Short answer: WhatsApp formats text with markers around words: *bold*, _italic_, ~strikethrough~ and ```monospace```, plus - for bullets, 1. for numbered lists and > for quotes at the start of a line. Each marker has to touch the first and last letter of the text. If you want to see the result before you send, our free WhatsApp text formatter inserts the markers and shows a live preview in English or Arabic.
Every WhatsApp formatting code
| Format | Type this | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Bold | *Weekend offer* | The most useful one for businesses: offers, deadlines, order numbers. |
| Italic | _free delivery_ | Good for a short aside. Italic Arabic is hard to read on small screens; use it sparingly. |
| Strikethrough | ~Old price~ | Shows what changed: old hours, old price, a cancelled slot. |
| Monospace | ```BK-20431``` | Three backticks each side. Booking codes and references are easier to copy. |
| Inline code | `code` | One backtick each side, for a short code inside a sentence. |
| Bulleted list | - item | Dash or asterisk, then a space, at the start of each line. |
| Numbered list | 1. step | Number, full stop, space. Good for directions and steps. |
| Quote | > text | Greater-than sign and a space. Good for repeating what the customer asked. |
The rules that make formatting work
- The marker touches the text.
*Sale*is bold,* Sale *is not. - The marker sits at a word edge.
2*3*4stays as typed, because the asterisks are inside a word. - Formats can be combined.
*_Today only_*is bold and italic. Close them in the reverse order you opened them. - Lists and quotes need their own line. The dash, number or
>must be the first thing on the line, followed by a space. - Older WhatsApp versions may show list and quote markers as plain characters. The text still reads fine, which is another reason to keep formatting light.
Why formatting sometimes breaks in Arabic
The markers are the same in Arabic, but right-to-left typing makes mistakes easier. The usual causes:
- A space slips in between the asterisk and the Arabic word when the keyboard switches direction. The asterisk then shows literally.
- Punctuation or an emoji is inside the marker at the start or end, for example an Arabic comma or a closing bracket. Move the marker so it touches a letter.
- Mixed Arabic and English in one line can make the cursor jump. Format each run of text separately, or format first and add the other language after.
- Copying from Word or a website can bring invisible direction characters with it. Paste into a plain editor first, or into the formatter, and check the preview.
The formatter keeps the spaces outside the markers for you and renders the preview right-to-left when the text is Arabic, so you can see the problem before the customer does.
How businesses should use formatting
Formatting helps a customer read a message in two seconds. Too much of it makes a message look like a broadcast and gets it ignored. A simple house style:
- Bold one thing per message: the offer, the date or the next step.
- Use a list for anything with three or more items, such as a price list, opening hours or documents to bring.
- Put reference numbers in monospace so they copy cleanly.
- Keep the first line plain and personal. A wall of bold reads as an advert.
- Write Arabic and English as two short blocks rather than mixing them line by line.
For the wording itself, start from our WhatsApp Business message templates in English and Arabic, including quick replies and away messages.
Formatting in WhatsApp Business API templates
If you send through the WhatsApp Business API, the same markers work inside the body of an approved template, and the variables ({{1}}, {{2}}) can sit inside bold text. Keep the formatting identical in the English and Arabic versions so both read the same way, and test a real send before you rely on it. Our API template examples show the format.
When formatting is not the problem
A well-formatted message gets replies. The harder part is answering them: in the evening, on Fridays and faster than one person can type. If that is where your chats slow down, run the free WhatsApp lead response check, or see how Soluvide builds WhatsApp assistants that reply in Arabic and English and hand over to your team when a person should take the chat.
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Questions
Frequently asked.
Put an asterisk on both sides of the text with no space inside: *like this*. On most phones you can also select the text and choose Bold from the menu. The asterisks must touch the first and last letters, so * like this * stays plain.
Where this applies