We have recently refreshed our branding across our offerings and changed the names of our pricing plans. If you have signed up before Aug 9, 2021, please click Previous plans to view your applicable plans.
We assure you that this change will not impact your product experience, and no action is required on your part.

Step 1: Go to the Business Manager 

  1. Go to Facebook Business Manager settings using the link provided. 
  2. Select: WhatsApp Accounts
  3. Then select the name of the account.
  4. Select: Settings
  5. Select: WhatsApp Manager


Step 2: Click “Create Message Template

  1. Select the dialogue box on the left.
  2. You’ll now see the message templates you’ve created.
  3. Select: Create Message Template


There are 3 categories of message templates. Use the categories here to create a message template. If you’re unable to find a category that you need, just select “Transactional”.



Step 3: Craft a message template

  1. Category: Choose which type of template you'd like to create. You can hover over the template types to view details for each template.
  2. Name: Enter the name of the template in lowercase letters, numbers, and underscores only.
  3. Language: Choose which languages your message template will include. You can delete or add more languages in the next step.
  4. When you are finished with your category selection, template name, and language selection, click "Continue."



Tips: Template name can be used internally to categorise templates. For example: "blackfriday_offer_1", "blackfriday_offer_2" or "delivery_update" 


Message templates with different languages

  1. You can craft message templates in different languages. We support up to 50 languages and more may be added in the future. 
  2. Once you’ve completed one language, you can select “Next Language.”

WhatsApp does not provide translations. All message template translations must be entered in the same format as above. The template name will be the same for all translations. 



Step 4: Design your message 


  1. Header: Use text or media for an optional header.
  2. Body: Add the content of your message here. You can edit text formats, add emojis, or include variables, which allow a developer to add unique information such as specific names, locations, or tracking numbers.
  3. Footer: Add a short line of text at the bottom of your message.
  4. Buttons: Add a Call-to-Action or Quick Reply button to let your customers quickly respond to your message or take another action.
  5. Preview your message template after drafting it.



Category: Header


Options:

  1. Please select none from the dropdown list if you don't want to use the header.
  2. You can use the "Text" option to create a Header.
  3. Adding a variable allows configurable parameters (e.g., name, order number, credit card number, ticket number, etc.) 
  4. You can use the "Media" to include three types of media as your Header.


Category: Body


Options:

Design the Body message using the formatting options below:

  1. Emojis
  2. Bold
  3. Italic
  4. Strikethrough
  5. Monospace font
  6. Adding a variable allows configurable parameters (e.g., name, order number, credit card, ticket number, etc.) 



Category: Footer

Options

Text in the Footer category will be grey in color and the font size will be smaller than the header and body text.



Category: Buttons


Options

  1. Please select none from the dropdown list if you don't want to use Buttons.
  2. Call-to-action buttons with 
    • Phone number
    • Website
  3. Quick Reply buttons allow people to choose from up to three options, such as “Yes,” “No" or "Maybe."

Call-to-action buttons let you add a phone number or website URL to your message. You can choose from a static (fixed) website URL or a dynamic website URL, which creates a personalized link for the customer to view their specific information on your website by adding a variable at the end of the link.


**Note* - Freshchat only supports Static URLs at the moment.


The website link must include “https” at the beginning of the address.



Step 5: Add sample content 


  1. It’s good practice to add a sample template by clicking the “Add Sample” button. This helps us during the review and approval process, so we can understand what kind of message you plan to send. 
  2. If you have selected Media type for Header, please upload your sample file.
  3. If you have included variables, please input the sample type of information that will be displayed.

Make sure these are examples and don’t include any private or personal information.



Step 6: Submit your message template


  1. When completed, click Submit.

Your template will now be sent for review. The status of your template is viewable under Message Templates. After your message has been approved, you can work with your developer to input your message templates into the platform by referring to the Sending Message Templates Developer Document.

You can create a maximum of 250 message templates per WhatsApp Business Account.


Messaging limit for business-initiated notifications

  • For brands who are interested in notifications, having to scale quickly to the next tier is their main focus
  • This is especially true for brands who have not been using any notifications because their sending limit would be 1K/day
  • There are some requirements for brands to meet before they can be upgraded to the next tier. 
  • Mass broadcasts to big sample size are not recommended due to quality rating issues


Tiering levels


Tier 1: Allows your business to send messages to 1K unique customers in a rolling 24-hour period.

Tier 2: Allows your business to send messages to 10K unique customers in a rolling 24-hour period.

Tier 3: Allows your business to send messages to 100K unique customers in a rolling 24-hour period.


Understanding the requirements of upgrading a tier


  • Send notifications 2X the current limit
  • Unique numbers
  • Seven-day rolling period



Tier upgrade:


We have a rolling seven-day window. Every day, our system will check three things:

  • In the last seven days, were there notifications sent to 2X customers of the current limit?
  • Is quality rating Medium/High today? 
  • Is phone number status not “Flagged” today?


If all three conditions are fulfilled, then it is upgraded.


The rating is averaged over seven days. Hence, if you have one day where your rating is Low, and the other six days are High, the line will get upgraded.


People blocking businesses may impact quality rating



Negative ratings from customers will affect tier upgrade: 


  1. In the process of upgrading a tier, if businesses get a low rating, they will get flagged
  2. This will affect and impact the tier upgrading process
  3. Quality rating is based on how messages have been received by recipients over the past seven days



WhatsApp Business Account Message Quality Rating: https://www.facebook.com/business/help/896873687365001


Template guidelines


Formatting is incorrect

  • Check spelling and grammar
  • Check formatting on parameters; for example, the number of brackets they have: {{1}}, {{2}}, etc.
  • Make sure the language selected matches the content and you are not “mixing” languages (spanglish)
  • If you are sending a test, make sure the format for testing is used
  • Don’t use URL shorteners because they obscure the destination
  • Make the message name clear. Instead of using a name like "template_014," use "bus_ticket_details."
  • Always include an example of what the end message will look like, especially when including media messages (this will also be required for appeals)
  • The URL domain should belong to your business


The content violates WhatsApp Commerce Policy or WhatsApp Business Policy

  • Do not request sensitive identifiers from customers (full payment card numbers, financial account numbers, national ID numbers or other sensitive identifiers—this includes documents that contain this identifiers)
  • Surveys are OK, but do not submit a survey to collect unrelated data from customers
  • Message templates cannot contain potentially abusive or threatening content