WhatsApp templates

Template names

Use lowercase letters, numbers and underscores in a template name. ProConnect converts spaces to underscores and removes unsupported characters as you type.

ProConnect creates Marketing templates. Utility and authentication templates are managed in WhatsApp Manager.

Checks before submission

ProConnect highlights structural problems beside the relevant field before you submit a template. The builder checks WhatsApp rules including:

• text and button character limits;
• variables at the start or end of a message;
• adjacent, malformed, repeated or out-of-sequence variables;
• more than one variable in a text header;
• emoji, line breaks or tabs in text headers and emoji in button labels; and
• duplicate button labels and more buttons of one type than WhatsApp allows.

Some content decisions can only be made during Meta's review. ProConnect shows guidance where a template has a higher risk of rejection, but these warnings do not prevent submission.

Variable samples and media samples

Every variable needs a realistic example value so Meta can understand how the completed message will read. Add each sample directly below the header or body field where its variable appears. Samples are sent to Meta for review only and are never sent to customers. Avoid vague values such as x or test, and never use real customer data.

A header image, video or document selected while building a template is also a review sample. It is not the media customers will receive: you choose the real media each time you send the template. Do not use sample media that shows restricted content such as alcohol, tobacco or gambling, because Meta may reject the whole template.

Test sends

When you enter a test number, ProConnect checks it against your Contacts and shows the contact's name and marketing consent status. If the number is not an opted-in contact, ProConnect asks you to confirm before sending the test. Invalid phone numbers cannot be sent.

Buttons

A template can include up to 10 buttons across two groups: quick reply buttons and call-to-action buttons (visit website, call phone number, call on WhatsApp, copy offer code and complete flow). WhatsApp allows both groups in one template but does not allow them to interleave, so ProConnect keeps each group together. Whichever group you add a button to first appears first in the message.

Drag a button, or use its arrows, to reorder it within its group. Use the arrow beside a group heading to swap which group comes first. Each button needs its own label text, and WhatsApp limits how many buttons of each call-to-action type a template can contain — for example, two website buttons and one phone number button. If a message has more than three buttons, recipients see them as a list.

Website button URLs

WhatsApp templates can include website buttons with either a static or dynamic URL.

• Static URL: every recipient opens the same complete URL.
• Dynamic URL: every recipient opens the fixed URL followed by a value supplied when the message is sent.

Create a dynamic URL

Select Dynamic URL, then enter only the fixed beginning of the website address. ProConnect adds the required {{1}} placeholder to the end automatically.

For example, enter:

https://tinyurl.com/

The template URL submitted for approval is:

https://tinyurl.com/{{1}}

Enter a representative dynamic value, such as 12345, directly below the button. Do not enter the complete URL again. ProConnect shows the resolved example URL beside the button so you can check it before creating the template:

https://tinyurl.com/12345

Use representative data rather than real customer information in template examples. Full destination URLs are less likely to be rejected than shortened links.