Catalog Templates

If you sell more than a handful of products, a catalog template lets customers explore your whole range without ever leaving WhatsApp. First, let’s be clear on what a “catalog” is.

What a catalog is

A catalog is the full list of products you set up in Meta Commerce Manager (a free Meta tool for storing your products). Each product in the catalog has:

• A name
• An image
• A price
• A short description

This is general Meta platform infrastructure — the same catalog can power WhatsApp, Instagram and Facebook shops. Think of it as your online product database that WhatsApp can read from.

Example: a saree store builds a catalog with 120 sarees, each with a photo, price in ₹, and fabric description.

How a catalog template works

A catalog template is a Marketing template (it shows a thumbnail header image and your own body text, on top of a fixed catalog header) with a special “View catalog” button attached. When the customer taps it, WhatsApp opens your full catalog right inside the chat, so they can scroll through every product.

Customer reads your message
        ↓ taps "View catalog"
Full product catalog opens in chat
        ↓
Customer browses, adds items, asks questions

The big advantage: the customer never has to open a browser or app. Everything happens inside the conversation.

When to use it

A catalog template is best when the customer is exploring, not when they already know what they want:

• A new lead says “What do you sell?” → send the catalog.
• You launch a fresh collection and want people to browse it.
• A returning customer asks “What’s new?” → let them scroll.

Example: a home-decor brand replies to “Show me your stuff” with a catalog template, and the customer browses lamps, rugs and cushions in one place.

When the customer’s intent is sharper — “Do you have the blue lamp?” — a single-product message converts better than dumping the whole catalog on them.

What you need first

Before you can send a catalog template, you need an ecommerce catalog uploaded to Meta and connected to your WhatsApp Business Account. In short:

1. A Meta Commerce Manager catalog with your products added.
2. At least a few products in it — an empty catalog shows nothing.
3. A catalog template approved by Meta, like any other template.

Creating a catalog template

You create the template with a POST request. The body holds your message text, an optional footer, and a single CATALOG button:

POST https://waba-v2.360dialog.io/v1/configs/templates

{
  "name": "intro_catalog_offer",
  "language": "en_US",
  "category": "MARKETING",
  "components": [
    {
      "type": "BODY",
      "text": "Now shop for your favourite products right here on WhatsApp! Get Rs {{1}} off on all orders above {{2}}Rs! Valid for your first {{3}} orders placed on WhatsApp!",
      "example": {
        "body_text": [["100", "400", "3"]]
      }
    },
    {
      "type": "FOOTER",
      "text": "Best grocery deals on WhatsApp!"
    },
    {
      "type": "BUTTONS",
      "buttons": [{
        "type": "CATALOG",
        "text": "View catalog"
      }]
    }
  ]
}

The name can be up to 512 characters, the body up to 1024, and the footer up to 60.

Sending a catalog template

Once it’s approved, send it through the messages endpoint. You fill in the body variables and, optionally, pick which product image shows as the thumbnail:

POST https://waba-v2.360dialog.io/messages

{
  "messaging_product": "whatsapp",
  "recipient_type": "individual",
  "to": "+16505551234",
  "type": "template",
  "template": {
    "name": "intro_catalog_offer",
    "language": {"code": "en_US"},
    "components": [
      {
        "type": "body",
        "parameters": [
          {"type": "text", "text": "100"},
          {"type": "text", "text": "400"},
          {"type": "text", "text": "3"}
        ]
      },
      {
        "type": "button",
        "sub_type": "CATALOG",
        "index": 0,
        "parameters": [{
          "type": "action",
          "action": {"thumbnail_product_retailer_id": "2lc20305pt"}
        }]
      }
    ]
  }
}

The thumbnail_product_retailer_id is the SKU of the product whose image you want on the card. It’s optional — leave it out and WhatsApp uses the first item in your catalog.

Catalog templates are Marketing templates, so in India each one costs ₹0.86 to send.