Create a template

This guide walks through the template wizard on the Templates page, field by field, and ends with a complete worked example: a webinar reminder with an image header, two variables, and a “Join now” button.

Before you start: you need a connected WhatsApp number (Connect your WhatsApp number). If no channel is connected, the wizard shows “No WhatsApp channel connected yet. Connect a number first under ‘WhatsApp channels’.”

The wizard at a glance

Open Templates in the app. The page opens on Submit a new template (if you land on the template list instead, click New template). The wizard has three stages, shown in the step bar at the top:

1. Create template — fill in all fields, with a live WhatsApp preview on the right.
2. Review — check the summary of what you’re about to submit.
3. Submit — send it to Meta for approval.

Your work is saved automatically as a draft in your browser — you’ll see Draft saved at the bottom left, and you can click Save draft to save immediately. You can close the page and come back later; nothing is sent to Meta until you click Submit to Meta.

Step 1 — Channel, Language, Category

At the top of the form:

1. Channel — the WhatsApp number this template belongs to. Templates are approved per number, so if you run several numbers, pick the right one.
2. Language — chosen from a dropdown of WhatsApp-supported languages (English (US), German (DE), French, Spanish, and many more). This must match the language you actually write the message in — Meta rejects mismatches. To reach audiences in several languages, create one template per language.
3. Category — Utility, Marketing, or Authentication. This drives Meta’s review strictness and per-message price:
   • Utility for updates the contact asked for (reminders, confirmations). Cheaper, but must contain zero promotional content.
   • Marketing for anything promotional — offers, launches, newsletters.
   • Authentication for one-time passcodes only.

Note

Meta may change the category itself after review. If Meta decides your “utility” text is actually promotional, it approves the template as Marketing and bills it as Marketing. Nybero shows the real, billed category. When in doubt, choose Marketing yourself — an honest marketing template is approved faster than a utility template that smells like an ad. See Templates overview for the full category guide.

Step 2 — Template name

The Template name identifies the template at Meta. Rules:

• Lowercase letters, numbers, and underscores only — no spaces. The field converts anything else to underscores as you type.
• Make it descriptive: webinar_reminder_15min beats template_7. You’ll pick templates by name in campaigns and automations later.

Step 3 — Header (optional)

Template header (optional) adds a headline or media above the message. Choose one of:

• No header — just the message body.
• Text — a short bold headline, up to 60 characters (e.g. “Your webinar starts soon”).
• Image — a JPG or PNG, up to 5 MB. Great for event covers, product shots, offers.
• Video — an MP4, up to 16 MB.
• Document (PDF, …) — a PDF, up to 100 MB (e.g. a ticket, invoice, or brochure). You can set a file name for the recipient — that’s the name shown in the chat, so “Webinar-Ticket.pdf” looks better than “export_final_v3.pdf”.

For image, video, and document headers you either paste a link to the file or click Or upload a file — Nybero hosts uploaded files for you, no separate hosting needed. The file you provide here is uploaded to Meta as the sample the reviewers see. When you later send the template, the same file is used by default — and in campaigns or automations you can swap in a different file of the same type via the header media link without re-approval.

Caution

Audio headers don’t exist — WhatsApp templates support image, video, and document headers only.

Step 4 — Message body

The Message field is the core of the template — up to 1,024 characters.

WhatsApp text formatting works and is rendered in the live preview:

• *bold* → bold
• _italic_ → italic
• ~strikethrough~ → strikethrough

An emoji picker (😊 button) is below the field.

Adding variables

Click Insert variable (or the {} button) to add placeholders that are filled per recipient:

1. Contact fields (automatic) — Contact name and Phone number. These insert {{Name}} / {{Phone}} and fill automatically from each contact at send time. Nothing to type later.
2. New variable — define your own: enter a Name (e.g. Time) and a Sample value (e.g. 5:00 PM), then click Add & insert. Custom variables are filled by you when sending — once per campaign or automation step.

Every variable you use appears in the Variables & sample values panel below the message. Each one needs a sample value — Meta’s reviewers see your message with the samples filled in, so make them realistic. The wizard won’t let you continue with an empty sample.

Tip

Don’t start or end the message with a variable, and never send a body that is only variables — both are classic rejection reasons. Wrap variables in real sentences: “Hi {{Name}}, your webinar starts at {{Time}}.” See Approval & rejections.

Behind the scenes, Nybero converts your named variables to WhatsApp’s numbered format ({{1}}, {{2}}, …) in order of first appearance when submitting — you never have to manage numbers yourself.

Step 5 — Footer (optional)

A small, muted line under the message, up to 60 characters. Common uses: an unsubscribe hint (“Reply STOP to unsubscribe.”) or a sender note (“Sent by Acme Events”). The footer cannot contain variables.

Step 6 — Buttons (optional)

Click Add button to add up to 3 buttons. Each button has a text label (max 25 characters) and one of three types:

• Quick reply — the contact taps it and the button text is sent back to you as a message. Example: label “Yes, I’m in”. Powerful for two reasons: you can trigger automations on the reply, and the tap opens the 24-hour window so you can chat freely afterwards.
• Link (URL) — opens a web page. Enter the label and the full URL. Example: “Join now” → https://acme.com/webinar/live.
• Call — starts a phone call. Enter the label and the number in international format. Example: “Call us” → +14155550123.

Step 7 — Check the preview, review, submit

The Preview card on the right shows your template exactly as it will look in WhatsApp — header, body with sample values filled in, footer, and buttons. Contact-field variables show as [Customer name] so you remember they’re personalized per recipient. Guideline tips next to it adapt to your chosen category.

1. Click Continue to review. The wizard validates everything (samples present, button URLs/numbers complete) and shows a summary: Channel, Language, Category, Name, and the message.
2. Check it carefully — after approval, changing a template means going through review again.
3. Click Submit to Meta.

You’ll land on Manage templates with the confirmation “Template submitted to Meta — status updates automatically.” The template shows as In review; approval usually takes minutes to a few hours, and Nybero syncs the result automatically. What happens next — including rejections and how to fix them — is covered in Approval & rejections.

Worked example: webinar reminder

A complete Utility template you can copy and adapt — image header, two variables, one URL button, one quick reply.

Field	Value
Channel	Your WhatsApp number
Language	English (US)
Category	Utility
Template name	webinar_reminder_15min
Header	Image — upload your webinar cover image (JPG/PNG, ≤ 5 MB)
Footer	You receive this because you registered for this webinar.

Message (insert {{Name}} via Insert variable → Contact name; create {{Time}} as a new variable with sample value 5:00 PM):

Hi {{Name}}, quick heads-up! 🎬

Your webinar *How to double your leads with WhatsApp* starts at {{Time}} — that's in 15 minutes.

Grab a coffee, find a quiet spot and tap the button below a couple of minutes early. We start on time!

Buttons:

1. Link (URL) — text Join now, URL https://acme.com/webinar/live
2. Quick reply — text I'll be there

Why this passes review as Utility: it’s a reminder for something the contact registered for, contains no offer or promotion, the variables sit inside full sentences, and the samples (“Alex Smith”, “5:00 PM”) read naturally.

Why the quick reply matters: everyone who taps I’ll be there opens their 24-hour window — so your post-webinar follow-up can be a free-form conversation (or the AI agent) instead of another template.

Next steps

• Approval & rejections — review times, rejection reasons and fixes, pausing, deleting.
• Campaigns — send your approved template to a whole segment.
• Automation steps — send it automatically with the Send template step.