Under Settings you will find Quick replies. Here you can set up and use quick replies and WhatsApp Templates within the platform. Quick replies provide predefined responses for faster communication, while WhatsApp Templates enable businesses to send specific types of messages that require prior approval from WhatsApp. Below, you'll find instructions on creating quick replies and WhatsApp Templates, along with an overview to help you understand their features and how they can be utilized in different scenarios.
Quick replies are predefined messages designed to save time in customer interactions by allowing users to select prewritten responses. When typing in the chat field, you can type / to trigger a quick reply pop-up, from which you can select the desired response:
On the Settings > Quick replies page you have the following options:
Add quick reply
Click on Add and Add quick reply.
After clicking on the Add button the wizard will take you through the following steps:
Step 1 Details
Change the name, reference and status of this quick reply. Type the content of the quick reply in the Message field. Enter the text you want to appear in the response. This text will be displayed as a selectable option when using the quick reply feature.
It is also possible to add variable values to the message to make it more personal.
Step 2 Availability
Make this quick template available for all or only for specific teams or channels.
Step 3 Selection
Based on the choice you made in step 2, here you select your proffered Channels or Teams.
Add WhatsApp Template
WhatsApp Templates are predefined messages required for initiating conversations with customers on WhatsApp. Each template needs to be approved by WhatsApp before it can be used.
➡️ Read Meta's information about templates here
Templates are linked to your WhatsApp Business Account (WABA), and once approved, they can be utilized across all phone numbers associated with that account. Templates approved within a WABA can be used by all numbers in that account. To keep templates exclusive to individual numbers, set up separate WABAs.
When a contact replies to your message, a customer care window of 24 hours starts. Within this window you can interact with this contact without template restrictions.
Click on Add and Add WhatsApp template.
After clicking on the Add button the wizard will take you through the following steps:
Step 1 Channel
Select the WhatsApp channel for your message template.
Step 2 Details
Give your template a name and select the language of this template.
Then pick the category. There are two main categories for WhatsApp Templates:
- Utility: For service-related messages.
- Marketing: For promotional offers.
The difference between the two categories is mainly in the price. Marketing messages are more expensive. In some cases, Meta reclassifies a template as marketing-related based on its content, as determined by its algorithms.
➡️ Read more about template categorization and pricing in the Meta Help Center.
Step 3 Header
The Header of a template can consist of different elements. By default, the header of a template is empty.
A file, photo or video can also be sent in a header. The advantage of using these types of headers is that they can be dynamic. This means that you can send a different file, photo or video with each template you send. When creating the header, you must also send an example file, photo or video. This does not have to match the final file that you will use later. When using media templates (a template with a file, photo or video is called a media template), you can also add the media element to the template as a fixed element after creating the template. So if you do use a fixed attachment, you do not have to select it every time.
If you choose Text as the header, you will see that text listed at the top of the template.
Step 4 Body
Enter the text for your message template, max. 1024 characters. It is also possible to add variable values to the message to make it more personal.
Step 5 Preview
This step is to help WhatsApp evaluate your template. They want to see how a template will look like when using dynamic variables. So fill in an example for each variable:
Step 6 Footer
The footer is a short sentence that appears at the bottom of the template. The text size is also smaller than the text of the template itself.
Step 7 Buttons
WhatsApp Templates can include interactive buttons for enhanced customer engagement:
- Call Buttons: Directly initiate a call with a single tap. You set the phone number that will appear.
- Product: Link directly to one of your products.
- Quick reply Buttons: Allow customers to respond with predefined options, making it easier to proceed with a conversation. Especially when you use chatbots. You can create up to 3 buttons. Often used in combination with chatbots.
- URL: Add a URL button to link to a website.
When submitted, the template is sent to Meta (WhatsApp’s parent company) for approval. Approval can take a few minutes.
Overview per template
The quick replies and Templates overview provides a list of all predefined messages, both quick replies and WhatsApp Templates, and their settings. Here, you can view details for each template or quick reply, including its content, categories, and any associated variables or buttons.
To quickly see if it is a WhatsApp template or a quick reply, look at this icon:
In the upper right corner you have the option to Edit or Delete a WhatsApp template or quick reply.