WhatsApp Templates

Background

Creating templates to be used in your WhatsApp communications is a very important aspect of your use of WhatsApp as an engagement channel.

Unlike the other channels available in the platform, where your creativity can run loose as to how to create your templates, for the case of WhatsApp, there are guidelines that have been created by Metaverse, that must be followed to ensure a smooth and continuous operation of you WhatsApp account.

As these guidelines evolve with time, expanding the capabilities offered into areas that were previously restricted, a thorough understanding of the dos and don’ts of the use of your WhatsApp account as one of the tools of your business communication portfolio is a must. Keep updated on WhatsApp Business Policy in detail by clicking here and WhatsApp Commerce Policy here.

WhatsApp started with a single type of template used for transactional exchanges which were focused in addressing customer service issues. In this new release, we have included all the categories supported by WhatsApp.

As before, there are some basic but important rules that must be followed.

User consent. Opt-in needs to be explicit, via a defined process that clearly states the purpose of the communications that will be delivered. On the flip side, opting out needs to be just as clearly stated. The goal is to make the process for the users as transparent as possible.

Obtain an opt-in for each different categories of messages that you will send (E.g., order updates, relevant offers, product recommendations, etc.)

The underlying reason that WhatsApp is seeking, is to ensure that all exchanges with customers fulfill three basic elements and need to be,

Expected. As customers have opted in to receive information from your business over WhatsApp, they will not be not surprised when they receive your messages.
Relevant. Personalized messages to a specific person based on recent engagement with the business, pertinent and concise, with necessary information, and outline clearly, the steps needed to be taken.
Timely: Messages are received when they are relevant.

Keep in mind that as you create templates, all of them will be vetted for compliance with Metaverse policies and undergo an approval process. Any changes will require the same approval process before it can be used.

Before you begin

You must

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WhatsApp Template Status
Once the WhatsApp has been created, META will assign a quality status to the WhatsApp template, to know more about these status we recommend you go to the WhatsApp Template Quality Status section.

Creating a WhatsApp Message Template

The steps to create a WhatsApp template are the following:

Select +New Template, located at the top of the Templates section.

In the popup window that follows, select the WhatsApp option.

The platform will display another popup with a list of previously existing templates along with their status (Approved, Rejected, Pending). You can start from a blank template.

If you select Create Blank Template you will be defining every aspect of the template. In either case you will be taken the Create a new WhatsApp template section, where you will have to configure all parameters of the template, for the Blank template case.

The template creation section, consist of two steps

Metadata
Personalize

Metadata

The Metadata section is where you to define the message category, name, languages used in it.

Name

The template name is used to identify it from other templates in the Templates section, can be up to 250 characters in length, and is restricted to lowercase letters, numbers, and underscores.

Languages

Here you select the languages that the messages will be sent in: English, Spanish and Portuguese (for Brazil and Portugal) from the dropdown menu. You can pick any combination of languages for your template and each will be subjected to approval separately.

Templates with multiple languages will appear as a single template in the Template section pane depicting the language(s) and their approval status for each language. The approval status of the template is color coded as shown below including the language to which it applies.

Personalize

The Personalize step is where the message to be delivered is configured. It consists the template name at the very top of the Personalize pane as feedback of how it was set up, as many language tabs as selected at the Metadata step, and an emulated device screen.

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NOTE
In case you want to create an Authentication template, go to the Personalize Authentication section

Each language tab content must be in the language that corresponds to the tab being configured. The English tab needs English content, the Spanish tab needs Spanish content, etc.

Within each language tab you will find four template elements, from top to bottom:

• Header (optional)
• Body
• Footer (optional)
• Buttons (optional)

Body

The message body is the only mandatory element and it is where the message contents are entered, providing room for 1024 characters, and the capabilities to personalize the content with your user-defined fields as variables, and emojis. All these elements add to the character totals so care must be exercised so that the 1024 limit is not exceeded.

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NOTE

The minimum number of characters you can enter into the text body is 10 characters.

The maximum number of characters that you can enter into the text body is 1024 characters.

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ON MESSAGE VARIABLES
Variables to be added to the message body, are platform defined fields and those that you have defined and added to the platform.
To know how to add variables (placeholders) to the text body, go to the Adding Variables section
Review the fields section of the platform here

Header

The Header is an optional element. It offers two options, either a text or a multimedia header, selected through radio buttons.

