Whatsapp Templates

Lodgestory CRM › Settings → WhatsApp Templates

Author pre-approved WhatsApp messages, get them reviewed, and use them to start conversations at scale — the right way.

TL;DR

• What it is — the page where you build, submit, track, and sync WhatsApp message templates. Approved templates unlock proactive outbound on WhatsApp — broadcasts, re-engagement after the 24-hour window closes, bot-initiated sends.
• Who it's for — Account Owners and Admins author templates. Users pick from approved templates in the inbox composer and in campaigns.
• Top outcome — broadcast on WhatsApp at scale without running foul of platform policies, and re-engage guests whenever you need to.

At a glance

How to find it

Sidebar: Settings → WhatsApp Templates.

Direct URL: https://app.lodgestory.com/crm/settings/templates

Create a new template at /crm/settings/templates/create; edit an existing one at /crm/settings/templates/{id}/edit.

[SCREENSHOT: templates-landing.png — list of templates with status badges]

What is WhatsApp Templates?

The problem it solves

WhatsApp at scale is template-based. Platform policy enforces two hard rules that, if broken, end in an account suspension: the 24-hour conversation window, and the template approval process. Inside a live conversation, free-text replies are fine. Outside it — sending the first message, reopening a stale chat, broadcasting to a list — every outbound message has to be an approved template.

WhatsApp Templates is where those templates live. Author a message with headers, body, footer, and buttons. Add variable placeholders for personalisation. Submit for review. Track status. Once approved, the template unlocks broadcasting, re-engagement, and bot-initiated sends across the product.

What you get

• A visual template builder. Five component slots that mirror the platform's structure — header (text, image, video, document, or location), body, footer, and buttons. Each has its own limits and live validation.
• Variable placeholders. Drop {{1}}, {{2}}, {{3}} into the body or a URL button. Each placeholder gets a sample value you fill in, so the reviewer can see the intended use.
• Three template categories. Marketing (promotional), Utility (transactional like bookings and reminders), and Authentication (OTPs). Each category has its own review criteria.
• Media sample uploads. For image, video, or document headers, upload a sample file. Lodgestory handles the upload with the platform and stores the resulting handle.
• Live preview. A right-hand panel that renders the template the way it will appear on iOS and Android, in light and dark modes.
• Sync from the platform. Pull the latest approval status for every template in one click. New messages on a template's journey — approved, paused, disabled — update in the list.
• Import existing templates. Moving to Lodgestory from another provider? Import brings every approved template the platform already has for your business account straight into the list, preserving their status.
• Safe edits. When you edit an approved template, Lodgestory only sends the parts you changed. Components you didn't touch stay intact, avoiding the classic "I only edited the body and somehow all my buttons disappeared" problem.

How it's different

• Pixel-accurate preview. The preview matches what your customer will actually see in WhatsApp on iOS and Android. You won't find out after submission that a line wraps awkwardly or the button text is cut.
• Category gating is obvious. The UI calls out that category is locked after submission. If you need to change category, you create a new template. Lodgestory won't let you discover this mid-campaign.
• Per-language templates. Each language approval is its own row. promo_summer in English and Hindi are two templates, tracked separately.
• Chunked uploads for media samples. A high-resolution header image goes up in pieces, so a slow connection or a big file doesn't block submission.

Customer scenarios

• First promo of the quarter. Marketing writes a template with a villa header photo, a body "Hi {{1}}, summer rates are now 30% off — book by {{2}}.", a brand footer, and two quick-reply buttons. Submits. 24 hours later: approved. Runs as a broadcast in Campaigns.
• Re-engaging outside the window. A chat went quiet four days ago — well outside the 24-hour window — and the guest needs a booking reminder. A team member opens the composer, picks the approved utility template, fills in the placeholders, sends. The conversation re-opens.
• Agency handover. A new operator has 40 approved templates on an existing WhatsApp Business Account. Admin clicks Sync from Meta — all 40 land in Lodgestory with their approval status preserved, ready to use.
• A template gets paused. The platform pauses a template for quality reasons. The sync picks up the change; the template shows a Paused badge. The admin knows to use it less often or retire it.

How it fits with the rest of Lodgestory CRM

Templates live on top of Connections (a WhatsApp Official channel is the prerequisite). They're consumed by:

• Campaigns — only approved templates can be selected for a broadcast.
• Bot Journeys — bot journeys can send approved templates as scheduled outbound outside the 24-hour window.
• Home / Unified Inbox — the composer offers a template picker, especially useful when the conversation is past the 24-hour window.

Core concepts

Quick Start — submit your first template in 10 minutes (plus 24–48 hours for review)

Step 1 — Open WhatsApp Templates

Sidebar: Settings → WhatsApp Templates → Create Template.

[SCREENSHOT: templates-qs-1-create.png]

Step 2 — Basic fields

• Name — lowercase with underscores, like booking_confirmation. Immutable after submission.
• Channel — pick the WhatsApp Official number the template lives on.
• Category — Marketing, Utility, or Authentication.
• Language — e.g. English (en_US) or Hindi (hi_IN).
• Parameter format — positional ({{1}}) or named ({{guest_name}}).

Step 3 — Build the components

Header (optional).

• Text up to 60 characters, with at most one variable.
• Image, video, or document — upload a sample file.
• Location — a static sample latitude and longitude.

Body (required).

• Up to 1,032 characters.
• Any number of placeholders.
• Each placeholder gets a sample value.
• Bold, italic, strike-through, and monospace formatting supported.

Footer (optional).

• Up to 60 characters of static text. No variables.

Buttons (optional).

