Message Templates
Pre-approved messages required when messaging outside the 24-hour service window.
Video: How WhatsApp Messaging Windows Work
Watch this short guide to understand the 24-hour customer service window: when the Agent can reply with a normal message, and when you have to send an approved template instead.
Template Types
Standard Templates
Header (text/image/video/doc), body (max 1024 chars), footer (max 60 chars), up to 10 buttons.
Carousel Templates
2–10 swipeable cards. Each card: IMAGE/VIDEO header, body (max 160 chars), buttons. MARKETING category only.
Categories & Statuses
UTILITY, Transactional: confirmations, shipping updates.
MARKETING, Promotional: offers, announcements. Required for carousels.
AUTHENTICATION, OTP and verification messages.
Creating Templates
Watch a full walkthrough: creating a template, submitting it to Meta for approval, and wiring it up so the Agent sends it automatically.
- Go to Conversations → Templates → My Templates and create a template, or start from one in the Template Library.
- Set name (lowercase, letters/numbers/underscores), category, language.
- Add header, body with
{{1}}variables, footer, buttons. - Preview and submit to Meta for approval (usually minutes to hours).
You can write a template in any language WhatsApp supports for templates, not only your own.
Your plan sets how many template messages you can send per billing cycle; the meter on the Templates tab shows what is left. Messages above the limit are charged per message, see Billing & Plans.
Template Variables
Numbered: {{1}}, {{2}}, {{3}}, WhatsApp standard format.
Named (auto-resolved):
{{customer_name}}{{order_number}}{{product_name}}{{items_list}}{{amount}}{{total_amount}}{{currency}}{{phone}}{{address}}{{city}}{{tracking_number}}{{carrier}}{{delivery_man_name}}{{delivery_man_phone}}{{business_name}}{{date}}{{time}}Automated Template Tabs
The other tabs under Conversations → Templates choose which approved template is sent automatically at each moment, and map its variables to order data.
First Reply, answers the first message of a new conversation with a rule you set. When a rule matches, it replaces the Agent's answer to that message, so keep its conditions narrow.
Status Follow-Up, messages the customer when their order reaches a status you choose.
Confirmation, sent when a new order arrives from a connected store, to confirm it.
Abandoned Cart, sent when a shopper starts a checkout but never finishes it.
Re-engagement, the template the Agent uses to follow up with a customer who stopped replying.
Delivery boosters, messages that raise your delivery rate: a free-gift teaser, reviews while the parcel is in transit, and a reminder for orders waiting at your shop.
If you don't pick a template, a built-in one in your Agent's language is used instead. Both send as real WhatsApp templates, so they count toward your plan's template limit.
Button Types
QUICK_REPLY, Simple reply button (25 chars max).
URL, Opens a URL, supports dynamic variables.
PHONE_NUMBER, Dials a phone (E.164 format). Not in carousels.
An approved template with a phone button is what "Request a call" sends from a chat.
COPY_CODE, Copies coupon/promo code. Not in carousels.
Still need help?
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