What you may send, and when you may send it.
WhatsApp lets you reply freely for 24 hours after somebody messages you. Outside that, only a template they approved. We show you which window a conversation is in, and manage the templates from the same place.
The rule nobody explains until day two
- They messaged you todayReply however you like, for 24 hours
- It has been longerOnly an approved template will reach them
- The inbox tells you whichBefore you type, not after it fails
Templates
Three things worth understanding.
Two of them are WhatsApp's rules rather than ours, and pretending otherwise helps nobody.
Reply freely for a day, then use a template.
When somebody messages you, you can answer however you like for 24 hours. After that, WhatsApp only lets an approved template through. This is their rule, not ours, and it is there to stop the channel filling with marketing.
The inbox shows you which window a conversation is in before you type, so nobody writes a careful reply that will not be delivered.
In the inbox
- OpenThey messaged recently. Say anything.
- Closing soonHours left, so finish the conversation now
- ClosedA template, or wait for them to write again
Write it once and it fills itself in.
A template carries blanks that fill from the record it is about, usingthe same field library as your documents and your emails. The order number, the appointment time and the amount are right because they come from the record, not from somebody pasting.
What a template can pull
- About the personTheir name, their company, their language
- About the thingThe order, the invoice, the booking
- About youYour branding and the office sending it
Submitted and tracked from here.
Write a template, send it for approval and see where it got to without opening anything of Meta's. Approved, pending and rejected are all visible, so you know what is usable before you plan a send around it.
Managed from NearSync
- SubmitOne at a time, or a set together
- TrackStatus pulled back in, so the list is current
- RemoveRetire one you no longer send
Most tools let you discover this rule by failing.
A message that will not be delivered is worse than one you knew you could not send, because somebody thinks they have answered a customer. So the window is on the screen before you type, not in a support article you read afterwards.
What you see, when
- Before typingWhich window this conversation is in
- While typingWhether what you are writing can be sent
- If it closedThe templates that would reach them instead