How to Create a WhatsApp Template Message, Step by Step

A WhatsApp template message is a message format that Meta approves in advance. You need one to message a customer first, or to write to them more than 24 hours after their last message. Until recently, most businesses created templates in Meta’s WhatsApp Manager. With MonoChat you can now create them where you work with your customers, with a live preview and Meta’s rules checked as you type.

This guide shows both ways, step by step, and the choices that decide whether Meta approves a template.

Two places to create a template

	MonoChat template builder	Meta WhatsApp Manager
Where	Settings › Chat › Channels › Template Messages	business.facebook.com › WhatsApp Manager › Message templates
Preview	Live WhatsApp preview while you type	Preview next to the editor
Rule checks	Name, variables, examples, lengths and button limits checked before submitting	Meta’s checks when you submit
Copies and languages	Duplicate or add a language from the template list	Add languages in the template editor
Editing an approved template	Duplicate it and submit the new version	Edit it; it is reviewed again

Both submit the template to the same Meta review, and the template appears in both places.

Step 1: Choose the category

Meta reviews and prices templates by category, so this is the first decision:

• Marketing: offers, launches, announcements, re-engagement, anything promotional.
• Utility: updates about something the customer started, such as an order, booking, account or payment. No promotional content at all.
• Authentication: one-time passwords. Meta writes the text.

If a utility template includes an offer or an upsell, Meta treats it as marketing. Our WhatsApp template message examples show what fits each category.

Step 2: Choose the type

Beyond the standard text template, the WhatsApp Cloud API offers several formats. In MonoChat you pick them on the same screen:

• Standard: text with an optional header, footer and up to 10 buttons.
• Media carousel: a message followed by 2 to 10 scrolling cards, each with an image or video, a short text and up to 2 buttons. See WhatsApp carousel messages.
• Product carousel, catalog, multi-product and single product: products from your Meta catalog, chosen when the template is sent.
• Limited-time offer: an offer title with a countdown to its expiry, an optional coupon code and a link button.
• Call permission request: asks the customer if you may call them on WhatsApp.
• One-time password: a verification code delivered with a copy button, one-tap autofill or zero-tap on Android.

Step 3: Name, language and variables

• Name: lowercase letters, numbers and underscores, such as order_shipped. It is unique in your WhatsApp Business Account and cannot be renamed.
• Language: each language is a separate version of the template under the same name.
• Variables: numbered ({{1}}, {{2}}) or named ({{first_name}}). Number them in order, don’t start or end the text with a variable, and don’t make a message that is mostly variables.

For every variable, add a realistic example, such as “Maria” or “#10482”. Meta reviews the template with these examples. Never use real customer data.

Step 4: Write the content

• Header (optional): text up to 60 characters with at most one variable, or an image, video, document or location.
• Body: up to 1,024 characters (600 for a limited-time offer), with bold, italic, strikethrough and monospace.
• Footer (optional): up to 60 characters, without variables, for example your business name or “Reply STOP to opt out”.

Say who is writing and why in the first line. A customer who recognizes the sender is less likely to block or report the message, which protects the template’s quality rating.

Step 5: Add buttons

A template can have up to 10 buttons, with button text of up to 25 characters:

• Quick reply (up to 10): sends the text back into the chat, ideal for “Confirm”, “Reschedule” or starting a flow.
• Visit website (up to 2): an https:// link, optionally ending with one variable, such as a tracking number.
• Call phone number (1), Copy coupon code (1, up to 15 characters), Call on WhatsApp (1).
• WhatsApp Flow (1): opens a form or booking inside WhatsApp. See WhatsApp Flows.
• Request contact info (1).

Keep quick replies next to each other; Meta rejects them when they are mixed between other buttons.

Step 6: Submit and track the review

In MonoChat, Submit for review first lists anything that still breaks Meta’s rules under the field it belongs to. When the template is valid, it goes to Meta and appears in your list as Pending. Meta says a decision can take up to 24 hours, and many reviews finish in minutes. Sync fetches the latest status.

If Meta rejects it, the most common causes are a category that doesn’t match the content, variables without context or examples, spelling mistakes and buttons that don’t match the message. Fix the cause and submit again.

Step 7: Send it and automate the replies

An approved template can be sent from a chat, to a segment with bulk messaging, or automatically when an order, booking or payment event arrives from your systems. In MonoChat you map each variable once, for example to the customer’s name or a CRM field, and the replies come back to the same team inbox, where a flow or an AI assistant can take the next step.

Meta charges per delivered template message, by category and the recipient’s country. Our bulk messaging calculator estimates the cost of a campaign.

Create your first template in MonoChat

MonoChat is business messaging software and an official Meta Business Partner. It connects your own WhatsApp number to Meta’s Cloud API, and the template builder is available on every WhatsApp Business (Cloud) channel. The step-by-step help article shows every screen.

You can start free at app.monochat.ai.

Sources

• Meta for Developers: Templates overview
• Meta for Developers: Template components
• Meta for Developers: Template review
• Meta for Developers: Template categorization