What are WhatsApp message templates for WooCommerce? A WhatsApp message template is a pre-approved message that your store can send to a customer at any time, even when the customer has not written to you in the last 24 hours. Every template belongs to one of three categories set by Meta: utility, marketing or authentication. The category decides the price and the rules, so choosing correctly matters. This guide explains the categories, how approval and quality ratings work, and gives you ready-to-adapt examples for order confirmations, COD checks, shipping updates and cart reminders.
The short version
- Utility = tied to a specific order or account, with no promotion. Marketing = anything promotional or persuasive. Authentication = one-time passcodes only.
- Mixing an offer into an order update turns the whole message into marketing.
- Meta reviews WhatsApp message templates automatically and says review can take up to 24 hours.
- Each language needs its own set of WhatsApp message templates, because Meta does not translate your text.
In this guide
The rules below come from Meta’s message template guidelines and its template category guidance, checked on 9 November 2026. They change from time to time, so confirm important details in Meta’s documentation before you submit.
When you need WhatsApp message templates
WhatsApp splits business messages into two situations:
- Inside a 24-hour customer service window. The window opens when the customer messages you and resets with each new message from them. In it you can send normal, free-form replies.
- Outside the window. You can only send an approved template.
Almost every automatic store message needs one of your WhatsApp message templates, because it starts outside the window. A customer places an order and has not written to you, so your order confirmation must be a template. Read more about how Meta charges for these messages in our guide to the WhatsApp Business API in Pakistan.
The three categories of WhatsApp message templates
| Category | What it is for | WooCommerce examples |
|---|---|---|
| Utility | Non-promotional messages tied to a user’s order, account, service or transaction, or messages essential to the user | Order confirmation, COD confirmation, shipping update, delivery notice, payment reminder |
| Marketing | Awareness, sales, retargeting and relationship messages. The most flexible category | Cart reminder, back-in-stock alert, offers, new product announcements |
| Authentication | One-time passcodes to verify identity | Login or order OTP |
Meta’s guidance says a utility message needs both conditions: no promotional intent, and content that is specific to the user or essential. A feedback request is only utility when it refers to a specific order or interaction. A generic survey is not.
What turns a utility message into a marketing message
- Offers, discounts, upsells and cross-sells, even inside an order update.
- Retargeting, even when the customer asked for it. This is why a cart reminder is marketing.
- Mixed content. An order update with a promo counts as marketing.
- Unclear content, such as a message that contains only a placeholder or a vague line like “Congratulations!”.
What happens if WhatsApp message templates are miscategorised
Meta compares the category you choose for your WhatsApp message templates with the text. After review, a template is APPROVED, PENDING or REJECTED, and a wrong category can lead to a rejection with the reason INCORRECT_CATEGORY.
For templates that are already approved, Meta runs a recurring process to correct miscategorised ones:
- A utility template that should be marketing is normally changed to marketing after a one-day notice, and it stays approved. If your account has received a misuse warning, the change can take effect immediately.
- A template that should be authentication is set to rejected on the first day of the next month.
- Admins get an email, and Meta sends a
template_category_updatewebhook that shows the previous and new category. Your system should listen for it so a price change does not surprise you. - You have 60 days to review and appeal a category change in Business Support.
The practical lesson: keep order messages free of promotions, because a silent switch to marketing raises your cost.
The parts of WhatsApp message templates
- Name. Lowercase letters, numbers and underscores only, for example
order_shipped_v1. The same name can be used for different languages. - Language. Every template has a language code, such as
en,ur,hiorar. Meta does not translate your text, so you supply the wording for each language. - Body. The main text, with variables for the customer’s name, order number and so on.
- Variables. Either named (
{{first_name}}) or numbered ({{1}},{{2}}), chosen when you create the template. Every variable needs an example value in the submission, and Meta reviews the examples too. - Header and footer (optional). A header can carry text or media. A footer is good for an opt-out line on marketing templates.
