WhatsApp requires all message templates be approved before they can be used to send business-initiated messages to users. Message templates that don't meet the criteria or usage guidelines will be rejected, and can't be used. This guide explains our recommendations and best practices for improving the likelihood that your templates will be approved by WhatsApp.
Important Notice: As of August 18, 2022, Meta introduced new restrictions to the message template creation process that can result in immediate failure when certain templates that do not meet Meta’s guidelines are submitted for approval. Templates with this error will still appear in the Twilio Console, but they will remain in the “waiting for WhatsApp approval” status indefinitely. Please be especially mindful when creating templates to ensure they do not contain any of the restricted content or formatting issues listed under Template Restrictions (Rejection Reasons) below.
Template overview
WhatsApp Templates are used to send outbound, business-initiated notification and marketing messages to WhatsApp users that have opted-in to receiving your messages, but have not responded to you in at least 24-hours. Templates are typically notification-type messages like delivery alerts and appointment reminders, or marketing and promotional messages like sale reminders and product launch announcements. All templates must be submitted to WhatsApp and approved before they can be used.
For more information about how WhatsApp templates work, see Rules and best practices for WhatsApp messaging on Twilio.
Forbidden use cases
For an extensive list of allowed and forbidden use cases and business verticals, see What use cases and businesses are allowed to use WhatsApp on Twilio.
Template Restrictions (Rejection Reasons)
WhatsApp enforces strict guidelines in their template approval process to reduce the potential for abuse and spam attacks. The following are some common reasons why Meta will reject templates.
Template purpose is not clear, concise, or well-written. For example,
Hi, {{1}} {{2}} Thank you.is vague and not clear how it would be used or what the placeholder values represent.Template placeholders are not sequential in order. For example,
{{1}} and {{2}} and {{4}}are included but the placeholder{{3}}does not exist in the template.Template placeholders cannot be right next to each other like
{{1}} {{2}}.Template content is identical to the content of another existing template.
Template body cannot start or end with a placeholder.
Template body cannot have the
\nnewline character.Template footer cannot have emojis or the
\nnewline character.Templates with Text headers cannot have emojis, asterisks, formatting markup, or the
\nnewline character.Templates with Media headers (video, image, document) must include a sample with their submission.
Template is abusive or threatening in nature, such as containing content threatening to take legal action against a user.
Best practices for writing WhatsApp templates
Following these basic guidelines will increase the chances of your templates being quickly approved, and will help ensure that your customers enjoy interacting with your business.
Templates should be as short as possible to get the necessary information across.
Templates must not have any grammatical or spelling mistakes. Templates that include major spelling or grammatical mistakes are likely to be rejected. Templates with minor punctuation errors or grammatical inconsistencies may be approved, but should be avoided.
When submitting your Template in Console, ensure you select the appropriate message type and language.
Additional tips for creating excellent templates:
Get feedback from your teammates or coworkers to ensure the template you’ve written is clear and free of errors.
Think about a template message as a conversation starter, with the goal to convert this into a 2-way message by having the user reply. The two-way use case will keep your spend lower, as WhatsApp does not charge the Template message fee for two-way messages.
Make sure your customers understand why they received your message – you can remind them of the reason why they originally gave you permission to send them messages. For example:
Hi {{1}}, thanks for your order {{2}} placed on {{3}}. Your order has shipped.
You can get a tracking update anytime by replying TRACK.Avoid sending surveys or using the word
survey. Instead, you may ask the customer for their feedback.