Message templates
Create, submit, and manage Meta-approved WhatsApp templates for campaigns and automations.
A template is a pre-approved message format. WhatsApp requires one whenever you message a customer outside the 24-hour service window — which is nearly every automation and every campaign.
Templates live under Templates in the Enscale app.
Why templates exist
WhatsApp doesn't let businesses send unsolicited free-form messages. Meta reviews every template before you can use it, which is how they keep WhatsApp from becoming a marketing channel people abandon.
Practically, that means: submit your templates before you need them. Approval usually takes minutes but can take a day, and a campaign blocked on template review is a campaign that misses its window.
Template categories
Meta requires you to categorise every template. The category determines both what's allowed and what Meta charges.
| Category | Use for | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Utility | Order confirmations, shipping updates, appointment reminders, account notices. | Tied to a transaction the customer initiated. Cheapest. |
| Marketing | Promotions, product launches, offers, re-engagement, review requests. | Anything promotional. Most expensive. |
| Authentication | One-time passcodes. | Strictly OTP. |
Categorise honestly
Meta re-categorises templates that don't match their stated category, and repeatedly mislabelling marketing as utility damages your account quality rating. A review request is marketing, not utility — it's asking the customer for something, not informing them about their order.
Category affects cost. See Meta template charges.
Template statuses
| Status | Meaning | Can you send? |
|---|---|---|
| Pending | Submitted, awaiting Meta review. | No |
| Approved | Reviewed and usable. | Yes |
| Rejected | Meta declined it. The rejection reason is shown. | No |
| Paused | Meta suspended it, usually for poor quality signals. | No |
A template being paused mid-campaign is the most disruptive of these. It usually follows a pattern of customers blocking or reporting your messages — Meta pauses the specific template rather than your whole number.
Creating a template
Write the message
Keep it specific. "Your order #1001 has shipped" performs better than "Your order has an update", and is more likely to be approved.
Add variables
Variables are placeholders filled at send time — the customer's name, an order number, a tracking link.
When you use the template in a workflow, you map each variable to a value like {{trigger.name}}. See Variables.
Pick a category and language
Language matters more than people expect: a template approved in English is a different template from the same text in Hindi, and a campaign can only use a template in a language you've had approved.
Submit to Meta
Enscale submits it and tracks the status. You'll be notified when it's approved or rejected.
Common rejection reasons
| Reason | Fix |
|---|---|
| Category mismatch | Marketing content submitted as utility. Resubmit in the right category. |
| Variable at the start or end | Meta won't accept a template that opens or closes with a bare variable. Add surrounding text. |
| Consecutive variables | Put text between adjacent placeholders. |
| Vague content | Meta can't tell what the message is for. Be specific. |
| Promotional content in utility | Remove the offer, or resubmit as marketing. |
| Formatting or spelling issues | Fix and resubmit. |
Rejections aren't penalties — fix the issue and resubmit. Repeated low-quality submissions do affect your account rating, though.
Using templates
In workflows — the Template Message node. Required whenever the flow isn't inside an open service window, which is most flows.
In campaigns — every broadcast needs an approved template. See Broadcasts.
In the inbox — when a conversation's 24-hour window has closed, the composer offers your approved templates instead of free-form text.
Quality rating
Meta scores each WhatsApp number on how customers respond to your messages. Blocks and reports lower it; engagement raises it.
A low rating reduces your messaging limits and makes template pauses more likely. Protect it by:
- Only messaging people who genuinely opted in.
- Categorising templates honestly.
- Keeping marketing frequency reasonable.
- Making it obvious how to opt out.
Opted-out contacts are excluded automatically — you don't need to manage that list yourself.
Troubleshooting
| Problem | What to check |
|---|---|
| Template not available in a campaign | Is it Approved, in the campaign's language, and on the right WhatsApp account? |
| Approved template won't send | Check the contact's opt-in status and phone number format. |
| Template went to Paused | Quality signals. Review recent send volume and audience targeting. |
| Variables render empty | The mapped path doesn't exist on that trigger. See Variables. |
| Stuck in Pending | Meta review. Usually minutes, occasionally a day. |
Next steps
- Meta template charges — what Meta bills.
- Broadcasts — sending campaigns.
- WhatsApp setup — connecting the channel.