Marketing
How to set up a Facebook Shop and Instagram Shop for your webshop
A Facebook Shop and an Instagram Shop let people browse your products inside Facebook and Instagram. Meta has changed how they work: checkout now takes place on your own website, so the shop is mainly a showcase that sends buyers to you. This guide explains how it works, how to set one up with a product catalog, how to track the results and what to check before you start.
In short
- A Facebook or Instagram Shop is a product showcase linked to a catalog, and shoppers complete their purchase on your own website.
- You need a Facebook Page, an Instagram business account and a Meta Business account with a catalog in Commerce Manager.
- You can fill the catalog by hand, from a spreadsheet or with a product feed.
- Keep prices, stock and product details the same in the catalog and on your site, or items can be rejected.
- Add the Meta Pixel, with consent, to see what the shop brings in.
How Facebook and Instagram Shops work today
A Shop is a storefront inside Facebook and Instagram. It shows products from a catalog that you maintain, with photos, prices and descriptions. People can discover products through your Page or profile, through posts and stories with product tags, and through ads.
The important change is checkout. Meta has moved shops to website checkout: when someone wants to buy, they are sent on to your webshop to pay, and orders, returns and customer service are handled by you. That means your own webshop remains the place where the sale happens, and the shop works as one more door into it. Meta changes its tools and rules regularly and not every feature is available in every country, so check Meta's help pages for what applies to you.
What you need first
- A webshop with products, prices and working payments
- A Facebook Page for your business
- An Instagram business or creator account
- A Meta Business account
- Clear shipping, return and contact information on your site
Step by step: set up your shop
1. Connect your accounts. In Meta Business Suite, link your Facebook Page and Instagram account to one Meta Business account.
2. Create a catalog in Commerce Manager. The catalog is the list of products that your shop shows.
3. Add your products. You can enter them by hand, upload a spreadsheet (CSV), or connect a product feed that updates automatically. Each product needs at least a title, description, price, availability, link to the product page and an image.
4. Connect the catalog to your Page and Instagram account and verify your website domain, as Meta asks for in Commerce Manager.
5. Submit the shop for review and wait for approval. Meta checks your products and policies, and rejected items show the reason so you can fix them.
Exact names and screens change over time, so follow the prompts in Commerce Manager.
What Meta checks
- Price and currency match the product page
- The product link opens the right page
- Images are sharp and show the product
- Descriptions are your own and accurate
- Your shipping and return policies are visible on your site
Good to know
Keep it simple at first: start with your best sellers, and make sure each product link opens the right page in your webshop.
Catalog: manual, spreadsheet or feed
Entering products by hand works for a handful of items. A spreadsheet upload suits a catalog that changes now and then: you export your products, adjust the columns to what Meta asks for and upload the file. A product feed is a file at a web address that Meta reads on a schedule, so prices and stock stay up to date without manual work. The more products you have, the more a scheduled feed saves you.
The most common problem is a mismatch. If the price or availability in the catalog differs from your website, Meta can reject the item and shoppers who click through feel misled. Update the catalog whenever you change prices, and remove items you no longer sell.
Choosing a method
- Under 20 products: enter by hand
- Changes monthly: upload a spreadsheet
- Many products or frequent changes: use a scheduled feed
- Variants: one line per size or colour, grouped under the same product
Good to know
Check whether your webshop can export your products in a format Meta accepts. A CSV export with titles, prices, stock, images and links is a good starting point.
Track what your shop brings in
Without tracking, a shop is guesswork. The Meta Pixel is a small script that tells Meta which pages visitors view and what they buy, so you can see which products and posts lead to orders and build ads around real behaviour. In Europe you may only load it after the visitor consents to marketing cookies.
Also use tagged links. Add UTM parameters to links you control and look at the traffic in your analytics. Compare clicks from Facebook and Instagram with the orders that follow, so you know whether the shop is worth the time.
Tracking checklist
- Install the Meta Pixel and load it only after marketing consent
- Test the events: product view, add to cart, purchase
- Use UTM links on posts and your bio
- Check results monthly in Meta and in your own analytics
- Pause what brings visits but no orders
Good to know
SitePack has a Meta Pixel app that loads your pixel and sends your shop's events to Meta. Nothing reaches Meta until the visitor allows marketing cookies in the SitePack cookie banner.
Tips for results and rules to follow
Post consistently and tag your products in photos, reels and stories, because the shop alone rarely generates visits. Show products in use, answer comments quickly and keep your catalog current. Start small, learn which products attract attention and then consider ads aimed at those.
Follow Meta's commerce policies: do not list prohibited items, describe products honestly and use images you own. Also remember your own legal duties as a seller: show full prices, shipping costs, your company details and the right of withdrawal as European consumer law requires, on your website where the sale happens.
Do and avoid
- Do tag products in posts, reels and stories
- Do keep prices and stock in sync
- Do answer questions and comments quickly
- Avoid copied supplier photos and texts
- Avoid listing products you cannot deliver
Keep reading
- How to start an online store From idea to open shop, the simple way.
- SEO for online stores Category pages, product texts and the technical basics.
- Terms and conditions for your online store What belongs in them and how to show them.
- Try a webshop free for 14 days Build your shop before you pay anything.
- Pricing Everything included, see the current plans.
Ready to get started?
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