If text is selected as the header, it provides a title text entry box of up to 60 characters with an option to add one variable based on the fields defined in the platform. The character length of the field, once the actual value is placed, will contribute to the overall character length of the title, and care must be exercised not to exceed the 60 characters provided. The character counter under the text box will keep track of how many characters have been entered. To enter the personalized field (variable/ placeholder), go to the Adding Variables section.

The header will be displayed in bold characters as the first element of the message on the recipient’s device. You can get a sense of its presentation through the emulated device screen to the right of the Personalize pane.

If Multimedia is selected, the platform will offer three options to select from – image, video, or document- and they are chosen by selecting one of the multimedia content images.

Selecting any of the multimedia options, makes a drop box appear to the right, where the multimedia file, that cannot exceed 5MB, needs to be placed for uploading onto the platform.

The allowed file types are:

For the image jpg or png files
For the video H.264 video codec and AAC audio codec files
For documents pdf files

As it was the case with the text header, the multimedia header will be placed at the top of the message.

To know how to add variables (placeholders) to the Header, go to the Adding Variables section

Footer

Another optional element, the footer, allows you to place a closing message or prompt for a Call To Action to your message that is 60 characters in length. It immediately follows the Body section of the message and precedes the Button elements of the template.

Buttons

You can enhance your WhatsApp message templates by adding up to two (2) optional types of buttons: Quick Reply and Call to Action. These buttons are designed to make it easier for your users to interact with your business directly from the chat.

Call to Action button: This button allows the customer to call a specific phone number or go to a particular URL (static, dynamic, or both).

Up to three (3) call to action buttons are allowed. That is, when creating a WhatsApp template, you can include up to three call-to-action buttons. These buttons can be either a phone number button or URL buttons (dynamic or static). You are limited to including only one phone number button per template. The remaining buttons can be URL buttons, either dynamic or static, but the total number of call-to-action buttons must not exceed three.
Quick Reply: This button offers a quicker way for users to make a selection from a menu when interacting with a business.

Up to ten (10) quick reply buttons are allowed. For example, we are going to add two buttons to the message content:

Button Text = Yes, Button payload: agree
Button Text = No, Button payload: NotAgree

If the end user selects the button ‘Yes’, the platform will interpret it as ‘agree’ → agree (Yes).

You set the value of the Button payloads to Keyword Senders (Auto-Reply, Opt-Out, Help Response, Join Response).

The quick reply buttons can be used to trigger the campaigns linked to the space. For example, we are going to add three buttons to the message content:

Button Text = ContactChatbot
Button Text = PlayRaffle
Button Text = AnswerSurvey

These three button texts (ContactChatbot, PlayRaffle, AnswerSurvey) are keywords that were defined when creating the campaigns. This action triggers an automated response that directs the user to the campaign. Once the end user selects one of these options, will be redirected to the campaign that is linked to the quick reply button selected which contains the keyword to trigger the campaign.

Here’s a step-by-step on how to add multiple buttons (Call to Action and Quick Reply) to a WhatsApp Template:

Enable Buttons Section

After composing the message body, click on the Buttons toggle to enable and start adding a new button to the template.

Adding multiple buttons: You can include up to 10 buttons in total in a single WhatsApp message template. These can be a combination of Quick Reply and Call to Action buttons, according to the total number of buttons allowed per button type.

To add each button type click on the Button Type dropdown menu, it will display the two different button types you desire to add to their WhatsApp template.

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NOTE
When you add the first button to the template, regardless of whether it is a Call to Action or Quick Reply button, it will be placed in the first position. For example, if you start with a Call to Action button like “Call to Phone Number,” this will be the topmost button in the list.
When you decide to add a second button of a different type (e.g., after adding a Call to Action, you now add a Quick Reply), the system automatically creates a division between the button types. This division ensures that buttons of different types are grouped separately.
Each new button you add will be placed under the correct group according to its type. For instance:

If you add a Quick Reply button after having already added a Call to Action button, the Quick Reply button will be positioned below all Call to Action buttons, and a clear separation will exist between the two groups.

