce Manager's catalog section, and it will populate all your products in one go.

Option 3: Connect an E-commerce Platform (The Best for Most)

For businesses with an e-commerce store, this is the most efficient method by far. Meta has direct integration partnerships with platforms like Shopify, BigCommerce, WooCommerce, and more. By connecting your store, your products, prices, and inventory levels are automatically and continuously synced with your Facebook catalog. When you add a new product in Shopify, it appears in your Facebook Shop. When an item sells out, it's marked as unavailable. This prevents overselling and saves you countless hours of manual updates.

Step 5: Customize and Brand Your Shop’s Appearance

Now for the fun part: making the shop look like *yours*. In Commerce Manager, navigate to the "Shops" tab and click "Edit" to access the visual builder. This tool lets you tailor the look and feel of your storefront.

• Layouts and Style: Adjust your shop's homepage layout. You can also change the color of buttons and links to match your brand's palette.
• Create Collections: This is one of the most useful features. Collections are curated groups of products you can feature. Think of them as thematic digital aisles. You can create collections for "New Arrivals," "Best Sellers," "Summer Essentials," or "Gifts Under $50." This helps shoppers navigate your inventory and discover products more easily.
• Featured Products and Promotions: Customize your shop's homepage by featuring your hero collection or launching new products with a prominent banner.

Step 6: Review and Submit Your Shop for Approval

Once you're happy with your product listings and customizations, it’s time to go live. Facebook requires a final review to make sure everything meets its policies. On the setup overview screen, you’ll see a summary of all your settings. Go through it one last time to make sure your bank details, business information, and product catalog are all correct.

When you're ready, hit the "Submit for Review" button. The review process can take anywhere from a few hours to a few days. You’ll receive a notification in Commerce Manager once your shop is approved. At that point, the "Shop" tab will officially appear on your Facebook Page, ready for customers.

Your Shop is Live! Here's How to Drive Sales

Great work - your store is open for business! But a shop with no visitors doesn't do much good. The real magic happens when you integrate your products into your day-to-day content strategy.

Promote Your Products by Tagging Them in Content

Having a Facebook Shop unlocks product tagging, which is a total game-changer. This lets you attach a clickable shopping link to any product from your catalog directly within your posts, Stories, and Reels.

Here’s how it works:

1. Create a new post (photo or video) as you normally would.
2. Before publishing, click on the shopping bag or "Tag Products" icon.
3. Either let Facebook automatically detect products or manually tap on the item in the image/video where you want the tag to appear.
4. Search your catalog for the corresponding product and select it.

When users see your content, a small shopping bag icon will appear. They can tap it to see the product details and a link to buy it right away. Use this for "Get the look" posts, user-generated content features, or quick product showcases in your Reels.

Respond to Questions and Drive Conversations

Pay close attention to comments and DMs about your products. Quick, helpful responses build trust and can be the deciding factor for a potential customer. Answer questions about sizing, materials, or shipping publicly when possible, as others may have the same inquiry. Your responsiveness demonstrates great customer service and builds brand loyalty.

Consider Running Ads with Product Catalogs

Once you're ready to invest in growth, you can run targeted Facebook Ads that showcase products directly from your catalog. You can create stunning carousel ads or launch Dynamic Ads that automatically show the most relevant products to people who have already visited your website or expressed interest in certain items.

Final Thoughts

Setting up a Facebook Shop is a direct way to convert your audience's engagement into revenue by creating a frictionless shopping experience. With a little preparation and by following these steps, you can transform your page into a vibrant, fully-functional storefront right where your customers already spend their time.

Once your shop is live, consistently promoting your products in posts, Reels, and Stories becomes the next most important task. We built Postbase to make that part easier. Our visual calendar helps you plan your content schedule so you can strategically feature products, and our scheduler allows you to push content out to Facebook, Instagram, and other channels at once. It’s built to give you back more time to focus on creating great content that actually sells.