• Up to 10 buttons total, with constraints per button type:
  • Quick reply buttons — up to 3 in a group.
  • URL buttons — up to 2, with one variable allowed in the URL.
  • Phone number buttons — up to 1.
  • OTP buttons — only on Authentication templates.
• Button titles up to 25 characters each.

[SCREENSHOT: templates-qs-3-build.png]

Step 4 — Preview

The preview panel renders the template for iOS and Android, light and dark. Cycle through sample-value presets to see how it looks with short and long inputs.

Step 5 — Submit for approval

Click Submit for Approval. Lodgestory sends the template to the platform; the list shows Pending.

Step 6 — Wait, then sync

Review typically takes 24–48 hours. When you think it's done, click Sync from Meta at the top of the list to refresh every template's status.

What's next

• Once Approved, run a broadcast → Campaigns
• Use the template inside a bot journey → Bot Journeys
• Reply to an out-of-window chat → Home / Unified Inbox

How it works

When you submit a template, Lodgestory uploads any media samples, sends the complete structure to the platform for review, and records the new template with a Pending status. Review takes 24–48 hours typically, and there's no push notification from the platform when a decision is made. Clicking Sync from Meta asks the platform for the current status of every template in your account and updates the list with anything that changed.

Editing an approved template merges your changes with the existing structure. If you only send a new body, your buttons, footer, and header are preserved. If you clear a section deliberately, that's respected. This avoids the most common editing accident — losing a whole component because the change only sent the part you touched.

When a template is selected in a campaign, a bot journey, or the inbox composer, Lodgestory builds the outbound message with the placeholders filled in from your data and sends it. Delivery behaviour follows the normal WhatsApp rules: outbound uses your approved structure, replies come back into the inbox, and templates can be used for the first message of a new conversation or for re-opening a chat past the 24-hour window.

Features in depth

Template list

Every template shows with its name, language, category badge, status badge, channel, and created date. Colour coding is consistent — green for approved, amber for pending, red for rejected, grey for paused or disabled. Search by name; filter by status, category, language, and channel.

At the top of the list, Sync from Meta refreshes every template's status in one action.

Create and edit form

A multi-step wizard — basic info, header, body, footer, buttons, preview. Each step validates before you can move on. The body editor includes:

• A variable insert button that drops {{n}} at the cursor.
• Formatting controls for bold, italic, strike, and monospace.
• A live character count that warns at 80% of the limit.
• A sample-value field below the body for every placeholder used.

WhatsApp preview

A right-hand panel rendering the template close to the real customer view. Toggle between iOS and Android, light and dark modes, and sample-value presets (empty, short, long) to see the full range.

Media upload

For image, video, or document headers, click upload and pick a file. A progress indicator shows on larger files. On success the file is uploaded to the platform and its handle is stored on the template; Lodgestory also keeps a copy so the preview stays available.

Sync and Import

• Sync refreshes every template's status.
• Import pulls every approved template the platform has for your account into Lodgestory — useful during an agency handover. Existing rows are updated rather than duplicated.

Validate without submitting

Run a dry validation to catch rejection reasons before spending a real submission slot. Structural issues, missing sample values, and format problems are highlighted on the right component.

Roles and permissions

Cross-module workflows

A. Broadcast a promo

Templates: author, submit, wait for approval. Campaigns: pick the approved template, pick the segment, pick the schedule, launch. Replies: land in the inbox with the campaign's tag already applied.

B. Re-engage after the window closes

A chat has been silent for three days. Team member opens the composer, picks the approved reminder template, fills in the placeholders, sends. The conversation re-opens.

C. Template hand-over from another provider

Templates: click Import. Every approved template on the business account appears in Lodgestory with status preserved. Run any new campaign immediately.

Limits a user will run into

Errors and FAQ

Errors you might see

FAQ

How long does approval take?
24–48 hours is typical. Utility and Authentication templates often come back faster; Marketing templates during high-volume periods can take longer. There's no formal SLA; Sync whenever you want the latest status.

Why was my template rejected?
The rejection reason appears on the template after Sync. Common reasons: placeholder count doesn't match the sample values, promotional content inside a Utility template, a URL inside the body instead of a button, unclear recipient benefit. Edit in place and resubmit.

Can I edit an approved template without resubmitting?
Some fields are editable — body text, some button titles — and the edit is quietly reviewed again. Category, name, and language are locked. For structural changes, create a new template.

I edited a template and all my buttons disappeared.
Lodgestory's smart merge is designed to preserve components you didn't touch. If buttons disappeared, the edit probably sent an empty buttons section, which the merge treats as "explicitly empty". To preserve buttons during a body-only edit, don't include the buttons section in the edit at all.

Imported templates show Approved on Meta but Pending in Lodgestory.
Run Sync from Meta; the list catches up. If a template is still Pending, check the business account directly — the sync respects whatever status the platform returns.

Can I duplicate a template as a starting point?
Not with a built-in action. Create a new template and copy the components manually.

What's the difference between Paused and Disabled?
Paused is a soft throttle applied by the platform — usually for quality reasons. You can't send while it's paused but the template isn't revoked. Disabled is a hard revocation; the template is dead.

Can I use the same template name across channels?
Yes. The name must be unique inside each combination of language and channel, so the same name can live on two channels with different content and independent approval states.

API

A partner API is available for creating, updating, syncing, and deleting templates. Contact your key account team or support for access.

Related modules and next steps

• Connections — the WhatsApp Official channel templates live on.
• Campaigns — the main consumer of approved templates.
• Bot Journeys — uses templates for sends scheduled outside the 24-hour window.
• Home / Unified Inbox — composer template picker for past-window sends.