That is, buttons of the same type will always be grouped together in the final template. For example, if you add three Call to Action buttons first, they will all appear together, one after the other, at the top of the message. If you then add Quick Reply buttons, they will all be grouped together below the Call to Action buttons.
It’s worth noting the counter located at the top of the Button Type dropdown menu plays a crucial role in managing the number of buttons you can add to a WhatsApp template.
The counter indicates the total number of buttons allowed in your template. In this case, the template can accommodate up to 10 buttons. It also shows how many buttons have already been added.
For example, the counter reads “10/10,” meaning that 10 buttons are available to be added to the template. When the counter turns to "0/10" meaning that all 10 available button slots have been used.
This counter ensures that you do not exceed the maximum number of buttons allowed in the template. As you add buttons, the counter will update to reflect the remaining slots

Call to Action buttons: Click on the dropdown menu labeled Button Type and check the box next to “Call To Action.” This selection will allow you to configure a Call to Action (CTA) button.

Once selected, you are prompted to choose the specific type of CTA from the Type of Action dropdown menu: Call to Phone number and Visit Websites.

Call Phone number: This option allows users to call a specific phone number directly from the WhatsApp message. The note “(Up to 1)” indicates that only one “Call to Phone Number” button is allowed per template.
1. Button Text: Enter the text that will appear on the button in the WhatsApp message. This text should be concise and indicate the action, such as “Call Now” or “Contact Us”. The text field allows up to 25 characters.
2. Country/Region: Select the country code for the phone number.
3. Phone number: Enter the specific phone number that users will call when they click the button. Make sure the number is accurate and formatted correctly for the selected country.
Remember that you can only add one “Call to Phone Number” button to the template. If you try to add another, the system will prevent it.

Visit Websites: This option allows to direct users from the WhatsApp message to a specific webpage. When users click this button, they are immediately taken to the URL you’ve specified during the configuration. The note “(Up to 2)” indicates that only 2 “Visit Websites” buttons are allowed per template. There are two types of Website buttons: Static and Dynamic.

Static: This option means that all users who click the button will be directed to the same fixed website URL. For example, if you want everyone to visit your homepage, you would select “Static” and then enter your homepage URL in the “Website URL” field.
1. Button Text: Enter the text that will appear on the button in the WhatsApp message. This text should be concise and indicate the action, such as “Visit Our Website” or “Learn more”. The text field allows up to 25 characters.
2. URL Type: Select the Static URL type option from the dropdown menu.
3. Website URL: Enter the URL that users will be directed to when they click the button. Ensure that the URL is correct and active (e.g., https://elipackage.com). As a good practice, we recommend you the URL starts with "http://…" or "https://…" that will redirect the user to the website. The text field allows up to 256 characters.
Dynamic: This option allows you to customize the URL for each user based on certain parameters. For instance, you might direct users to a personalized landing page by appending unique identifiers to the URL.
1. Button Text: Enter the text that will appear on the button in the WhatsApp message. This text should be concise and clearly indicate the action, such as “View Your Offer” or “Track Your Order” The text field allows up to 25 characters.
2. URL Type: Select the Dynamic URL type option from the dropdown menu.
3. Website URL: Enter the base URL where users will be directed. This is the primary website address without the personalized parameters (e.g., https://example.com/user/). As a good practice, we recommend you the URL starts with "http://…" or "https://…" that will redirect the user to the website. The text field allows up to 256 characters.
4. URL Suffix: Enter the dynamic part of the URL, which will be appended to the base URL. This suffix might include variables (e.g., ?userID=12345 or &utm_campaign=sale2024). The actual value of these variables can be customized based on the data you have for each user. To enter the URL Suffix (variable), go to the Adding Variables section.
After you’ve entered all the necessary details for the CTA button selected, click on the Add button to include an additional CTA button.
Quick Reply buttons: Click on the dropdown menu labeled Button Type and check the box next to “Quick Reply”. This selection will allow you to configure a Quick Reply button.