- Buttons (optional). Quick-reply buttons, such as Confirm and Cancel, and call-to-action buttons that open a link.
WhatsApp message templates: approval, quality and limits
| Topic | What Meta says |
|---|---|
| Review | Templates are reviewed automatically on creation or after you edit them. Meta’s WhatsApp Manager says review can take up to 24 hours |
| Sending | Only approved templates can be sent |
| Creation limit | Up to 100 templates per account per hour |
| Total templates | 250 per account for unverified business portfolios, up to 6,000 for verified portfolios with an approved display name |
| Inactive templates | Archived after 12 months of inactivity and deleted 28 days later unless you restore them |
Approved WhatsApp message templates also carry a quality rating that depends on customer feedback and read rates. Meta shows statuses such as quality pending, high, medium and low. Repeated negative feedback can lead to a template being paused or disabled, and you cannot send a paused or disabled template. Treat the rating as an early warning: if customers block you after a message, rewrite it.
Ready-to-adapt WhatsApp message templates for a WooCommerce store
These WhatsApp message templates are example texts, not guaranteed approvals. Meta reviews every template, so adjust the wording to your brand and keep promotions out of utility messages.
| # | Template name | Category | Typical trigger in WooCommerce |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | order_received | Utility | Order status changes to Processing |
| 2 | cod_order_confirmation | Utility | New COD order held as On hold |
| 3 | order_shipped | Utility | Order marked as shipped, with tracking added |
| 4 | out_for_delivery | Utility | Courier status update |
| 5 | order_delivered | Utility | Order status changes to Completed |
| 6 | payment_pending | Utility | Order stays Pending payment |
| 7 | order_cancelled | Utility | Order status changes to Cancelled |
| 8 | cart_reminder | Marketing | Abandoned cart, with opt-in |
| 9 | back_in_stock | Marketing | Product returns to stock, customer asked to be told |
| 10 | login_code | Authentication | Customer requests an OTP |
1. Order received (utility)
Hi {{1}}, we received your order {{2}} from {{3}}. We will message you when it ships.
2. COD order confirmation (utility)
Hi {{1}}, we received your order {{2}} (cash on delivery, total Rs. {{3}}). Please confirm it so we can ship it.
Buttons: Confirm order · Cancel order
See how this template fits a full flow in our guide to reducing fake COD orders with WhatsApp.
3. Order shipped (utility)
Good news, {{1}}! Your order {{2}} has shipped with {{3}}. Tracking number: {{4}}.
Urdu version, submitted as its own template:
خوشخبری {{1}}! آپ کا آرڈر {{2}} {{3}} کے ذریعے روانہ ہو گیا ہے۔ ٹریکنگ نمبر: {{4}}۔
4. Out for delivery (utility)
Hi {{1}}, your order {{2}} is out for delivery today. Please keep your phone on so the courier can reach you.
5. Order delivered (utility)
Hi {{1}}, your order {{2}} has been delivered. If anything is wrong with it, reply to this message and our team will help.
Keep it a delivery notice. If you add “Tell us what you think and get 10% off”, it becomes marketing. A feedback request is only utility when it refers to the specific order and carries no promotion.
6. Payment pending (utility)
Hi {{1}}, your order {{2}} is waiting for payment. You can complete it here: {{3}}
7. Order cancelled (utility)
Hi {{1}}, your order {{2}} has been cancelled. If this was not what you wanted, reply to this message and we will help.
8. Cart reminder (marketing)
Hi {{1}}, you left {{2}} in your cart at {{3}}. Would you like to finish your order?
Button: Complete my order · Footer: Reply STOP to opt out
Full consent and measurement advice is in our guide to WhatsApp abandoned cart recovery for WooCommerce.
9. Back in stock (marketing)
Hi {{1}}, {{2}} is back in stock at {{3}}. You asked us to let you know.
