WhatsApp message templates
A template is a message submitted to Meta for review in advance. Once approved it can be sent at any time, including to someone who has never written. It is the only thing that delivers outside the 24 hour customer service window.
- Reviewed before it can be sent
- Three categories, different rules
- API only on a Coexistence number
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Template categories: utility, marketing and authentication.
The error returned when a template name and language pair does not exist or is unapproved.
The placeholder format, numbered and filled in order.
What are the three categories for?
They tell Meta what kind of message this is, and the category changes both the review and the billing.
Utility covers transactional messages tied to something the customer did: an order update, a booking confirmation, a delivery notice. Marketing covers promotional content, and sending one requires a payment method on the WhatsApp Business Account. Authentication covers one time codes and has its own stricter format.
Choosing the wrong category is a common rejection reason. Promotional language in a utility template gets caught, and it is caught consistently enough that it is not worth attempting.
How do variables work?
Numbered placeholders, filled in order, counted per component.
A body reading Hello {{1}}, your order {{2}} has shipped defines two variables and a send must supply exactly two values for the body. Header and button parameters are counted separately rather than pooled into one list, which is why a send with the right total can still be rejected.
Meta also requires example values when a template is created, so the reviewer can see what a real message looks like. And there are placement rules: a variable at the very start or end of a message, or too many variables for the amount of surrounding text, both get rejected.
Why can the phone app not send them on a Coexistence number?
Because templates are a platform feature rather than an app feature, and the app has no concept of them.
This is one of the more useful things to know early. A business connected through Coexistence keeps its team answering from the phone, and that team can reply to anything live. What they cannot do from the app is restart a conversation that has gone cold, because that needs a template and templates only exist through the API.
So anything scheduled, transactional, or aimed at someone who has not written today is API work by definition. For many businesses that is precisely the gap the connection was made to fill.
Common mistakes
- Creating a template and sending it in the same run. Meta reviews first, usually in minutes but sometimes a day.
- Pooling header and body variables. They are counted per component.
- Using marketing language in a utility template. It is a consistent rejection reason.
EasyCoexistence lists templates with their exact language codes and review status, submits new ones and reports approval, from the dashboard or through the MCP connector.
Frequently asked questions
How long does review take?
Usually minutes, sometimes up to a day. No provider can accelerate it.
Is a template per language?
Yes. Name and language together identify a template, so the same name in another locale is a different template.
Can I edit an approved template?
Yes, and editing changes the variable contract, which breaks senders that hardcoded the old count.
Do I need a payment method?
For marketing sends, yes, on your own WhatsApp Business Account. Meta requires it and no provider can add one for you.
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