This type of message offers a quicker way for users to make a selection from a menu when interacting with a business. That is, it allows you to include in the template up to 10 predefined responses as selectable buttons, offering a convenient way for your users to respond to your message.
1. Button Text: Enter the button payload or keyword that will appear on the button in the WhatsApp message. This is the text that users will see and tap on to send a quick response. The button text is limited to 25 characters. For instance, you have created an interactive Raffle-type campaign. The campaign is designed to be activated by a specific keyword, which in this example is “PlayTime.”By entering “PlayTime” into the Button Text field of the Quick Reply button, you ensure that when users select this option, the campaign will be triggered, and they will be entered into the raffle automatically. This setup streamlines user participation and ensures the campaign is activated correctly.
After you’ve entered all the necessary details for the Quick Reply button selected, click on the Add button to include an additional Quick Reply button.

Once the WhatsApp template has been configured, we proceed to select the Save button to create the WhatsApp template. After saving your WhatsApp template, it must undergo an approval process before it can be used to send messages to your recipients. WhatsApp requires up to 48 hours to review and approve the template. During this time, the template is evaluated to ensure it complies with WhatsApp’s messaging policies and guidelines.

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WhatsApp Template Status
Once the WhatsApp has been created, META will assign a quality status to the WhatsApp template, to know more about these status we recommend you go to the WhatsApp Template Quality Status section.

When the message template has been approved, you can test it by sending it.

Go to the Templates section of the platform, identify the template that you got approved, and click on its View icon.

Once clicked, it will display the detailed template contents and settings.

Add the content to test the template by sending it, to ensure the behavior is as expected. You will need to specify all the personalized fields

Language: From the Language dropdown menu choose in which language you want to send the message to the test number from the languages you selected when creating the template.
Recipient: Enter the phone number you are going to test the template with.
Personalized Fields: Enter the value of the personalized fields.

Remember, these placeholders are then replaced with the information of each recipient. For this example, the template message contains 2 personalized fields: {{email}} and {{activation_link}}. The values for each field need to be entered so that they can sent to the test number:

Click on the Send icon to send the message template to the recipient.

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WARNING
It is important to note that if you modify (edit) any WhatsApp template with Pending or Approved status, the template will have to go through the approval process again.
If you modify (edit) a template that is configured between one or more languages, you won't not able to remove any language. For example, the template named "Test01" is configured in two languages: English and Spanish. If you want to remove (deselect) either language, you will not be able to do so.
All WhatsApp templates are editable, regardless of their current status. There are specific conditions depending on the status of the template: rejected templates may be edited multiple times until approval is obtained, while approved templates can only be modified once within a 24-hour period.

If the WhatsApp template has been rejected (not approved), click on the Edit icon.

Once you've clicked, select the Exclamation icon. A dialog will be displayed describing why the template was rejected.

If you want to know some possible reasons why the WhatsApp template was rejected, go to the Notes and Policy section.

Adding Variables

You can add personalized fields (variables/placeholders) to the following sections (template elements) when creating a WhatsApp template:

Header: Only 1 variable is allowed to be added in the header.
Body: There is no minimum number of variables you can add in the Body.
Buttons (Dynamic URL): Only 1 variable is allowed to be added in the Dynamic (URL Suffix).

The steps to add variables regardless of the desired section are the following:

To insert placeholders for any variable content you will supply whenever you send the template by selecting the Add variable button which will present a popup dialog with two options:

Select placeholder from subscribers: By selecting this option, you can select any variable (placeholder) available in the subscription list.

Add new placeholder: By selecting this option, you can create a new variable (placeholder).

Once you have clicked on the Save button, the variable will be added and enclosed in double curly brackets, e.g., {{name}} in the message.

Once you have added variables to the desired sections, the next step is to provide specific content examples to the WhatsApp template by selecting the Add Sample button located at the top for each Language tab. The Add Sample button will be displayed when you add at least one variable in the template.

It will display a list containing each section and its variables that were selected or created.

You need to enter the specific content example (placeholder value) for each variable configured for each section and click on the Save button.

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NOTE
If you need to add any specific content example, a Warning icon will be displayed. Therefore you will not be able to create the WhatsApp template.

Personalize Authentication Template

If your mobile app offers users the option to receive one-time passwords or verification codes via the WhatsApp app or WhatsApp Business app, you must use an authentication template with a one-time password button (OTP) to deliver the password or code.

