WhatsApp only lets a business send a free form message within 24 hours of the customer’s last message. Outside that window you must use a template that WhatsApp has approved in advance.
Open Broadcast in the app to manage yours.
The list
Every template shows a Status:
- Approved, ready to use
- Pending, waiting on Meta’s review
- Rejected, with the reason shown
- Paused or Disabled, usually after poor quality feedback from recipients
You can filter by status and by Category, and there is a sync control that pulls the current state from Meta.
Creating one
Select the option to create a template and fill in:
Name, in lowercase with underscores, for example order_ready. This is an internal identifier, not something customers see.
Category, one of:
- Authentication for one time codes
- Utility for order updates, receipts and appointment reminders
- Marketing for promotions and anything else
Categories matter. Getting this wrong is a common reason for rejection, and marketing templates are held to a stricter standard.
Language, from 15 options.
Header, optional, as Text, Image, Video or Document.
Body, the message. You can use *bold* and _italic_, and {{1}}, {{2}} and so on for the parts that change per customer.
Footer, optional small print.
Buttons, optional quick replies or links.
A live WhatsApp preview shows exactly what a customer will see as you type.
Approval
Templates go to Meta for review. Approval usually takes minutes but can take up to a day.
Rejections are almost always about content, not formatting. Vague marketing language, anything that reads like spam, and a mismatch between the category and the content are the usual causes. The rejection reason is shown on the template.
What to do next
See What WhatsApp adds to your account for everything else that connecting a number unlocks.