# WhatsApp templates

> Templates are WhatsApp messages approved by Meta. You need them to write to a customer first, or to write to them when more than 24 hours have passed since their last message.

Page: https://supportfast.ai/en/guide/integrations/whatsapp-templates/ · Section: Channels and Meta · Updated on 30 October 2026

## When you need them

The 24-hour rule is explained in [Meta rules: 24 hours, costs, limits](https://supportfast.ai/en/guide/integrations/meta-rules.md#the-24-hour-customer-service-window). In SupportFast you use templates in four places:

- New conversation, to write to a contact who hasn't written to you yet;
- Send template, in the “Chat options” menu of a WhatsApp conversation, when more than 24 hours have passed since the customer's last message and a notice tells you that you need a template;
- [WhatsApp campaigns](https://supportfast.ai/en/guide/campaigns/overview.md), to write to a list of contacts;
- [automations](https://supportfast.ai/en/guide/automations/action-nodes.md), with the “WhatsApp Template” action.

> **Before you start**
>
> - The WhatsApp channel connected and active, and a [payment method on Meta](https://supportfast.ai/en/guide/integrations/meta-rules.md#the-payment-method).

## Create a template

Templates are in Workspace › Integrations › WhatsApp, in the “Message Templates” section at the bottom of the page. The table shows the “Name”, “Language”, “Category” and “Status” of each one.

1. **Open the editor**
   Press New Template. The form is on the left, the preview on the right.

2. **Fill in the general information**
   Type the Template name, then choose the Template language and the Category.

3. **Write the content**
   Add the header if you need one, then the Message body. For each variable, type a sample value. The footer is optional.

4. **Add the buttons**
   If you need them, press Add button and choose the type.

5. **Send it for review**
   Check the preview and press Save template. “Template created and sent into review” appears.

> **Result**
>
> The template appears in the table with the status “In review”. When Meta approves it, the status changes to “Approved” on its own, usually within 24 hours.

![New WhatsApp Template editor with the name Appointment confirmation, the Utility category, a body with two variables for the customer's name and the date, the samples Mario and November 12, a quick reply button and the preview on the right.](https://supportfast.ai/_astro/06-template-editor.ByB8kVJC.webp)

_Write the body with the variables, give each one a sample and check the preview on the right._

## General information

- **Template name (Text)**: The name you use to find the template.

- **Template language (Choice among the workspace's languages)**: The language the message is written in. You find the languages set in the workspace. It can't be changed after creation.

- **Category (Marketing · Utility · Authentication)**: Marketing: promotions, offers, invitations. Utility: updates about something the customer did, such as order confirmations, receipts or reminders. Authentication: only for the one-time verification codes the customer asks you for; WhatsApp decides the text. The template is created on your WhatsApp Business Account, the space on Meta that holds your numbers and templates, but it can't be sent from SupportFast: not from conversations, and not from campaigns or automations. Create it only if another system of yours, connected to the same account, uses it; for everything else, choose Marketing or Utility. On an approved template, the category can't be changed.

  (Default: Marketing)

## Message content

- **Header (None · Text · Image · Video · Document)**: A line at the top of the message, or a file. The text has at most 60 characters and one variable. The file you upload serves as a sample for Meta, and it's the same file that all customers receive. The allowed files are:

- Image: JPEG or PNG, up to 5 MB;
- Video: MP4, up to 16 MB;
- Document: PDF only, up to 100 MB.

  (Default: None)

- **Message body (Text · required · max 1024 characters)**: The main text. You can use WhatsApp formatting: `*bold*`, `_italic_`, `~strikethrough~`. The body can't start or end with a variable.

- **Detected variables (One sample value per variable · required)**: Appears when the header or the body contains variables. Type a realistic sample for each one: Meta uses it for the review.

- **Footer (Text · optional · max 60 characters)**: A line at the bottom of the message, for example the business name. It doesn't allow variables.

### Template variables

Template variables are the parts that change from one customer to another. You write them between double curly braces, with a name made of lowercase letters, digits and underscores that starts with a letter: for example `{{customer_name}}`.

In the template, variables are only placeholders. You choose the real value when you send: in campaigns and automations you can use the contact's data.

**Not like this:** `{{customer_name}}, your order is ready`
The body starts with a variable.

**Like this:** `Hi {{customer_name}}, your order {{order_number}} is ready for pickup in store.`
Samples: “Mario”, “A1234”.

