Summary
Creating WhatsApp message templates requires following specific formatting rules to ensure they are approved quickly. This guide explains the naming conventions, content formatting, and translation requirements for message templates. Following these guidelines will help streamline the approval process and improve message management.
Note: Meta has a new rule for marketing templates: you can’t use more than 550 characters or 10 emojis. If your template has an issue with character limits, you’ll see an error code after delivery: 2388040.
Instructions
Template Naming Rules
When naming your WhatsApp message template, ensure that it follows these guidelines:
Use only lowercase alphanumeric characters and underscores (_).
Avoid spaces, special characters (except underscores), or capital letters.
Choose a descriptive name to make it easier for both WhatsApp reviewers and your team to manage templates.
Examples of Correct Template Names:
✅ shipping_update
✅ order_followup1
✅ payment_reminder
Examples of Incorrect Template Names:
❌ ShippingUpdate (Uses capital letters)
❌ order follow-up (Contains spaces and hyphen)
❌ message_124a! (Contains special characters other than underscore)
Tip: A clear, meaningful template name speeds up the approval process. Avoid random or unclear names like message_124a.
Template Content Rules
To ensure your template is formatted correctly and gets approved, follow these content guidelines:
Must be text-based (letters, digits, special characters, emojis, and WhatsApp-specific formatting).
Maximum length: 550 characters for Marketing templates and 1024 character for Utility and Authentication templates.
For Authentication templates, the message body can only use the preset from Meta. You can still add more instruction in the template footer.
Cannot include:
New lines or tab spaces.
More than four consecutive spaces.
Use double curly brackets (
{{ }}) for variables (e.g.,{{customer_name}}).The template name field has a maximum limit of 512 characters.
WhatsApp Business Accounts can create up to 100 message templates per hour.
Example of a Correct Template Content:
Hello {{name}}, your order #{{order_number}} has been shipped and is expected to arrive by {{delivery_date}}.
Example of an Incorrect Template Content:
Hello {{ name }}, your order #{{ order_number }} has been shipped and is expected to arrive by {{ delivery_date }}.
❌ Extra spaces, incorrect variable formatting, and unnecessary new lines.
Template Translations
You can send message templates in multiple languages, but WhatsApp does not provide automatic translations. If you want to send messages in different languages, you must submit each translated version separately.
Translations must follow the same formatting rules as the original template.
Ensure the placeholders (
{{variable}}) remain consistent across all translations.
Following these guidelines will help you create WhatsApp message templates that meet WhatsApp's approval requirements and ensure smooth communication with your customers. If you encounter any issues, check your template formatting and naming before resubmitting.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
General questions
1. What are WhatsApp message templates?
→ WhatsApp message templates are pre-approved message formats that businesses can use to communicate with customers. They must follow specific rules to ensure quick approval and smooth message delivery.
2. What is the character and emoji limit for marketing templates?
→ Marketing templates cannot exceed 550 characters or 10 emojis. If a template goes over the limit, you may see an error code (2388040) after delivery.
Template naming
3. What are the rules for naming a WhatsApp message template?
→ Template names must:
Use only lowercase letters, numbers, and underscores (_).
Avoid spaces, capital letters, or special characters (other than underscores).
Be descriptive so your team and WhatsApp reviewers can easily identify the template.
4. Can you give examples of correct and incorrect template names?
→ Correct examples:
shipping_update
order_followup1
payment_reminder
Incorrect examples:
ShippingUpdate (capital letters)
order follow-up (spaces and hyphen)
message_124a! (special character)
Template content
5. What content rules must templates follow?
→ Templates must:
Be text-based (letters, numbers, special characters, emojis, and WhatsApp formatting are allowed).
Stay within 550 characters for Marketing templates or 1024 characters for Utility and Authentication templates.
For Authentication templates, use Meta’s preset body text (extra instructions can be added in the footer).
Avoid new lines, tab spaces, or more than four consecutive spaces.
Use double curly braces for variables (e.g., {{customer_name}}).
Keep template names under 512 characters.
Stay within the limit of 100 new templates per hour per WhatsApp Business Account.
6. What is an example of a correct template?
→ Example:
Hello {{name}}, your order #{{order_number}} has been shipped and is expected to arrive by {{delivery_date}}.
7. What is an example of an incorrect template?
→ Example:
Hello {{ name }}, your order #{{ order_number }} has been shipped and is expected to arrive by {{ delivery_date }}.
This is incorrect because of extra spaces, incorrect variable formatting, and unnecessary new lines.
Template translations
8. How can I send message templates in multiple languages?
→ WhatsApp does not provide automatic translations. You must submit each translated version separately.
9. Do translated templates need to follow the same rules as the original?
→ Yes. Translations must follow the same formatting rules and use consistent placeholders (e.g., {{variable}}) across all versions.