#What is a WhatsApp message template?
A template looks like this: "Hi {{1}}, your order {{2}} has shipped." The words are fixed. The numbered parts, called variables, are filled in for each customer. You create the template, Meta reviews it, and once it is approved you send it by name with the values.
You need templates because free-text messages only work while the customer service window is open. Per Meta's send-messages documentation (checked 26 Oct 2026), when the window closes you can only send pre-approved template messages. So any message you start yourself, or send after a customer has been quiet for a day, is a template. Order updates, reminders, offers and broadcasts all use them.
Templates work with the other parts of Chirpoo. Flows send them as an action. Broadcasts send them to a tag. The Shopify store messages are templates that Chirpoo submits to Meta for you. See WhatsApp automation and WhatsApp broadcast marketing.
#What are the template categories, and what do they cost for Indian businesses?
Meta groups templates into marketing, utility and authentication. Per Meta's template categorization page (checked 26 Oct 2026):
- Marketing covers a wide range of goals, from generating awareness to driving sales and retargeting customers.
- Utility follows up on user actions or requests.
- Authentication verifies a user's identity. Only authentication templates can send a one-time passcode.
For utility, Meta sets two tests: the message must be non-promotional, and it must be specific to or requested by the user, or essential to them. Templates with mixed content, such as an order update with a promo, and templates with unclear content are treated as marketing.
The category sets the price. From Meta's India rate card (effective 1 Oct 2026, checked 26 Oct 2026), per delivered message and before tax:
| Category | India rate |
|---|---|
| Marketing | ₹0.8631 |
| Utility | ₹0.115 |
| Authentication | ₹0.115 |
A utility template that is moved to marketing costs about seven and a half times as much per message. In Chirpoo, templates show a category pill, utility or marketing, so you can see which one you are about to pay for. Meta bills you directly, and Chirpoo adds nothing per message. Read utility vs marketing templates and their cost and WhatsApp pricing in India.
#How long does template approval take?
Meta's template review page (checked 26 Oct 2026) puts a ceiling on it:
It can take up to 24 hours for an approval decision to be made.
The same page says the content goes through a combination of automated systems and manual review. Plan for it. A template you need for tomorrow morning should be submitted today. Treat a faster answer as a bonus. In our experience moving my own studio's WhatsApp to a new sender, every template had to be approved again, so start that review before the switch, not on the day.
The result reaches you in WhatsApp Manager, by email to Meta Business Suite admins, and through a status webhook. Chirpoo shows the status next to the template. If approved, you can send it. If rejected, you can edit and resubmit.
Meta can also change a template's category after approval. Check your templates now and then, because a category change changes the price of every send.
#Why do WhatsApp templates get rejected?
Meta's template review page lists the mistakes to avoid (checked 26 Oct 2026). The ones small businesses hit most:
- Broken variables. Missing or mismatched curly braces, special characters such as
#,$or%inside a variable, or variables that are not in order, for example {{1}}, {{2}}, {{5}}, {{4}}. - Dangling variables. Meta says the template cannot start or end with a parameter.
- Too many variables for the length of the message.
- A duplicate. The same body and footer as an existing template.
- Wrong category. A utility template with an offer line in it.
- Policy breaches. Wording that breaks WhatsApp's Commerce Policy, requests for sensitive identifiers such as full card or national ID numbers, and abusive or threatening content, for example threatening a customer with legal action or public shaming.
Rejections come with a reason. When one arrives, read it, fix that one thing and resubmit. In Chirpoo, "Fix it" redrafts a rejected template using Meta's reasons. Read what to do when a WhatsApp template is rejected for a longer list. The developer view of the same reasons is in WhaBuzz's template approval post (checked 26 Oct 2026).
#What can a template contain: variables, buttons and media?
Per Meta's template components page (checked 26 Oct 2026):
| Part | Rule from Meta |
|---|---|
| Header (optional) | Text, up to 60 characters with one variable, or media (image, video, document) or location |
| Body (required) | Up to 1024 characters, multiple variables |
| Footer (optional) | Up to 60 characters |
| Buttons | Up to 10 in total, with quick reply labels of up to 25 characters |
| URL buttons | Up to two per template |
| Phone number button | One per template |
Variables are the numbered blanks. Give each an example value when you submit, so Meta's reviewer can see what a real message looks like. Keep the first and last words of the body as plain text.
