WhatsApp Message Templates

What is a WhatsApp message template? 

You can create and submit such templates for approval by WhatsApp from within your Clickatell portal as described here. 

Note: Templates can only be sent to users who have given your app permission to send them messages. Read more about the Opt-In rules in the WhatsApp Business Policy. 

There are multiple pre-approved templates available to you from within the Clickatell Portal. These templates were provided by WhatsApp themselves and are non-editable.  You can also apply for message templates from within the Clickatell Portal.  To create your own custom templates, you have to verify your business first. 

Once approved, you can specify the template name and the relevant parameters in your API call when sending messages or transactional notifications to one or more customers using Clickatell’s One API (see below for more information).

You cannot send template messages directly from the portal.

Refer to our WhatsApp User Guide for details about:

• Different types of message templates available.
• Adding message templates.
• Sending message templates. (Also see below.)
• Using media in message templates.
• Using interactive buttons in message templates.
• Best practices & examples.
• Rejection reasons.

Sending text templates

1. Apply for a message template in the Clickatell Portal.
   1. Select None or Text as header.
   2. Add variables (e.g., {{1}}, {{2}}) to your template where you want to insert parameters.
   3. Submit and wait for WhatsApp’s approval.
2. Send message template via One API using the “Send one or more messages” endpoint.
   1. As part of the One API call, you need to include the template name and parameters you want to insert in the message.
   2. For an example payload, select “WhatsApp: Text Template” from the drop-down:

Using media in your templates

1. Apply for a media template in the Clickatell Portal.
   1. Select Media as header.
   2. Select Image, Video‘, or Document as media type.
   3. Add variables (e.g., {{1}}, {{2}}) to your template where you want to insert parameters.
   4. Submit and wait for WhatsApp’s approval.
2. Upload media that must form part of your template onto the Clickatell server by using the “Upload media file” and “Get media file metadata” endpoints as described in the One API Reference document. Note: The uploading of the media file is required before you will be able to send the template. 
   1. Although the template is not limited to a single media file, it is registered for a specific media type only.
   2. See here for supported content types and limitations.
   3. The successful upload of your media will return a fileID which is the unique reference to the media file you’ve uploaded. 
3. Send the message template to end-users via our One API using the “Sends one or more messages” endpoint.
   1. As part of the One API call, you need to include the template name and the fileID (as returned in Step 2), as well as any parameters you want to insert in the message.
   2. For an example payload, select “WhatsApp: Media Template” from the drop-down:

Note: If you are using Media header in combination with interactive buttons, simply select the correct option from the drop-down for an example payload for the combination.

Using interactive buttons in your templates

1. Apply for a template containing interactive buttons in the Clickatell Portal.
   1. Select None, Text, or Media as header.
   2. Add variables (e.g., {{1}}, {{2}}) to your template where you want to insert parameters.
   3. Select one of the following types of buttons:
      1. Call to action button
         1. Visit website (static/dynamic URL)
         2. Call phone number
      2. Quick reply button
   4. Submit and wait for WhatsApp’s approval.
2. Send the message template to end-users via our One API using the “Sends one or more messages” endpoint as described in the One API Reference document.
   1. As part of the One API call, you need to include the template name and parameters you want to insert in the message.
   2. For an example payload, select the relevant option from the drop-down (e.g., “WhatsApp: Interactive Text Template with Dynamic URL”) from the drop-down: