In Zoho Creator, SMS templates help configure notification messages used for portal SMS notifications. These templates can be customized for different notification scenarios and reused across multiple portals to manage communication consistently.

Multiple templates can be added for the same notification type, while only one template can be assigned to a portal notification at a time.

Once templates are added, they need to be in Approved state before assigning to a portal. Approval of SMS Templates vary based on the data center of the organization.

1. IN Data Center: SMS templates must be approved through DLT verification to comply with telecom regulations. They must then be approved in Creator before they can be assigned to portal notifications.
2. US Data Center: SMS templates are automatically approved for the US datacenter as they are associated with an approved campaign during creation.

1.1 See how to configure SMS templates

2. Add SMS templates

To add SMS templates:

1. Select Operations under MANAGE in left pane and then select SMS Templates under the Applications section.
   
   
2. Click Add SMS Template to create a template. This option appears at the center of the SMS Templates page if no templates exist, or at the top right if templates have already been added.
   
3. Enter the following details of a template:
   1. Name: Enter an appropriate name to identify each SMS template.
   2. Template Type: Select the appropriate template type of the template.
      1. Invitation: Notifies the user with an invitation link when an admin invites them to the portal.
      2. OTP: Delivers a one-time password when a portal user attempts mobile-based login.
      3. Reset Password: Delivers a verification code when a portal user initiates a password reset.
      4. Update Mobile Number: Confirms a successful mobile number change made by an admin or portal user.
      5. Approval: Notifies the portal user when an admin approves their access request. Applicable only for restricted portals.
   3. Message: A default message is provided by Zoho Creator which can be customized as required.
      
      Note: Ensure the default merge fields are retained in the message, as they are required for portal-related SMS notifications to function properly.
      
4. If your organization is in the US data center, select an approved Campaign to sync with this template.
   
5. Click Add to create the template.

For the India (IN) data center, templates must be approved before being assigned to portals. For the US data center, templates are automatically approved as they are associated with an approved campaign during creation.

3. DLT approval for IN data center

3.1 Register SMS template and submit DLT file

Once an SMS Template is added, it needs to verified by the DLT, and then approved in Creator to assign the templates to portals. During the approval process, the DLT may reject a template for various reasons that are elaborated in the Understanding SMS Templates document.

Note: TRAI now requires all SMS templates containing URLs to be whitelisted by your DLT platform to ensure traceability and authenticity.

Kindly note that

1. Every CTA (like Portal URL) in the approved content template must be requested for whitelisting. If you are creating a new content template with a new CTA, the link will be whitelisted by the DLT without any requiring any special requests in the future.
2. Only long URLs, main domain pages, WABA links (WhatsApp for Business Accounts), APK links, mobile numbers, toll-free numbers, and email addresses can be whitelisted in templates. Shortened URLs like bitly, tinyurl, and others will be neither approved nor allowed.

How to whitelist?
Each network service provider manages a DLT platform with which a business must have registered their number. Each of them has a way to validate and whitelist the CTAs in your content templates. For steps to whitelist, refer to the documentation of popular DLT providers: Airtel, Jio Trueconnect, Vi VILPOWER, BSNL, and Videocon Smartping.

1. Initially, the SMS templates have to be registered in the DLT portal against your Sender ID. The approval process from DLT might take a 1-2 days.
2. Once the templates are approved in DLT portal, download the DLT file as a .csv file.
3. In Zoho Creator, click Submit for Approval in top right corner of SMS Templates page.
4. Upload the CSV file downloaded from the DLT portal and click Upload & Proceed.
   
5. Map the templates fetched from the DLT file displayed on the left with the required template type in the dropdown present on the right and click Save.
   
   

To verify that all templates are approved from DLT, a test SMS will be sent internally within Zoho. Credits will be consumed from your purchased credits, hence ensure you have sufficient credits before proceeding.

The templates’ statuses are updated in the SMS Templates page within a few minutes. Learn about the different template statuses here.

3.2 Chain creation in the DLT portal

To ensure seamless delivery of your SMS notifications and comply with TRAI regulations, you need to configure your telemarketer aggregator in your DLT portal. This step is essential for regulatory compliance and proper message delivery.

To create and submit chain:

1. Once your Notification SMS configuration is complete, log in to your respective DLT portal.
2. Navigate to the Chains section, create a new chain, and enter a name for it.
3. In the Telemarketer section, look for Zoho Corp using the telemarketer ID 1102631350000082951 or ZOHO CORPORATION PRIVATE LIMITED.
4. Add ZOHO CORPORATION PRIVATE LIMITED as your Telemarketer Aggregator and submit it.
5. Create another similar chain entry declaring Zoho as a Telemarketer Aggregator. This is to ensure SMS delivery through our fallback mechanism if the direct route is unavailable, guaranteeing delivery even during connectivity issues.

Once submitted, the DLT portal will notify Zoho. Upon verification, Zoho will also approve your chain and send you a confirmation email.

Note: Please be aware that chain creation process involves multiple stakeholders and may take up to two weeks to finalize. It requires verification by our team, approval from our DLT provider, and a final confirmation from you in the DLT portal. If you haven’t received a confirmation email within two weeks, reach out to our support team at support@zohocreator.com for assistance.

4. Assign templates to portals

Once a template is added and is in Approved state, it can be assigned to portals’ SMS Notifications. To assign templates to portals:

1. Select Operations under MANAGE in left pane and then select SMS Templates under the Applications section.
   
   
2. Click Assign to Portals in the top-right corner.
   
   
3. Select the portals for which the templates need to be assigned.
   
   
4. Choose the appropriate template for each template type and click Assign.

Once templates are assigned, if the portal is not already set to mobile number-based authentication, the admin will be prompted to switch the authentication type. Switching to mobile number-based authentication is required to allow users to access the portal with their mobile number. The supported authentication types are:

1. Mobile Number
2. Mobile Number/Email Address

Note: Change the portal authentication method to Mobile-based to enable SMS template delivery.

5. Managing SMS templates

5.1 Switch template

To switch a template for a specific template type:

1. Select Operations under MANAGE in left pane and then select SMS Templates under the Applications section.
   
   
2. Hover on the required template and click the ellipsis icon on the right side. Click Switch.
   
3. Edit the list of portals that require this template switch under Portals, select the target replacement template under Replace with, and click Switch.

5.2 Delete template

Once a template is deleted, it cannot be restored. If an SMS template is assigned to a portal, it must be replaced with another one of the same template type before deletion. To delete a template:

1. Select Operations under MANAGE in left pane and then select SMS Templates under the Applications section.
   
   
2. Hover on the required template and click the ellipsis icon on the right side. Click Delete.

7. Related topics

1. Understanding SMS templates
2. Understanding System Integrations
3. Configuring integration with Zoho Creator SMS
4. Understanding SMS notifications