Media
A media template shows an image, a video or a document above the text. It is the right type for anything the customer should see, not just read: a new product, a sale banner, a size guide.
| Template Type | IMAGE, VIDEO or FILE |
| Media | One file, attached each time you send |
| Buttons | Optional, the same as a text template |
Create one
Media templates are created like any other. See Create a template for every step. The differences:
- Under Template Type, choose IMAGE, VIDEO or FILE.
- Upload a sample file. WhatsApp uses it to judge what kind of media you will send. It is not the file customers get.
- Write the text. It is required, because WhatsApp approves or rejects templates on their text.
Sizes and shapes
| Type | Size limit | What works best |
|---|---|---|
| IMAGE | 5 MB | Square (1:1) or wide (16:9). Keep any words in the image large enough to read on a phone. |
| VIDEO | 16 MB | Short. It plays small, in a chat, so it should make its point quickly. |
| FILE | 100 MB | A document the customer will want to keep. |
Attach the real file when you send
Every time you broadcast a media template, you attach the file for that send. See Broadcast settings.
This is what makes media templates reusable. One approved IMAGE template with the text "New in this week: {{1}}. Tap below to take a look." can carry a different product photo, and a different product name in {{1}}, every week.
The text is fixed, though. Choose images that fit it. A sale banner under "New in this week" confuses customers, and a template whose text has nothing to do with its picture reads like spam.
How it is measured
The same as any broadcast: delivered, read, replied and failed. See Broadcast performance.
When to use it
IMAGE is the everyday choice for marketing. Show the product. A clear photo of the thing you are selling does more than any sentence about it. Avoid banners crowded with text: on a phone they shrink to something nobody can read.
VIDEO is for things a photo cannot show: how a fabric moves, how a product is used, a before and after. Keep it short, because it plays small, in a chat.
FILE is for things customers keep and come back to: a size guide, a care guide, a lookbook, an invoice. Do not use it for promotions. A PDF someone has to open and scroll is a lot to ask for an offer that fits in a sentence.
For order updates, stay with TEXT. A picture of a parcel adds nothing to "Your order has shipped".
Updated about 1 month ago