Buttons come in two kinds. A quick reply sends a fixed reply back, such as "Yes" or "No". A URL or phone button opens a page or places a call. Chirpoo's COD confirmation uses Yes and No quick reply buttons, and can cancel the order after 24 hours if you choose.
Media headers show a photo, video or document above the message. Meta says media must be uploaded through its Resumable Upload API, and the example asset is reviewed along with the template. Chirpoo handles that upload for you. Shopify store messages can use the product photo once Meta approves the rich version.
#How does Chirpoo draft and fix templates?
You describe the message in a line: "tell the customer their class is tomorrow at 6 am, and ask them to reply Yes to confirm". Chirpoo's AI drafts it to Meta's rules: a sensible category, variables in order, example values, no dangling variable. You read it, edit it and submit.
If Meta rejects the template, Chirpoo redrafts it with Meta's stated reasons. "Fix it" does that in one click, and you resubmit. Review the redraft before sending; it is a draft, not a promise of approval, and only Meta decides.
You can also use Meta's template library. Per Meta's template library page (checked 26 Oct 2026), the library is a collection of pre-written utility and authentication templates for common cases such as payment reminders and delivery updates, and library templates contain fixed content that cannot be edited. Chirpoo can activate a library template in one click. If you want different wording, write your own.
Developer-level detail on creating templates through the API is on whabuzz.com.
#What are some example templates?
These are examples I wrote for illustration. They are not Meta's text, and approval is never guaranteed. Change names, times and links to your own, and always submit them for review.
Order update (utility)
Appointment reminder (utility)
Buttons: quick reply "Yes", quick reply "No".
COD confirmation (utility)
Buttons: quick reply "Yes, confirm", quick reply "No, cancel". See COD confirmation on WhatsApp and RTO reduction with COD on WhatsApp.
Offer (marketing)
Button: URL "Shop now".
Notes: the offer is marketing, so it costs ₹0.8631 a message, and it must go only to people who opted in. The other three are utility if they stay free of promotion. Do not add a discount line to the order update, because Meta will treat it as marketing.
More Shopify examples are in Shopify order updates on WhatsApp and WhatsApp review requests.
#What mistakes should you avoid with templates?
- Choosing the wrong category to save money. Meta reclassifies, and the price follows.
- Putting an offer in an order update.
- Asking for full card numbers or national ID numbers in a template. Meta lists this as a policy breach.
- Starting or ending with a variable.
- No example values.
- Submitting the night before a launch. Approval can take up to 24 hours.
- Copying the same wording twice. A duplicate body and footer is rejected.
- Using a marketing template on people who did not opt in. See WhatsApp opt-out and STOP in India.
Write one utility template today, such as an appointment reminder, and one marketing template for your next offer. Submit both from Chirpoo and wait for approval. Start free for 14 days with every feature and no card. Then connect a template to a flow and run a test.
Frequently asked questions about Chirpoo and this topic
What are the WhatsApp template categories?
Marketing, utility and authentication. Marketing covers promotions and retargeting, utility follows up on something the customer did or asked for, and authentication sends one-time passcodes. In India from 1 Oct 2026, marketing is ₹0.8631 and utility ₹0.115 per delivered message, before tax.
How long does Meta take to approve a template?
Meta says it can take up to 24 hours for an approval decision. A mix of automated systems and manual review is used. Submit templates a day before you need them, and treat a faster answer as a bonus.
Why was my WhatsApp template rejected?
Common reasons are broken or out-of-order variables, a variable at the start or end, a duplicate template, a wrong category and policy breaches. Chirpoo's "Fix it" redrafts a rejected template using Meta's reasons, and you can resubmit it.
Can I edit a rejected template?
Yes. Meta's review page says a rejected template can be edited and resubmitted. Read the reason first and change only what it names, such as a variable, the category or a policy issue. In Chirpoo, "Fix it" redrafts the template using Meta's reasons so you can resubmit quickly.
Do I need a template to reply to a customer?
Not inside the 24-hour window. While the window is open you can send free text, and those replies are service messages. After it closes, per Meta, you can only send approved templates. Every chat in Chirpoo shows the window.