## Buttons

Press Add button and choose the type. A template has at most 10 buttons in total. Use Move up and Move down to change the order; quick replies always come after the other buttons.

| Type | Fields | How many |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Call | “Button text” and “Phone number” in international format without spaces, for example `+390212345678`. | 1 per template. |
| Open link | “Button text” and “URL”, which must start with `https://`. | 2 per template. |
| Quick reply | “Button text”. The customer replies with one tap and the reply arrives in the conversation. | As many as you want, within the maximum of 10 buttons per template, quick replies included. |
| Copy code | “Sample code”. WhatsApp sets the button text, and you choose the real code each time you send. | 1 per template. |

## Review and statuses

Meta reviews every new or edited template. When Meta assigns a quality rating, a dot appears next to the status: “Meta quality: good”, “medium” or “low”.

| Status | What it means | What to do |
| --- | --- | --- |
| (Approved) | It can be sent and edited. | Nothing. |
| (In review) | Meta is reviewing it. It can't be sent or edited. | Wait for the outcome. |
| (Rejected) | Meta didn't approve it. | Press the status label and read “Meta's reason:”, then press Edit template, which opens the same editor as the Open button. |
| (Paused) | Meta stopped it because of low quality. | Review the text and the recipients, then edit it. |
| Other statuses | Meta is re-examining it or has stopped it. It can't be sent. | Check the template in Meta's Business Manager, which Meta now calls a “business portfolio” and you open from Meta Business Suite. Then press Refresh data. |

## Editing a template

Press Open on the template's row: the “Edit WhatsApp Template” editor opens, the same one you reach with Edit template in a rejected template's panel. If the status doesn't allow edits, the editor says so and the fields stay locked: see [Review and statuses](https://supportfast.ai/en/guide/integrations/whatsapp-templates.md#review-and-statuses).

- If you change the content, the template goes back to “In review” and can't be sent until Meta approves it. On an approved template, Meta accepts at most 1 edit every 24 hours and 10 every 30 days.
- The name changes only in SupportFast: on Meta the template keeps the name you created it with, which you see in gray next to Template name. That's why changing only the name doesn't send the template for review.

## Syncing with Meta

Templates live in your WhatsApp Business Account on Meta. The status updates on its own; to update it right away, press Sync with Meta for all templates or Refresh data for one.

This also brings in the templates created in the Business Manager. The ones that no longer exist on Meta, or are disabled, disappear from here too. A template imported with an image, a video or a PDF document may ask you for the file: open it and upload the file.

## Deleting a template

From the row's ⋮ menu, choose Delete template and confirm. The template is also deleted from your WhatsApp Business Account, for that language only. Campaigns and automations that use it stop sending it.

> **Important**
>
> **The name stays locked for 30 days.** After deletion, Meta doesn't accept a new template with the same name for 30 days. If you need to recreate it right away, use a different name.

## Tips for getting them approved

- Choose the right category: no promotions in Utility, not even a discount. During review, Meta may move a Utility template to Marketing, which has a different price.
- Write text that makes sense even without the variable values: who is writing, why, and what the customer needs to do.
- Samples and files must be real, not “test” or “abc”.
- Don't fill the text with variables: they need real sentences around them.
- In links, use full addresses on your website, not shortened ones.

## Frequently asked questions

**The template doesn't appear in the campaign.**

Campaigns show only “Approved” templates and, if they have an image, a video or a PDF document, only once the file is uploaded.

**How do I make the same template in another language?**

Create a new template with the same name you used to create the first one, and choose the other language: Meta treats it as a translation of the first. If you've renamed it in the meantime, open the first template. Next to Template name, in gray, is the name it has on Meta: use that one for the new template. The language must be one of the workspace's languages.

**What happens if a variable is empty when sending?**

The message to that contact isn't sent and the send shows as failed; the other contacts receive it. If template errors keep repeating in a campaign, the campaign stops with “Paused for too many template errors”. In campaigns and automations, use fields that all contacts have filled in, such as the name, or a fixed text.

## See also

- [Meta rules: 24 hours, costs, limits](https://supportfast.ai/en/guide/integrations/meta-rules.md): When you need templates and who pays for them.

- [Creating a campaign](https://supportfast.ai/en/guide/campaigns/create.md): Sending a template to a list of contacts.

- [Writing, attachments and tools](https://supportfast.ai/en/guide/conversations/tools.md): Sending a template from a conversation.