Templates

What it does

A template is a reusable WhatsApp message that Meta reviews and approves before you can send it to customers.

When to use it

Create a template for a marketing campaign, with wording, media and buttons you can reuse. ProConnect creates Marketing templates; utility and authentication templates are managed in WhatsApp Manager.

Steps

1. Open WhatsApp → Templates and select Create template.
2. Enter Template name and choose Language. Use lowercase letters, numbers and underscores; spaces become underscores automatically. The name cannot be changed after creation.
3. Choose a Header: None, Text, Image, Video, Document or Location. For an image, video or document header, use Select media to choose sample media for Meta's review; you choose the real media each time you send. A document header can also take a Filename (optional).
4. Write Body text. Select some text and use Bold, Italic, Strikethrough or Monospace above the box to format it; see format your message. Use Add variable for wording that changes between sends, and Insert variable for a single variable in Header text.
5. Under Variable samples, enter a realistic Sample value for every variable. Samples are used for Meta's review only and are never sent to customers, so never use real customer information.
6. Optionally add Footer text. Footers cannot contain variables.
7. Under Buttons, select Add button, then Custom under Quick reply, or Visit website (tracked), Visit website, Call phone number, Call on WhatsApp, Copy offer code or Complete flow under Call to action. Give each button a distinct Label. Drag buttons to reorder them within a group, and use Move group up or Move group down to change which group comes first.
8. Choose Visit website (tracked) when you want to record which contacts open the link. It needs only a Label: you enter the web address each time you schedule a campaign, so one template can point to a different page every time. Choose Visit website for a link that is not recorded. That button also needs a URL, a Call phone number button a Phone number, and a Call on WhatsApp button a WhatsApp number. Enter numbers in full international format, for example +447700900000.
9. For a Visit website button, choose a URL type. Static URL takes the complete address. Dynamic URL takes the fixed beginning of the address only; the changing part is added to the end. Enter an Example dynamic value and check Full example URL before continuing.
10. To include a WhatsApp form, choose Complete flow and select it under Flow. Only published flows are available. Use View flows to review your forms, and follow the flow guide to prepare and publish one.
11. Correct any highlighted errors, read any Before you submit warnings, and check that the name is not already used for a template in the same language, then select Create template.

Format your message

WhatsApp uses its own formatting marks rather than the ones you may know from other apps. The buttons above Body text add them for you, or you can type them yourself. Select Formatting help (the question mark) for the same list in the editor.

The marks must touch the text: *bold* works, * bold * does not. Formatting is only available in Body text; header and footer text are always plain. The preview beside the form shows exactly how the message will look.

What you'll see

The template opens with its review status. While Meta is reviewing this template is shown, the page updates on its own and the review carries on if you leave. Approved means Meta has passed the template for sending. See template status and quality for the other statuses and account warnings.

Template details shows the Language, Quality, Last modified date and whether the template is Sendable: Available, Limited or Blocked. When the template has a flow button, Flow names the flow it opens; select the name to open that flow. If a template shows Limited or Blocked, a Why this template can't send card explains the reason and Meta's suggested solution.

On WhatsApp → Templates, the list shows Approved templates by default, and the count above the table says so: Showing 1–50 of 240 approved templates. Change the status filter or use Search templates... to find anything else; the count follows, for example Showing 1–3 of 3 pending templates. The list shows Name, Language, Status and Quality, with a warning beside any template that cannot currently be sent. If nothing matches you see "No templates match your filters.", and before your first template "No templates yet."

