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A template is a pre-approved WhatsApp message. You need one to start a conversation with a customer who has not written to you in the last 24 hours, which is what every campaign does. Templates live on the Templates tab of Campaigns; the same list feeds one-time campaigns, automated campaigns and the Inbox.

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Before you start

  • A connected WhatsApp Business number. A template belongs to one number; if you have several, you pick which one in Setup.
  • Permission to create templates in your role.
  • Any media you want in the header or carousel cards: JPEG or PNG images, MP4 video, or a PDF, each at most 5 MB.

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Create a template

1

Open the editor

Go to Campaigns, open the Templates tab and click New template.
2

Answer What are you sending?

Pick the purpose that fits best: Order confirmation, Shipping update, Receipt or invoice, Appointment reminder, Customer support reply, Promo or offer, Welcome message, Abandoned cart, Feedback request, OTP / verification code or Something else. The purpose sets the category, where the template shows and a starting name. You can change all three afterwards; Change next to the purpose lets you pick again.
3

Check Setup

In the Setup card:
  • Internal name accepts letters, numbers and underscores only. If you type anything else the field shows “Will be saved as” and the converted name. Customers never see this name.
  • Send from is the WhatsApp number. Once the template exists, it is locked: “A template stays on the number it was made on.”
  • Category and Language.
  • Where you’ll use it: Inbox replies, Campaigns, or both.
4

Write the message

In Message, type the body in Enter message body (up to 1,024 characters). Use the toolbar for bold, italic and strikethrough, and Add variable to insert a placeholder. For a head start, use Draft with agent, described below.
5

Add optional parts

Use Add header, Add footer, Add buttons or Add carousel. Each is described below, and Remove header, Remove footer, Remove buttons or Remove carousel takes it away again.
6

Save or submit

Save as draft keeps the template in Popcorn only. Submit for review asks you to confirm: WhatsApp reviews the template before you can send it, and after you submit you can’t edit it. Keep editing takes you back. The checklist beside the form reads Ready to submit; otherwise it counts the things to fix and says what they are.
The preview beside the form shows the message as customers will see it, and updates as you type. When a step changes a lot at once, such as using an agent draft, Undo appears so you can reverse it.

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Draft with the agent

Under Need a starting point? describe the template you want and click Generate. If the agent needs more, it asks A couple of details first, and you click Continue. When Draft ready appears, Use this draft fills in the form and Start over discards it. The draft can suggest a different category or language; the notes read “Changes the category to” and “Changes the language to”. If your content looks likely to be moved to another category by WhatsApp, the helper warns you before you submit.

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Variables and example values

Variables are numbered placeholders such as {{1}} and {{2}}. When you send a campaign, you map each one to a customer field or a fixed value. Meta’s rules, which the editor checks as you type:
  • Number them 1, 2, 3 in order with no gaps. Named placeholders such as {{name}} are not accepted.
  • The body cannot start or end with a variable, two variables cannot sit next to each other, and the body cannot be only a variable.
  • Up to 10 variables in the body.
  • Every variable needs a value in Example values for variables, so Meta’s reviewers can read the message.
  • A text header can hold at most one variable, and it must be {{1}}. The footer and carousel card text cannot contain variables.
Header: click Add header and answer “What kind of header?” with Image, Video, Document or Bold title. A bold title is text of up to 60 characters, with no line breaks and no emoji. Media is uploaded from your computer, 5 MB at most. Footer: Add footer gives a short note of up to 60 characters, with no variables and no line breaks. Buttons: Add buttons asks “What should this button do?”, then Add another button adds more. Labels are limited to 25 characters and cannot contain emoji or line breaks. A template can have up to 10 buttons in total.

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Card carousels

A carousel is a message followed by 2 to 10 swipeable cards, each with its own image or video. Click Add carousel. A carousel template is the body plus cards only, so the editor hides the header, footer and top-level buttons.
  • Card media is Image or Video, and every card uses the same format. Switching the format clears the media on all cards, and Undo brings it back.
  • Card buttons: WhatsApp shows the same buttons on every card. Click Add a button to every card, choose Open a link, Call us or Quick reply (up to 2 per card), and set its label once. Then give each card its own link or phone number.
  • Card text (optional) is up to 160 characters. If one card has text, every card needs text.
  • Add card and Remove card change the count, and Remove carousel returns to a normal template.
Card links are tracked the same way as top-level link buttons, and are always fixed web addresses.

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Authentication templates

For OTP / verification code, WhatsApp writes the message for you: a standard verification text in the template’s language with the code and a copy button. There is nothing to type. Choose:
  • Security reminder, which adds “For your security, do not share this code.”
  • Show when the code expires, with Code expires after (minutes), a whole number from 1 to 90 (10 by default).
  • Copy button label (optional). Leave it empty to use WhatsApp’s own label.
Authentication templates send a one-time code to one customer at a time, so they cannot be used in a bulk campaign. Send them from the Inbox or the API.

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Category

Marketing, Utility and Authentication are Meta’s categories. Meta reviews the category during approval and may change it: the editor then shows “Meta reclassified this template from” the old category “to” the new one, and the list shows a Reclassified badge. A reclassified template still works, but delivery and WhatsApp pricing follow the new category. If you need the original category, create a new template whose content matches it.

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Statuses

Use the status filter above the list to find templates by status: All, Draft, Pending review, Approved, Rejected, Paused, Disabled or Flagged. Search templates narrows the list further. The list shows Template, Category, Updated and Status. Status changes arrive from Meta automatically; you do not need to refresh anything.

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Edit, duplicate, delete

  • Only a Draft can be edited. Once submitted, the page says “This template is” followed by its status “and can’t be edited”, and “To make changes, duplicate this template and submit the copy.” Click Duplicate to get an editable draft copy. Duplicate is also in a row’s ⋯ menu.
  • Delete asks you to confirm with Delete template. It removes the template from Popcorn, and for a template you already submitted, from WhatsApp too. It cannot be undone.