Each language tab content must be in the language that corresponds to the tab being configured. The English tab needs English content, the Spanish tab needs Spanish content, etc.

Within each language tab you will find four template elements, from top to bottom:

• Body
• Footer (optional)
• Buttons

Body

The Body message is defined by META. That is, the body is fixed -> "{{VERIFICATION_CODE}} is your verification code."

Next to the Body text message, it is defined a security recommendation message (Security disclaimer message) as an optional by META: "For your security, do not share this code." To display the security message in the template slide the Add security recommendation toggle to the right.

Footer

From the Footer, you are able to add an Expiration warning message (optional): "This code expires in {{NUM_MINUTES}} minutes." To display the expiration warning message in the template slide the toggle to the right.

By default it is 5 minutes before the code expires.

If you want to decrease or increase the code expiration time, from the Minutes placeholder set the desired time (in minutes).

Action Button

It is mandatory add an Action button. Either a copy code button.

Authentication templates must include either a copy code button. A copy code button copies the one-time password or code to the user's clipboard. The user can then manually switch to your app and paste the password or code into your app's interface.

From the Button Text placeholder, you can type and edit the Button Copy Code button.

Click on the Save button to save the Authentication template.

Once created, META will assign a quality status to the WhatsApp template, to know more about these status we recommend you go to the WhatsApp Template Quality Status section.

Notes and Policy

Message templates were designed to allow WhatsApp to control the type of content that is sent to its users. As such, they have many restrictions around the types of content that are allowed on the platform. Abusing the platform or ignoring WhatsApp’s rules may lead to a phone number — or even your WhatsApp Business Account — becoming banned from the platform. Please exercise caution!

To avoid wasting time on rejected templates, here is a list of some of the reasons a message template may get rejected. It is important to note that, while it is unlikely, an approved message template may be revised and later rejected if WhatsApp decides that it no longer follows the guidelines.

To be sure that your templates get approved, please avoid these types of templates:

The message template contains content that violates WhatsApp’s Business Policy

Do not request sensitive identifiers from users. This includes asking people to share full credit card numbers, financial account numbers, National Identification numbers, or other similar information either as plain text or in the form of attachments that contain this information.
Do not send a survey or poll to collect data from users. You may only send a survey to collect information about an experience the customer had with your business (and even these templates are often rejected).
Do not send messages that are non-transactional. This means that you should only send messages from which you expect a reply.

The message template contains potentially abusive or threatening content

Do not send messages that threaten customers with a legal course of action
A single message template can have a maximum of 1 phone number and 2 URL call-to-action buttons each.

The message template is formatted incorrectly

Do not submit message templates with spelling or grammar errors. If Facebook approves a message template with spelling or grammatical errors, you have 24 hours to modify the template.
The message template is a duplicate of an existing template. If a template is submitted with the same wording in the body and footer of an existing template, the duplicate template will be rejected. A rejection notification that includes the rejection reason will appear in Account Quality on WhatsApp Manager and be sent via email. You may refer to the Account Quality notification to see the name and language of the existing template with the same content as the rejected duplicate template. You may also choose to edit the template and resubmit. Please note that this check does not apply to OTP templates.

The next table summarizes each component you can include in the media message template and their different types of options.

Main Components	Options	Required
Header	Text: Contains text, one personalized field (placeholder), and emojis. Image: It must be less than 5MB and the format .jpg or .png. Video: It must be less than 5MB and the format .mp4, .3gpp (Only H.264 video codec and AAC audio codec are supported). Document: It must be less than 5MB and the format .pdf.	No
Text Message (Body)	Contains text, personalized fields (placeholders), and emojis.	Yes
Footer	A short line of text to the bottom of your message template. When creating a message template, you may include a footer at the end of the message. A footer may only contain text. No personalized fields (placeholders) or emojis are allowed. A footer has a limit of 60 characters.	No
Buttons	Call To Action: Up to three (3) buttons (format options) are allowed. Format Options: Phone Number, Static URL, Dynamic URL. Quick Reply: Up to ten (10) buttons are allowed.	No

WhatsApp Templates

Background

Before you begin

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WhatsApp Template Status

Creating a WhatsApp Message Template

Metadata

Categories

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AUTO CATEGORIZE AUTHORIZATION