{% extends "content_template.html" %} {% from "components/table.html" import mapping_table, row, text_field, edit_field, field with context %} {% from "components/sub-navigation.html" import sub_navigation %} {% from "components/service-link.html" import service_link %} {% block per_page_title %} Guidance {% endblock %} {% block content_column_content %}

Guidance

This guidance is for teams using Notify.gov to send text messages.

It explains how to:

Edit and format messages

This section explains how to:

Format your content

You can see a list of formatting instructions on the edit template page:

  1. Go to the {{ service_link(current_service, 'main.choose_template', 'templates') }} page.
  2. Add a new template or choose an existing template and select Edit.

When composing a text message, write URLs in full and Notify will convert them into links for you.

You cannot convert text into a link.

We do not recommend using a third-party link shortening service because:

Personalize your content

To personalize the content of your messages, add a placeholder to the template.

Placeholders are filled in with details, like a name or reference number, each time you send a message.

To add a placeholder to the template:

  1. Go to the {{ service_link(current_service, 'main.choose_template', 'templates') }} page.
  2. Add a new template or choose an existing template and select Edit.
  3. Add a placeholder using double brackets. For example: Hello ((first name)), your reference is ((ref number)).
  4. Select Save.

When you send a message you can either:

If you upload a list, the column names need to match the placeholders in your template.

Add optional content

To add optional content to your messages:

  1. Go to the {{ service_link(current_service, 'main.choose_template', 'templates') }} page.
  2. Add a new template or choose an existing template and select Edit.
  3. Use double brackets and ?? to define optional content. For example, if you only want to show something to people who are under 18: ((under18??Please get your application signed by a parent or guardian.))
  4. Select Save.

For each person you send this message to, specify ‘yes’ or ‘no’ to show or hide this content. You can either:

If you upload a list, the column names need to match the optional content in your template.

Branding and customization

Change the text message sender

The text message sender tells your users who the message is from.

To change the text message sender from the default of ‘Notify.gov’:

  1. Go to the Text message settings section of the {{ service_link(current_service, 'main.service_settings', 'settings') }} page.
  2. Select Manage on the Text message senders row.
  3. Select Change or Add text message sender.
{% endblock %}