diff --git a/backend/whatsapp.py b/backend/whatsapp.py
index fb8b9b4..e026547 100644
--- a/backend/whatsapp.py
+++ b/backend/whatsapp.py
@@ -531,6 +531,17 @@ class WhatsAppService:
                 "components": components,
             },
         }
+        
+        # Validate payload before sending
+        if not components:
+            logger.warning(
+                f"[WhatsApp] Warning: No components being sent. "
+                f"Header type: {header_type}, body_values: {body_values}"
+            )
+        if not body_values:
+            logger.warning(
+                f"[WhatsApp] Warning: No body parameters. Template expects {len(tpl.get('body_params', []))} params."
+            )
 
         import json
         logger.info(
@@ -538,6 +549,9 @@ class WhatsAppService:
             f"lang={language_code} to={to_e164} header_type={header_type} "
             f"header_params={header_values} body_params={body_values}"
         )
+        logger.info(
+            f"[WhatsApp] Complete payload before sending:\n{json.dumps(payload, indent=2, ensure_ascii=False)}"
+        )
         logger.debug(
             "[WhatsApp] payload: %s",
             json.dumps(payload, ensure_ascii=False),
@@ -553,17 +567,41 @@ class WhatsAppService:
                     timeout=30.0,
                 )
 
+            result = response.json()
+            
+            # Check for HTTP errors
             if response.status_code not in (200, 201):
-                error_data = response.json()
-                error_msg = error_data.get("error", {}).get("message", "Unknown error")
-                logger.error(f"[WhatsApp] API error ({response.status_code}): {error_msg}")
+                error_msg = result.get("error", {}).get("message", "Unknown error")
+                error_code = result.get("error", {}).get("code", "UNKNOWN")
+                logger.error(
+                    f"[WhatsApp] API error ({response.status_code}) - Code: {error_code} - Message: {error_msg}\n"
+                    f"Full response: {result}"
+                )
                 raise WhatsAppError(
                     f"WhatsApp API error ({response.status_code}): {error_msg}"
                 )
-
-            result = response.json()
-            message_id = result.get("messages", [{}])[0].get("id")
-            logger.info(f"[WhatsApp] Message sent successfully via template key. ID: {message_id}")
+            
+            # Check for warnings or errors in successful response
+            if "error" in result:
+                error_msg = result["error"].get("message", "Unknown error")
+                logger.error(f"[WhatsApp] Error in response: {error_msg}\nFull response: {result}")
+                raise WhatsAppError(f"WhatsApp message rejected: {error_msg}")
+            
+            # Validate message was actually created
+            messages = result.get("messages", [])
+            if not messages:
+                logger.error(f"[WhatsApp] No message ID in response: {result}")
+                raise WhatsAppError("No message ID returned from WhatsApp API")
+            
+            message_id = messages[0].get("id")
+            if not message_id:
+                logger.error(f"[WhatsApp] Message ID missing from response: {result}")
+                raise WhatsAppError("Message ID missing from WhatsApp API response")
+            
+            logger.info(
+                f"[WhatsApp] Message sent successfully! ID: {message_id}\n"
+                f"Template: {meta_name}, To: {to_e164}, Status: {response.status_code}"
+            )
             return {
                 "message_id": message_id,
                 "status": "sent",
@@ -574,10 +612,12 @@ class WhatsAppService:
             }
 
         except httpx.HTTPError as e:
+            logger.error(f"[WhatsApp] HTTP request failed: {str(e)}")
             raise WhatsAppError(f"HTTP request failed: {str(e)}")
         except WhatsAppError:
             raise
         except Exception as e:
+            logger.error(f"[WhatsApp] Unexpected error: {str(e)}", exc_info=True)
             raise WhatsAppError(f"Failed to send WhatsApp template: {str(e)}")
 
     def handle_webhook_verification(self, challenge: str) -> str:
diff --git a/backend/whatsapp_templates.py b/backend/whatsapp_templates.py
index 51901c4..4802aac 100644
--- a/backend/whatsapp_templates.py
+++ b/backend/whatsapp_templates.py
@@ -107,7 +107,16 @@ def save_custom_templates(db: Session, data: Dict[str, Dict[str, Any]]) -> None:
 def get_all_templates(db: Session) -> Dict[str, Dict[str, Any]]:
     """Return merged dict: built-in TEMPLATES + user custom templates."""
     merged = dict(TEMPLATES)
-    merged.update(load_custom_templates(db))
+    custom = load_custom_templates(db)
+    merged.update(custom)
+    
+    # Debug logging
+    import logging
+    logger = logging.getLogger(__name__)
+    if custom:
+        logger.info(f"[Templates] Loaded {len(custom)} custom templates from database: {list(custom.keys())}")
+    logger.debug(f"[Templates] All available templates: {list(merged.keys())}")
+    
     return merged