Email, SMS and WhatsApp templates

What kinds of template are there?

• Plain text email, for messages that should look like a person typed them.
• HTML email, written in a rich editor with formatting, links and images.
• SMS, plain text with a character count.
• WhatsApp, a message with optional buttons that you submit to Meta for approval.

WhatsApp templates and approval

If Meta rejects a template the reason shows under the number - adjust the wording and resubmit. Personalisation fields work in WhatsApp templates exactly like email and SMS.

For media headers, Meta approves the file type, not the file itself - you can swap this month's catalog PDF for next month's without going through approval again.

1. Create a template on the WhatsApp tab: write the message, pick Marketing or Utility and a language, add up to three buttons (quick replies or links), and optionally attach a header image (JPEG or PNG, up to 5MB) or PDF document (up to 100MB).
2. Save it, then submit it for approval on each connected WhatsApp number. The status badge updates as Meta reviews it, usually within minutes to a few hours.
3. Once approved, pick the template in an automation's Send WhatsApp step. Approved templates reach any contact; without one, WhatsApp only allows replies within 24 hours of the contact's last message.

WhatsApp button flows

Chain them: inside a button's path, send another message with buttons and route again - a complete guided conversation with no conditions built by hand. Add or rename buttons later and saving the step re-syncs the paths; anything you built inside a path is kept.

Only a WhatsApp reply moves these flows forward, so an email or SMS from the same contact never skips a step in a button flow.

Each path's header shows how many recent contacts took it, and the send step's Stats tab tracks sent, delivered, read and failed from WhatsApp's own receipts - so the canvas doubles as the campaign report.

1. In a Send WhatsApp step, pick a template that has quick-reply buttons - or write your own message and add up to ten reply choices. Up to three show as tap buttons; four or more become a tap-to-open menu. Either way they reach anyone who messaged you in the last 24 hours.
2. Leave Route replies by button on and save. The workflow grows one path per button plus a No reply path, and clicking a button in the step's preview jumps straight into that button's path so you can add what happens next.
3. A tap follows its button's path exactly, a typed answer that matches no button follows the None path, and the No reply path runs after the wait you choose (a day unless you change it).

WhatsApp forms (fill in without leaving the chat)

The customer taps one button and the form slides up inside WhatsApp - no browser, no login - which is why completion rates beat any link you could send.

1. Create one on the WhatsApp form tab under Settings, then Templates: add steps, and on each step add fields - text, email, phone, dropdowns, single or multiple choice, chips, date pickers, consent checkboxes, plus headings, text and images to guide people.
2. Each answer can save straight onto the contact (name, email, phone, or any custom field). The little code under a field shows how to use that answer in automations.
3. Publish it to your WhatsApp numbers - instant, no review. Then send it from a workflow's Send WhatsApp step (attach the form to your message), or put a Form button on an approved template to send it cold.
4. When someone submits, the answers appear in the conversation, saved fields update on the contact, and the WhatsApp form submitted trigger can start a workflow with every answer available as a variable.

Sending a campaign to a list

Two triggers pair naturally with templates: List enrolls everyone on a saved contact list when you first activate the workflow (a one-time campaign), and Contact added to list runs once for each contact when they join the list. Follow either with Send email, Send SMS or Send WhatsApp, and use wait steps to schedule or space the sends.

Personalising a message

Insert fields like the contact's first name, company, or any custom field you created. They are filled in per recipient when the message is sent.

The editor shows a live preview with sample data, in a phone or desktop frame, so you can see what the customer will see before anything goes out.

Where are templates used?

Any Send email, Send SMS or Send WhatsApp action in a workflow can reference a template instead of holding its own copy. Update the template and every workflow using it sends the new wording.