Plan requirement
| Subscription | Any plan |
| Access | Admin |
A template is a pre-approved message you may send outside the reply window. Everything proactive depends on them.
Why templates exist
WhatsApp does not let businesses message people freely. You may reply for a period after the customer writes; beyond that, only an approved template.
That is what keeps WhatsApp from becoming a marketing channel, and it is why the rules are strict.
What a template looks like
Fixed wording with placeholders for the variable parts. "Your order {{1}} has been dispatched and will arrive on {{2}}." The structure is approved once; the values change per message.
You cannot alter the wording at send time. Anything you might want to say has to be in the approved text.
What gets approved
- Transactional messages. Order updates, appointment reminders, delivery notifications. Straightforward.
- Service messages following up on a conversation. Usually fine.
- Anything promotional. Heavily restricted, and rejected where it looks like marketing dressed as service.
Approval takes time
Days rather than minutes, and rejections happen for wording that seems reasonable. Submit templates well before you need them, and expect to revise one or two.
They cost money
Sending a template is charged, on a basis that depends on the category and the country. That is between you and WhatsApp, and it is worth understanding before designing a campaign around it.
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