Definition
A message template is a pre-approved WhatsApp message format, with fixed text, optional variables, media and buttons, that a business must use to message a customer outside the 24-hour customer service window. Each template is categorised as marketing, utility or authentication.
Meta's documentation states that template messages are the only type of message that can be sent outside a customer service window. They are WABA assets, created through the Message Templates API or WhatsApp Manager and reviewed by Meta before use.
A template has a name (lowercase letters, numbers and underscores, up to 512 characters), a language, a category and components: header (text or media), body with variables, footer and buttons such as quick replies, URL, call or copy-code. The same name can exist in several languages. A WABA can hold up to 250 templates, and Meta limits creation to 100 templates per WABA per hour.
Templates are charged per delivered message, by category and by the recipient's country code. Meta also scores each template for quality, and low-quality templates can be paused or disabled.
Common mistakes include mixing a promotion into an order update (the template is then classed as marketing), vague variables with no example values, and writing one English template and expecting Meta to translate it. Meta does not translate templates, so Arabic and English versions must each be written and submitted.
Example
Name: order_shipped (utility, ar and en). Body: "Hi {{1}}, your order {{2}} has shipped and should arrive on {{3}}." Button: URL "Track order".