What is a message template and why are they necessary?

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To initiate a conversation by sending an outbound message to an end-user, a business must use a pre-defined template that's been approved by WhatsApp. These template messages belong to (and begin conversations in) one of three categories, each with their own pricing structure: utility, authentication, or marketing. These conversations last 24 hours.

WhatsApp supports end-to-end security, so once the template message is sent, it cannot be analyzed for content policy adherence. So, by requiring businesses to use templates that have approved content, WhatsApp prevents the sending of disallowed content. In the message template, the business can specify variable parameters. Using these parameters, the business can provide additional details when sending a message using the approved template. WhatsApp inserts these details into the template message, allowing the business to personalize communications for its users.

As soon as the end-user responds, a 24 hour conversation window is initiated. During this period, you can send additional messages to the end-user. These messages may be approved template messages or generic, non-template messages. However, if you send a template message, and an existing conversation in the template message's category does not already exist, a new conversation will start. If you send a template message while there is already a conversation in progress, and the category of the template and the category of the open conversation do not match, a new conversation will begin in the category of the template. Finally, any template messages sent during a service conversation will begin a new conversation in the category associated with the template.

For more technical details, refer to the WhatsApp template messages section of the Conversation API documentation.

Message template content

A message template can include a document, image, video, or location, but not an audio file or a sticker. Message templates can support video content (MP4 AAC, no larger than 100Mb pre-processed and no larger than 16Mb post-processed). Message templates also have the ability to support Rich Content, headers, footers and interactive Buttons:

Call to action	Initiate Voice Call (using the users voice plan) Click to a URL the button label text is static.  A URL can be dynamic, for example, https://www.sinch.com/{{1}}. Or Static. The phone number to call is statically defined in the template:
Quick Reply	Up to a maximum of 3 Buttons for quick replies.  The Button Label text is static and the function of those buttons can be defined in the code. Image and PDF attachment

A note about Sinch omni-channel message templates

When a business uses Sinch Conversation API for customer engagement, they may decide to use more than one channel. More specifically, the business may decide to use WhatsApp, along with other messaging services. It is important to note that an omni-channel message template is not the same as an approved WhatsApp message template, and an omni-channel message template can't necessarily be used to send conversation-initiating messages on the WhatsApp channel. Additionally,  omni-channel message template information resides strictly within Sinch. With approved WhatsApp message templates, the text is approved by Meta, and details of the approved message templates are stored by Meta.

Sending WhatsApp messages to your customers couldn’t be easier or more secure with the Sinch WhatsApp Business API – Learn more.