> ## Documentation Index > Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.textyess.com/llms.txt > Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further. # WhatsApp templates: the 24-hour window, Meta review and reusable Inbox templates > What a WhatsApp template is, when you need one after the 24-hour window, how to create a template in Settings → WhatsApp Templates, categories, Meta review, statuses, rejection fixes, buttons, files, and delete. 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](https://ai.textyess.com/organization-settings/templates)). This page shows when your WhatsApp number is connected. ## 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. ## Send a WhatsApp template from the Inbox To send an approved template, open the conversation in the [Inbox](https://ai.textyess.com/inbox/all). 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](/manage-conversations). ## 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. ## 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. ## WhatsApp template statuses The **Status** column on **Settings → WhatsApp → WhatsApp Templates** shows where each template is: | Status | Meaning | | - | - | | **PENDING** | Meta is reviewing the template. | | **APPROVED** | Meta approved the template. You can send it from the Inbox. | | **REJECTED** | Meta rejected the template. A warning gives the reason. | | **CREATED** | The template is not submitted to Meta yet. | | **DISABLED** | Meta disabled the template because of quality or policy issues. | | **FLAGGED** | Meta flagged the template for quality. Meta can pause it if this continues. | Point to a status to read its description, when you submitted the template, and how long the review took. ## 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. ## 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. ## 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. ## 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. ## 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". ## 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. ## 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. ## 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](/campaigns/whatsapp-campaigns). For automation messages, see [Messages](/flows/messages). This documentation is built and hosted on [Mintlify](https://mintlify.com), a developer documentation platform.