Carousel Templates

When a plain message isn’t enough, a carousel lets you fit several rich, swipeable cards into one message — a great way to show off a range without sending ten separate messages.

What a carousel is

A product card carousel template is a single text message followed by a set of up to 10 cards the customer can swipe through sideways. Each card is like a mini-message of its own, and the whole thing works on WhatsApp Web too.

[ Card 1 ]  ←swipe→  [ Card 2 ]  ←swipe→  [ Card 3 ] ...

Unlike catalog or multi-product messages, carousel cards aren’t limited to catalog products — you can use them for products, features, services or anything visual.

Example: a travel agency sends a carousel where each card is a holiday package: Goa, Manali, Kerala, each with a photo and a “Book now” button.

Two ways the buttons can work

Each card carries one or two buttons, and you’ll usually pick one of two checkout styles:

• SPM (View) button — the customer taps View to open product details and manage their cart right inside WhatsApp.

• URL button — sends the customer out to an external browser to finish checkout off WhatsApp.

What each card holds

Every card in the carousel can have:

• Media — one image or one video at the top.
• Body text — a short line describing the card.
• Buttons — one or two per card (a quick reply or a call-to-action like “View” or “Buy”).

Cards should share the same structure for a clean look — if card one has an image and a “Shop now” button, the others should follow the same pattern.

Example: a phone store’s carousel shows four phones, each card with the phone photo, its price, and a “See details” button.

When to use it

Carousels shine when you have several visual things to compare:

• Showing off a small product range (“Pick your favourite”).
• Highlighting multiple features of one product, one per card.
• Presenting service packages or plans side by side.

Example: a gym sends a carousel of membership plans — Monthly, Quarterly, Yearly — each card with its price and a “Join” button.

The rules for cards

A few constraints from Meta:

• A carousel needs 2 to 10 cards. When you create the template you must define at least two; an approved template can then carry up to ten when you send.
• Every card must share the same format and the same button types. If card one uses an image header and an SPM button, all the others must too.
• Each card’s media header is cropped to a wide ratio, so design images for that shape.
• If you use SPM buttons, you’ll need an ecommerce catalog connected to your WhatsApp Business Account.

Creating a carousel template

You create the template with a POST request. Here’s the shape using SPM (View) buttons — note the two cards inside the carousel component:

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

{
  "name": "<TEMPLATE_NAME>",
  "language": "<TEMPLATE_LANGUAGE>",
  "category": "marketing",
  "components": [
    {
      "type": "body",
      "text": "<MESSAGE_BODY_TEXT>",
      "example": {
        "body_text": [["<MESSAGE_BODY_TEXT_VARIABLE_EXAMPLE>"]]
      }
    },
    {
      "type": "carousel",
      "cards": [
        {
          "components": [
            { "type": "header", "format": "product" },
            { "type": "buttons", "buttons": [{ "type": "spm", "text": "View" }] }
          ]
        },
        {
          "components": [
            { "type": "header", "format": "product" },
            { "type": "buttons", "buttons": [{ "type": "spm", "text": "View" }] }
          ]
        }
      ]
    }
  ]
}

If you prefer the URL button style, swap the buttons block on each card:

{
  "type": "buttons",
  "buttons": [
    {
      "type": "url",
      "text": "<URL_BUTTON_LABEL_TEXT>",
      "url": "<URL_BUTTON_URL>",
      "example": ["<URL_BUTTON_URL_VARIABLE_EXAMPLE>"]
    }
  ]
}

Sending a carousel template

When you send, you fill in the body variables and provide each card’s media and button details. This URL-button example shows one card:

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

{
  "messaging_product": "whatsapp",
  "recipient_type": "individual",
  "to": "some.phone.number",
  "type": "template",
  "template": {
    "name": "summer_carousel_2024",
    "language": { "code": "en_US" },
    "components": [
      {
        "type": "BODY",
        "parameters": [
          { "type": "TEXT", "text": "20OFF" },
          { "type": "TEXT", "text": "20%" }
        ]
      },
      {
        "type": "CAROUSEL",
        "cards": [
          {
            "card_index": 0,
            "components": [
              {
                "type": "HEADER",
                "parameters": [
                  { "type": "IMAGE", "image": { "link": "https://www.gstatic.com/webp/gallery/1.jpg" } }
                ]
              },
              {
                "type": "BODY",
                "parameters": [
                  { "type": "TEXT", "text": "10OFF" },
                  { "type": "TEXT", "text": "10%" }
                ]
              },
              {
                "type": "BUTTON",
                "sub_type": "URL",
                "index": "1",
                "parameters": [{ "type": "payload", "payload": "last_chance_2023" }]
              }
            ]
          }
        ]
      }
    ]
  }
}

Order webhooks

If you use SPM (View) buttons, you’ll get an order webhook whenever a customer submits an order from the carousel. URL button carousels send the customer off to your own site, so they don’t trigger order webhooks — your website handles the checkout instead.

Tips for good carousels

• Start strong. Most people only swipe two or three cards, so put your best one first.
• Keep a theme. All cards should belong together — don’t mix shoes with sofas.
• Stay consistent. Same media style, same button wording across cards.
• Don’t overfill. Three to five great cards usually beat ten weak ones.

Carousel templates are Marketing templates, so in India each one costs ₹0.86 to send. Like every template, a carousel must be approved by Meta before you can send it.