WhatsApp Message Templates

WhatsApp lets a business reply freely only within 24 hours of the customer's last message. After that, the only message that still reaches the customer is a template: a message written in advance and approved by Meta. In Conviro you can write templates, submit them to Meta, follow their review, and send approved ones from the inbox.

Where to find them

Go to Dashboard -> Settings -> WhatsApp Channel Setup and open the Message templates section. The list shows each template with its status. It refreshes on its own while a template is in review; Refresh updates it on demand.

Who can do what

• Owners and admins write, edit and delete templates.
• Agents only send approved templates from the inbox -- see Sending a WhatsApp Template from the Inbox.

Utility templates only

Conviro writes Utility templates: messages about something the customer already started -- a request, an appointment, an order, a payment or a registration. Marketing and authentication templates cannot be written in Conviro, and marketing templates cannot be sent from the inbox.

Ready-made templates

Click Ready-made templates to start from one of seven templates, each written in 21 languages:

• request_update -- an update on a customer's request
• appointment_reminder -- an appointment reminder
• appointment_confirmed -- an appointment confirmation
• order_received -- an order has been received
• order_shipped -- an order has shipped, with its tracking number
• payment_reminder -- a payment reminder with the amount and due date
• registration_received -- a registration for a course, event or service has been received

Pick a template, tick the languages you need and check the preview, which is filled with sample values. When you submit, each language goes to Meta as its own template under the same name and shows its own result: submitted, already on this number, or refused -- with Meta's own words. To change the wording first, click Customize: the template opens in the editor, in the language you were previewing.

Writing your own template

Click New template and fill in:

• Name -- lowercase letters, numbers and underscores.
• Language -- the language of this template.
• Header (optional) -- text only, up to 60 characters, with at most one variable. A header variable needs a sample value.
• Body -- up to 1024 characters. Write variables as {{1}}, {{2}} and so on, and give one sample value per variable.
• Footer (optional) -- up to 60 characters, without variables.
• Buttons (optional) -- quick replies, website link (URL), phone number and copy code. Up to 10 buttons in total, with at most 2 link buttons, 1 phone button and 1 copy-code button. Button text can be up to 25 characters.

A phone-style preview shows the message as the customer will see it. Checks run while you type, but passing them is not an approval -- only Meta approves templates.

What each status means

Meta usually reviews a template within 24 hours.

• Approved — ready to send -- the template can be sent from the inbox.
• In review by Meta -- Meta has not decided yet.
• In appeal -- the template is in appeal.
• Rejected by Meta -- Meta's reason is shown word for word, next to guidance. Edit the template and resubmit it.
• Paused by Meta -- the template's quality dropped. Sends are refused while it is paused, and Meta lifts the pause by itself. If the wording caused complaints, edit it and resubmit.
• Disabled by Meta -- the template cannot be sent, edited or deleted here.
• Template limit reached -- delete templates you no longer use.
• Archived by Meta -- archived after a long time without sends. It cannot be sent; delete it or write it again.
• Being deleted and Deleted -- the template is being removed, or has been.

Quality rating

For an approved template, Conviro shows Meta's quality rating in words, with Meta's reasons and the date. Conviro also shows when Meta moves a template to another category.

Editing and deleting

• Edit and resubmit works for Approved, Rejected and Paused Utility templates. The edit goes back to Meta for review; name, language and category do not change.
• A template with a media header, or with a button type Conviro cannot write (such as a Flow button), cannot be edited in Conviro. Conviro refuses the edit rather than silently removing those parts.
• Delete removes that template in that language, after you confirm.
• Disabled templates cannot be edited or deleted.

Limits

• Not supported yet: media or location headers, named variables, message time-to-live, Meta's template library and in-app appeals.
• No bulk or broadcast sending: a template is sent from the inbox into one conversation at a time.
• WhatsApp charges for each template. Message fees are charged by Meta directly to your own WhatsApp Business Account; Conviro does not charge per message.