Chapter 1 · The scenario
Example: A festive footer that had to shrink
A Chennai jewellery chain prepares a marketing template for Akshaya Tritiya. The first draft's footer reads “Prices subject to daily gold rate; offer valid at participating stores only” — 75 characters, refused at creation. The team splits the job: the body now ends with “Prices follow the day's gold rate”, the footer becomes “Reply STOP to opt out · T&C apply” (33 characters), and a “Stop promotions” quick-reply button gives customers a one-tap way out. Its order-update utility templates use a different footer, the helpline hours, because an unsubscribe line makes little sense on a message the customer needs to receive.
Chapter 2 · What is a template footer?
The template footer is an optional component that sits directly under the body of a WhatsApp message template, shown in smaller grey text above any buttons. It holds up to 60 characters of plain text, and a template can have at most one. Businesses use it for short supporting lines: an opt-out hint, a disclaimer, opening hours or a sign-off.
Unlike the header and the body, the footer takes no variables. Its text is fixed when the template is approved — the send request carries header, body and button components but no footer component — so every customer sees exactly the same words. Anything personal, such as an order number or a date that changes from message to message, belongs in the body.
The footer is easy to confuse with buttons, because both sit at the bottom of the message. Buttons are actionable: a quick reply, URL, phone or copy-code button does something when tapped. A footer only informs. “Reply STOP to opt out” in the footer is an instruction the customer has to act on by typing; a quick-reply button labelled “Stop promotions” is a one-tap action, which is why many marketing templates carry both.
Authentication templates are the one place Meta writes the footer for you. Their text is fixed by Meta, and when you set code_expiration_minutes (1 to 90) the template shows an expiry note in the footer position instead of a line you compose yourself.
Key takeaways
- A template footer is the optional grey line under a WhatsApp template's body, limited to 60 characters of fixed text.
- Footers take no variables: the text is fixed at approval and the send request carries no footer component.
- Use the footer for opt-out hints, short disclaimers or sign-offs; use a button when the customer should act.
- Authentication templates get a Meta-written expiry note in the footer position when code_expiration_minutes (1–90) is set.
Chapter 3 · How it unfolds
How does a template footer work?
Decide whether you need one
The footer is optional for every category. Add it only for a line that genuinely supports the message: how to opt out, a short caveat, opening hours or a sign-off.
Write it as fixed text
No variables are allowed, so write a line that is true for every recipient. Personal or changing details go in the body.
Fit it into 60 characters
Count every character, spaces and emoji included. Over 60 and the template is refused before review, with error 2388040 naming the field.
Add it as a FOOTER component
In the API it is
{ "type": "FOOTER", "text": "…" }, placed after the body in thecomponentsarray. WhatsApp Manager shows the same field under the body.Pair it with a button when action matters
If customers should be able to opt out easily, add a quick-reply button as well: the footer explains, the button acts.
Chapter 4 · The facts
A template footer: key facts and limits
| Required | No — optional, at most one per template |
|---|---|
| Length | 60 characters maximum |
| Variables | None; the text is fixed at approval |
| Position | Directly under the body, above buttons |
| API component | { "type": "FOOTER", "text": "…" } |
| Authentication templates | Expiry note from code_expiration_minutes (1–90) |
Chapter 5 · Where it goes wrong
Common mistakes with a template footer
Putting a variable in the footer
Footers cannot hold
{{1}}-style variables, and the send request has no way to fill one. Move the dynamic part into the body.Relying on the footer as the only opt-out
A footer hint makes customers type a keyword. For marketing, add a quick-reply opt-out button too, and make sure your system actually processes STOP replies and stops sending.
Cramming in legal text
Sixty characters will not hold a full disclaimer. Keep a short pointer such as “T&C apply” and link the full terms from a URL button.
Copying a marketing footer onto utility templates
Promotional or unsubscribe wording on an order update can make the template read as promotional, and mixed content is treated as marketing, the costlier category. Keep utility footers neutral.
Chapter 6 · In code
A template footer in code
{"name": "akshaya_tritiya_preview","language": "en","category": "MARKETING","components": [{"type": "BODY","text": "Hi {{1}}, our Akshaya Tritiya collection is now in store and online. Prices follow the day's gold rate.","example": { "body_text": [["Meena"]] }},{ "type": "FOOTER", "text": "Reply STOP to opt out · T&C apply" },{"type": "BUTTONS","buttons": [{ "type": "QUICK_REPLY", "text": "Stop promotions" }]}]}
The footer is plain text placed after the body; the opt-out action lives in the quick-reply button.
Chapter 7 · What good teams do
Best practices for a template footer
- Write the footer last, once the body is final, so it does not repeat the body.
- Use the same opt-out wording across all marketing templates so customers learn it.
- Check it on a phone: grey footer text is small, so short lines read best.
- Leave the footer empty rather than filling it with a slogan nobody reads.
Chapter 8 · Why it matters
Why does a template footer matter?
Sixty characters is small, but the footer does a job no other part of the template does well. It keeps compliance lines — an opt-out instruction, a pricing caveat, “T&C apply” — out of the body copy where they would crowd the actual message, and it lets a business sign off consistently across every template. Done badly, crammed with legal text or details that change per customer, it is either refused at creation or simply wrong for half the people who receive it.
Chapter 9 · Template Footer FAQs