If something goes wrong

• A new template is not in the list: the list shows Approved templates by default. Change the status filter to Pending or All statuses, or search for it by name.
• A template stays Pending: most reviews finish in a minute or two, but Meta occasionally takes longer than 24 hours. If it is still pending after a day, create the template again under a different name.
• An edit limit prevents saving: wait until the 24-hour or 30-day window allows another edit, and check all your changes before trying again.
• A field prevents submission: follow the message beside it. Keep variables inside a sentence, give each one a realistic sample, keep text and button labels within the character counts shown, keep emoji out of Header text and button labels, and give every button a different label.
• Formatting shows as marks in the preview: remove any space between the mark and the text, and make sure each opening mark has a matching closing one.
• "Add sample text." appears under a variable: every variable needs a sample value each time you submit, including when you edit or duplicate a template.
• WhatsApp rejected this template appears when you submit: read the message and the What to do: line beneath it. If a template with the same name and language already exists, choose a different name. Other messages point to emoji or unsupported characters, too many variables for the length of the message, or a variable at the start or end of the text.
• There are too many buttons: use at most 10 in total, with at most two website buttons, counting Visit website (tracked) and Visit website together, and one each of Call phone number, Call on WhatsApp, Copy offer code and Complete flow. Quick reply and call-to-action buttons stay in separate groups, and more than three buttons appear as a list to customers.
• A template is rejected: open it for Meta's reason, then follow the rejection steps. Use representative samples without real customer information or restricted content such as alcohol, tobacco or gambling.
• A website link looks wrong: for a static link enter the complete address; for a dynamic link enter the fixed beginning and the example ending separately. Prefer the full destination address to a shortened link.
• No published flows are available: publish the flow first, then return to the template and select it. If flows could not be loaded, refresh the page and try again.
• You want to record opens for an existing website button: edit the template and change the button's Type of action to Visit website (tracked). Meta reviews the template again, so plan the change before your next campaign.
• A flow shows as unavailable: select another published flow or remove the button before saving.
• Test send unavailable is shown instead of the form: the template is not approved — for example it is paused, disabled or archived. Only approved templates can be tested. Correct an invalid phone number before retrying; Send test message stays disabled while a number is invalid or no number has been entered.
• Edit template is not offered: utility and authentication templates are managed in WhatsApp Manager.
• No WhatsApp channel is configured: set up your channel in WhatsApp → Channels before creating templates. If you are unsure, contact your onboarding manager.

To send an approved template to customers, see scheduled campaigns.

Send a test message

1. Open an approved template and go to Test send.
2. Complete any Header parameters, Body parameters and URL button parameters the template needs. For a Visit website (tracked) button, enter the full web address in Destination URL, starting with https://. For a media header, choose the file with Select media. For a location header, enter Latitude and Longitude, and optionally Location name and Address.
3. Under Phone numbers, enter a number and use Add phone number for more. Each valid number shows the saved contact name and consent status, or Not in your Contacts. You can test up to 10 numbers at once; Add phone number disappears when you reach the limit.
4. Select Send test message. If a number is not opted in, confirm with Yes, send test or stop with No. See the consent rules.

The preview beside the form updates as you type, and a result is shown for each number.

Duplicate a template

1. Open WhatsApp → Templates and select a Marketing template.
2. Select Duplicate.
3. Enter a new Template name, review the copied wording and buttons, and add sample values and sample media again. The Sample value fields open empty, so enter a sample for every variable.
4. Select Create template to submit the copy for approval.

The original template is unchanged, and the copy needs its own approval before you can send it. A copied Complete flow button keeps the same flow; choose a different published flow if you need one. Utility and authentication templates, and formats this editor does not support such as carousels, are managed in WhatsApp Manager.

Edit a template

1. Open WhatsApp → Templates, select your template, then select Edit template.
2. Read the warning at the top and make all your changes together. The template name cannot be changed.
3. Enter a Sample value again for every variable — samples are not kept from the previous submission — then check the wording and buttons and select Update template.

Meta allows one edit per approved template in a 24-hour window, and no more than 10 edits in 30 days. Rejected and paused templates do not have these edit limits.

Changes are subject to Meta's approval. If the template becomes Pending, you cannot send it until it is approved again, so check its status before any planned campaign.

Delete a template

1. Open the template and select Delete. The Delete template? dialog opens.
2. If the template exists in more than one language, choose Delete this language only followed by the language code, for example Delete this language only (en_GB), to keep the other language variants, or Delete all language variants to remove every one of them.
3. Select Delete to confirm, or Cancel to keep the template.