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A WhatsApp template is a message that Meta approves before you can send it. You need a template to write to a customer first, or to write after the 24-hour window closes. Campaigns and automations create their own templates. The Templates page holds reusable templates that your team sends from the Inbox. To open it, click Settings at the bottom of the sidebar, then WhatsApp → WhatsApp Templates (open). This page shows when your WhatsApp number is connected.

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When you need a WhatsApp template: the 24-hour window

After a customer sends you a WhatsApp message, you can reply with free text for 24 hours. This is the 24-hour window. A reply in the window can have up to 4,096 characters. Outside the window, or when the customer never wrote to you, WhatsApp accepts only templates. In the Inbox outside the window, after you take over the chat from the AI, the reply box shows “Type a message — we’ll submit it to Meta as a template”. Your text can then have up to 1,024 characters. TextYess submits it to Meta and sends it after approval. The message shows “Waiting for Meta to approve this message. Usually a few minutes — can take up to 24 hours.” You do not need to do anything. To send at once, use a template that Meta already approved. See “Send a WhatsApp template from the Inbox” on this page.

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Send a WhatsApp template from the Inbox

To send an approved template, open the conversation in the Inbox.
  1. If the bar above the reply box shows AI is handling this conversation, click the switch to take over. The template icon stays off until you take over.
  2. In the reply box, click the template icon (Insert template). The window Choose a Template opens.
  3. Select a template. TextYess shows a preview.
  4. Fill in every variable of the template.
  5. If the template sends with a file, attach a photo or a PDF.
  6. Click Send Template.
The list shows only templates with the status APPROVED. If you have no template yet, click Create Your First Template. Templates are approved in advance, so they go out at once, also outside the 24-hour window. For more about the Inbox, see Manage conversations.

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Create a WhatsApp template

Open Settings → WhatsApp → WhatsApp Templates and click New Template.
  1. Enter the Template Name. Only your team sees this name.
  2. Select the Category: Utility, Marketing or Authentication. Utility is the default.
  3. Select the Language.
  4. Optional: turn on Let operators attach a file.
  5. Write the Message Body. Type each variable in double braces, for example {{name}}.
  6. Optional: add up to 3 Buttons.
  7. Click Submit for Approval.
TextYess sends the template to Meta at once and shows “Template submitted for approval”. The status is PENDING until Meta answers. The Preview on the right shows the message as WhatsApp shows it.

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WhatsApp template categories

Every template on Settings → WhatsApp → WhatsApp Templates has a category:
  • Marketing: promotions and offers. TextYess creates the templates of your campaigns as marketing templates.
  • Utility: transactional messages, such as order updates. This is the default category.
  • Authentication: one-time codes. Meta fixes the content of these templates, so they cannot have buttons.
When TextYess submits a template, it lets Meta change the category if Meta decides that another category fits. The Category column shows the category that Meta set.

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WhatsApp template statuses

The Status column on Settings → WhatsApp → WhatsApp Templates shows where each template is: Point to a status to read its description, when you submitted the template, and how long the review took.

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How long Meta review of a WhatsApp template takes

Meta usually reviews a template in a few minutes, but it can take up to 24 hours. During the review, the status on Settings → WhatsApp → WhatsApp Templates is PENDING. Point to the status to see how long ago you submitted the template. TextYess gets Meta’s answer automatically. The template then changes to APPROVED or REJECTED. The line “Last synced” under the list shows when a template was last updated. After the review, the tooltip of the status shows “Reviewed in” and the time that the review took.

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WhatsApp template rejected by Meta

When Meta rejects a template on Settings → WhatsApp → WhatsApp Templates, its status is REJECTED and a red warning icon shows next to it. Point to the status, or click the template, to read Meta’s reason. You cannot edit a template. To fix a rejected template:
  1. Click New Template and create a corrected template.
  2. Wait until Meta approves the new template.
  3. Open the rejected template and click Delete.
If Meta refuses the template when you click Submit for Approval, the error “Failed to create template” shows Meta’s reason. TextYess then does not save the template. Change the content and submit again.

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Template rules that TextYess checks before Meta review

On Settings → WhatsApp → WhatsApp Templates, Submit for Approval stays off until the template follows these rules. Meta rejects templates that break them, so the form shows the error before you submit:
  • The body has up to 1,024 characters.
  • The body does not start or end with a variable.
  • Two variables always have text between them.
  • The body has no tab characters, and no more than 4 spaces in a row.
  • The body does not start or end with a blank line.
  • The buttons follow the button rules. See “Add buttons to a WhatsApp template” on this page.

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Add buttons to a WhatsApp template

In New Template on Settings → WhatsApp → WhatsApp Templates, click Add button. A template can have up to 3 buttons:
  • Quick reply: the customer taps it to reply. The label cannot be an opt-out word, such as STOP.
  • Link: opens a web page. The URL must start with http:// or https:// and cannot contain a variable. A template can have at most 2 link buttons.
  • Copy code: copies a code. One per template, with up to 15 letters and numbers.
A label can have up to 25 characters. Two buttons cannot have the same label. Keep the quick reply buttons together, before or after the other buttons. Use the arrows to change the order. Authentication templates cannot have buttons.

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Let operators attach a file to a WhatsApp template

In New Template on Settings → WhatsApp → WhatsApp Templates, turn on Let operators attach a file. Every message from this template then carries a photo or a PDF. The operator picks the file in the Inbox when sending. Meta reviews the template with a sample file, so you do not upload a file here. In the Inbox, an image can be up to 5 MB and 2048 pixels on the longest side. TextYess converts other image formats, for example HEIC from an iPhone, to JPEG. A PDF can be up to 64 MB. In the list of templates, these templates have a photo and file icon with the title “Sends with a file”.

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Find a WhatsApp template

On Settings → WhatsApp → WhatsApp Templates, type part of the template name in Search templates…. To filter the list, use All Categories and All Statuses. The list shows 20 templates on each page. Click a template to see its preview, its category, its status and its language. A rejected template also shows Meta’s reason here.

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Edit or delete a WhatsApp template

You cannot edit a template after you submit it. To change a template, create a new one, then delete the old one. To delete a template on Settings → WhatsApp → WhatsApp Templates:
  1. Click the template in the list.
  2. Click Delete.
  3. Confirm “Delete this template? This cannot be undone.”
TextYess deletes the template at Meta too. A template with Let operators attach a file is two templates at Meta, one for photos and one for PDFs. TextYess deletes both.

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Templates of campaigns and automations

The Templates page in Settings → WhatsApp → WhatsApp Templates shows only the templates that you create on it. Campaigns from Campaigns → WhatsApp and automations create their own templates. These do not show on the Templates page. A campaign goes to Meta review when you click Send to review. If you change the content of an approved campaign, it needs a new review. See WhatsApp campaigns. For automation messages, see Messages.