How to use carousel templates on the WhatsApp Business API
Carousel templates let you send up to ten swipeable cards inside a single WhatsApp message — each with its own image or video, body text and up to two buttons. They are ideal for showing a product range, multiple offers, property listings or menu items without spamming a customer with separate messages. This guide walks through building a carousel template in InfiQ, getting it approved by Meta, sending it with dynamic content, and the mistakes that most often cause rejections or poor delivery.
What you'll do
Build a carousel template with a message bubble plus 2–10 cards (each sharing the same media type and button layout), submit it for Meta approval under the right category, then send it with per-card variables. Marketing carousels are billed per delivered message at Meta's marketing rate; utility carousels at the utility rate.Step 1 — Understand what a carousel template is (and isn't)
A carousel template is a single WhatsApp message made of two parts: an opening message bubble (a short body text, optionally with variables) followed by a horizontally scrollable set of 2 to 10 cards. Every card must follow the same structure — if the first card has an image, every card needs an image; if the first card has a Quick Reply plus a Call-to-Action button, every card needs that same button combination. WhatsApp enforces this uniformity, so plan your card layout before you build. Carousels are not a replacement for a catalog or a full product listing; they are a punchy, visual way to present a handful of related options in one delivered message.
- Message bubble: up to 1024 characters of body text, supports variables like {{1}}.
- Cards: minimum 2, maximum 10, each with a media header (image or video), body text up to 160 characters, and up to 2 buttons.
- Uniform layout: all cards share the same media type and the same button set.
- Buttons per card: any mix of Quick Reply, URL (Call-to-Action) and phone-number buttons, capped at 2.
Step 2 — Prepare your assets and account
Before you open the template builder, get the boring prerequisites done. Your WhatsApp Business API account should be live and verified with InfiQ, your Meta Business Manager should be verified, and you should have opt-in from every recipient. Then gather the creative: one media file per card at consistent dimensions, tightly written body copy, and the destination for each button. Because all cards share a media type, decide up front whether the carousel is image-led or video-led. Consistent, high-quality media is what makes a carousel feel premium rather than cluttered.
- Confirm the WhatsApp Business API number is active and in good standing in InfiQ.
- Use square or landscape images at a consistent aspect ratio across all cards.
- Keep each card body under 160 characters — long copy gets truncated on smaller screens.
- Have final URLs, phone numbers or Quick Reply payloads ready for every button.
Step 3 — Build the template in InfiQ and pick the right category
In the InfiQ dashboard open Template Management and create a new template, choosing the Carousel format. Write the opening message bubble, then add your first card — set its media header, body and buttons — and duplicate it to keep the layout identical across cards. Category choice is the single most important decision here because it drives both approval and cost. Choose Marketing for promotions, launches and offers; choose Utility only if every card relates to an existing transaction the customer initiated, such as order updates. Never dress a promotional carousel as Utility to save money — Meta reclassifies or rejects it, and repeated attempts hurt your quality rating.
- Marketing carousel: product ranges, seasonal offers, new-arrival showcases.
- Utility carousel: post-purchase updates or account-related cards tied to a specific transaction.
- Add variables (e.g. {{1}} for a customer name) in the bubble and per card where you need personalisation.
- Duplicate your first card to guarantee identical media and button layout across all cards.
Step 4 — Submit for approval and test before you scale
Submit the template and wait for Meta to review it — approvals typically land within minutes to a few hours. Rejections almost always trace back to category mismatch, promotional wording in a Utility template, broken or placeholder URLs, or media that violates policy. Once approved, send the carousel to your own number first. Swipe through every card on an actual phone: check that images render sharply, variables populate correctly, and each button fires to the right destination. Testing on a real device catches truncation and layout issues that a desktop preview hides.
- Fix rejections at the root cause — usually category or link issues, not resubmit-and-hope.
- Send a live test to your own WhatsApp number and swipe through every card.
- Verify each variable resolves and every button opens the correct link, chat or dialer action.
- Warm up a newer number with lower volumes before a large campaign send.
Step 5 — Go live, then read the numbers
When the test looks right, send the carousel to your opted-in audience — either from an InfiQ broadcast or programmatically via the API by passing per-card parameters. After it goes out, watch delivery and read status, button click behaviour, and your number's quality rating in the dashboard. A dip in quality or a spike in blocks is a signal to tighten your targeting or improve relevance, not to push more volume. Iterating on card order, imagery and copy based on real engagement is where carousels start to outperform plain text broadcasts.
- Broadcast from InfiQ for no-code sends, or call the API with a components array for per-card variables.
- Track delivery, read and button-click signals per campaign.
- Keep an eye on quality rating — relevance and opt-in quality protect your sending limits.
- A/B test card order and creative, then keep the version that earns more taps.
Frequently asked questions
How many cards can a WhatsApp carousel template have?+
How is a carousel template billed?+
Can each card have a different image and link?+
Do all cards need buttons?+
Why do carousel templates get rejected?+
Do I need a developer to send a carousel?+
Can I personalise each card with variables?+
How long does approval take?+
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