General template or WhatsApp Cloud template?
A general template is ready-made text with variables that you use on any channel, and it needs no approval. A WhatsApp Cloud template is approved by Meta, can carry buttons, and arrives outside the 24-hour window.
How it works
Use General for replies you send again and again: prices, the address, payment steps. Use WhatsApp Cloud for reminders and follow-ups that may go out after the window has closed.
A general template in a WhatsApp Cloud chat is still subject to the 24-hour window.
At a glance
General
WhatsApp Cloud
Channels
Any channel
WhatsApp Cloud only
Approval
Not needed
Needs Meta’s approval
Outside the 24-hour window
Treated as a free-form message
Arrives
Session
Not tied to a session
Tied to a WhatsApp Cloud session
Header and footer
✓, sent as part of the message
✓, reviewed by Meta
Buttons
—
✓
An empty variable
Removed from the text, and the rest is sent
Blocks sending
Retrying after a failure
Resent as text
Resent as a template
Changing the unit after creating it
Possible
Not possible
A real example
Basma Clinics
The situation
The receptionists type the clinic’s address and opening hours dozens of times a day.
What they did
- The management created a General template with the address and hours.
- They also created a WhatsApp Cloud template for appointment reminders.
The result
Answering the address question now takes 2 taps, and reminders arrive at any time.
A made-up company, to show the idea. The numbers are rounded.
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