How to create a WhatsApp template

WhatsApp templates are a bit like email templates: they have a predefined structure, but you can add placeholders to personalize the message for each contact who receives a message created with that template.

You can find WhatsApp templates in the channel's dedicated menu, in Journey Lab > WhatsApp Business > Templates.

The list also shows the Category of each template (Marketing, Utility or Authentication): it is the label assigned by Meta based on the content, and it gives you an at-a-glance view of how the template is classified. You can also find it in the template details.

When you create a new template, you are asked for a name, the project (that is, the brand to associate the template with) and one or more languages for which you can define custom texts and format.

Once you have created it, from its home page you can work on the message content for each language you chose to enable.

Room for creativity

For example, you can choose to add no header to your message, a text header, or a media such as an image or a video.

If you choose a media, when you define the template you only need to specify its type: you will choose the specific image, video, document or location only when you send the message.

In the body (and in a Text header) you can use placeholders in this format: {{1}}. Placeholders are added automatically with the small button above the text area.

You need them to personalize the message sent to each contact, for example with their name or with a specific link containing their details.

You can also use the markup available for WhatsApp messages, which you find by clicking the dedicated button above the message body. If you prefer to write it yourself, here is how:

Finally, at the bottom of the message you can add buttons: you can add up to 10 in total, also combining different types, within these limits:

• up to 2 Website buttons: a call to action with a link, for example to your website
• up to 1 Phone number button: a call to action to start a voice call
• up to 10 Quick reply buttons: buttons that send predefined replies to the sender, which can be handled with automations

You can add the buttons in any order: when you save, they are automatically arranged in the order required by WhatsApp.

Approval time

Have you reached the final version? Then you can send the template to Meta for approval, so that you can actually use it.

From the template home page, you can submit for approval all languages, or a single language by clicking the Submit for approval button in the card of that language.

If your template contains placeholders or a media header, Meta requires you to add examples, to get an idea of the final message the contact will receive.

Once submitted, the template goes into the Approval in progress status, and within a few minutes you will know whether it has been approved or rejected.

With the green Approved badge, the template in that specific translation can finally be used to send a message to your contacts.

Why was my template Rejected?

When a template is rejected, you find the reason directly in its card: for the most common cases we show a translated explanation, while for the others you find a Technical details block with the message returned by Meta and any list of validation errors. It is the first place to look to understand what to fix.

Here are some tips to get your template approved on the first try:

• Define placeholders correctly. Each placeholder must be opened and closed by a pair of curly brackets, for example {{1}}, and must not contain special characters such as #, $ or %.
• Placeholders must be sequential: for example, if you add the placeholders {{1}}, {{2}}, {{4}} to the body without {{3}}, the template will be rejected.
• Include examples that actually match what you want to put in the corresponding placeholders.
• Make sure the content is well formatted: for example, if you use a variable in a Website call to action button, make sure the slashes / are in the right place.
• Make your template unique! If the template is a duplicate of another template, it will be rejected.
• When you choose a name for the template, make it as descriptive and unique as possible.
• Make sure the template content matches the selected language. Also, do not include content in more than one language in a single template: only use the language selected for the template.
• When you sell goods or services, make sure that all messages and media related to them, including any descriptions, prices, fees, taxes and any required legal notices, comply with the WhatsApp Commerce Policy.
• Make sure the content complies with the WhatsApp Business Messaging Policy: do not ask users for sensitive identifiers. For example, do not ask people to share their full personal payment card number, bank account details, national identification number or other sensitive identifiers. This includes not asking users for documents that may contain this type of data. You can ask for partial identifiers (for example, the last 4 digits of a credit card).
• The template must not contain abusive or threatening text of any kind.