Button: View product · Footer: Reply STOP to opt out
10. Login code (authentication)
Authentication templates follow stricter rules. Meta says they must come from its Template Library, include a one-time-password button (copy-code or one-tap), and contain no URLs, media or emojis. Parameters are limited to 15 characters. Do not try to send a passcode in a utility or marketing template.
Writing rules for WhatsApp message templates that pass review
- Be specific. Say which order, which store and what happens next.
- Keep utility templates free of promotion. No discounts, no “shop more”, no links to other products.
- Use realistic variable examples. “Ahmed”, “#1042” and “Rs. 4,500” are better than “text” or “xxx”.
- Do not rely on variables alone. Meta treats a message that contains only a placeholder, or a vague line such as “Congratulations!”, as unclear content.
- Match the opt-in. WhatsApp’s policy says your opt-in must cover the kinds of message you send, so your checkout wording must too.
- Add a human path. Invite replies, and make sure a person or a bot can answer. With WhatsApp coexistence, your team can answer from the Business app.
Connect WhatsApp message templates to WooCommerce events
WooCommerce has standard order statuses: Pending payment, Processing, On hold, Completed, Cancelled, Refunded and Failed. A good setup sends the right one of your WhatsApp message templates when the status changes:
- New COD order: hold the order and send the confirmation template.
- Processing: send the order-received template (for prepaid orders).
- Shipped: if you use a custom status or a tracking field, send the shipped template with the tracking number.
- Completed: send the delivered notice.
- Cancelled or Failed: send the matching utility template.
Use WooCommerce webhooks to notify your automation of each event. Log what you send, so you can match every template to an order. Our WooCommerce development service builds the status changes and tracking fields, and our AI and workflow automation service connects them to WhatsApp.
Working in Urdu, Hindi and Arabic
| Language | Code | Note |
|---|---|---|
| English | en | Good default for names, numbers and product titles |
| Urdu | ur | Right-to-left. Keep order numbers and links in Latin characters |
| Hindi | hi | Devanagari script |
| Arabic | ar | Right-to-left |
Create one of your WhatsApp message templates per language, with the same name and a different language code, then choose the template by the customer’s preferred language. Have a native speaker read each version, because a translation that sounds stiff lowers trust and feedback scores.
Keep your WhatsApp message templates healthy
- Name your WhatsApp message templates with a version, such as
order_shipped_v2, so you can improve wording without losing the old one. - Listen for the
template_category_updatewebhook and email, so you notice reclassification. - Watch quality ratings and read rates. Pause and rewrite templates that attract negative feedback.
- Remove templates you no longer use, and restore any that were archived by mistake.
- Test every template with a real order before you rely on it.
- Keep a simple sheet of template name, category, language, trigger and last review date.
Frequently asked questions
Are WhatsApp message templates free?
No. Meta charges per delivered template message, by category and by the customer’s country, as set out on its pricing page. Pakistan has its own rate on Meta’s rate card.
How long does approval of WhatsApp message templates take?
Meta reviews templates automatically and says the review can take up to 24 hours. Plan your launch with that in mind.
Can I include a discount code in an order confirmation?
You can, but Meta treats a message with a promotion as marketing, so it can be reclassified and charged at the marketing rate.
Can one template cover Urdu and English?
No. Meta does not translate WhatsApp message templates. Submit a separate template for each language.
What happens if my template is paused?
You cannot send it until it is active again. Pauses come from repeated negative feedback or low read rates, so rewrite the message and review your opt-in.
Do I need a template to answer a customer who writes first?
No. Inside the 24-hour customer service window you can reply with normal messages. You need a template when you start the conversation or reply after the window has closed.
Can I send a one-time passcode in a utility template?
No. Only authentication templates can send one-time passcodes.
Want your WhatsApp message templates written and connected?
We write the wording, submit and test your WhatsApp message templates, and connect each one to the right WooCommerce event. Tell us which messages you send today and we will plan the first set. You can also see the whole service on our WhatsApp automation for WooCommerce page.