WhatsApp templates
Create WhatsApp message templates in EngageOne, submit them to Meta, keep them in sync and send them in conversations outside the 24-hour window.
On this page
WhatsApp templates are pre-approved messages you need to start a chat, or to reply once the 24-hour window has closed.
When you need a template
WhatsApp lets you send free-form replies only within 24 hours of the customer's last message. After that, and for any message you start yourself, you must send a template that Meta has approved.
In EngageOne you use templates in three places:
- In a conversation, when the 24-hour window has closed.
- In WhatsApp campaigns, to message many contacts at once.
- When you start a new WhatsApp conversation with a contact.
View your templates
Go to Settings → Templates. You need to be an administrator.
The page lists templates from all your WhatsApp inboxes, including Twilio WhatsApp inboxes. Each card shows the template's status, category, language, content type and the inboxes it belongs to. Click a card to open the Template preview, which shows how the message looks in WhatsApp.
Use the filters to narrow the list by All inboxes, All languages or All types, or search by name or content.
Template status
| Status | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Approved | Ready to send. |
| Pending | Meta is still reviewing it. |
| Rejected | Meta didn't approve it. Check the reason in Meta, fix the template and submit a new one. |
| Paused | Meta paused it, usually because of poor customer feedback. |
| Disabled | Meta turned it off. |
| Not submitted for WhatsApp approval | The template exists but hasn't been sent to Meta for review. |
Only approved templates can be sent.
Create a template and submit it to Meta
You can create templates for WhatsApp Cloud inboxes straight from EngageOne.
- Go to Settings → Templates and click Create template.
- Choose the WhatsApp inbox.
- Pick a Category:
- Marketing: offers, greetings and announcements.
- Utility: order, account and booking updates.
- Enter a Template name using lowercase letters, numbers and underscores, for example
order_shipped. - Choose the Language.
- Choose a Header: No header, Text (up to 60 characters) or Image (JPG or PNG, up to 5 MB).
- Write the Message body, up to 1024 characters. Click Add variable to insert a placeholder such as
{{1}}. - For each variable, enter a sample value. Meta uses the samples to review the template.
- Optionally add a Footer (optional), up to 60 characters.
- Optionally add Buttons (optional):
- Quick reply: up to 3.
- Visit website: up to 2, each with a URL.
- Call phone number: 1, with the number in international format, for example
+919876543210.
- Check the Preview, then click Submit for review.
Button text can be up to 25 characters. Meta usually reviews a template within a few minutes to a few hours, and the status updates once it does.
Rules for variables
- Number variables in order, starting from
{{1}}, with no gaps. - The message can't start or end with a variable.
- Every variable needs a sample value.
Hi {{1}}, your order {{2}} has shipped and will arrive on {{3}}. Thank you for shopping with us.
Tip: Keep marketing and utility messages in separate templates. Meta may reject a utility template that contains promotional text.
Twilio WhatsApp inboxes
Templates for Twilio WhatsApp inboxes are created in your Twilio account as content templates. EngageOne syncs them so you can see and send them, but you can't create them here. In a template's preview, click Manage in Twilio to open your Twilio console.
For other WhatsApp templates, the preview has Manage in Meta, which opens Meta's template manager.
Sync templates
EngageOne refreshes templates in the background. To pull in changes straight away, for example a template you just created in Meta:
- Go to Settings → Templates.
- Click Sync templates.
Updates can take a couple of minutes. The page shows when the last sync was attempted.
You can also refresh from a conversation: open the template picker and click Refresh templates.
Send a template in a conversation
- Open the WhatsApp conversation.
- In the reply box, click the WhatsApp icon (Whatsapp Templates).
- Search for and pick a template.
- Fill in each value under Variables. Templates with an image or document header ask for the media URL. Templates with buttons may ask for Button Parameters.
- Click Send Message.
For Twilio WhatsApp inboxes, use the Content Templates button in the reply box instead. It works the same way.
Note: If the 24-hour window has closed, the reply box tells you that you can only reply using a template. Once the customer answers, you can reply freely again.