How to Make a Mobile Site Click to Call Link
A “click to call” button or link on a mobile or smartphone website can mean the difference between getting a customer to call or losing them forever. Converting customers with mobile sites is a different discipline from converting customers on desktop websites: mobile website visitors are unlikely to read long sales copy, are similarly unlikely to send an email, and are certainly not going to fill out a lengthy web form. In the mobile environment, a phone call is your best route to conversion–after all, your visitors have the phone in their hand!
Coding the Click to Call Link for Mobile Phones
To create a click to call link, use the following code:
<a href="tel:8005551212">800-555-1212</a>
“Selling” the Click
Now, let’s improve our click to call link. After all, all we’ve done with the above link is make the phone number clickable; will users know that the phone number is a click to call link? We can “sell” the click by adding a call to action to our link:
<a href="tel:8005551212">Click HERE to Call: 800-555-1212</a>
That’s an improvement, it serves to highlight the link and directs users with a call to action.
Pro Tip: Visually Improving the Click to Call Button
To take our click to call link even further, we can add an arrow to visually guide users to the desired action–and maybe even add a second call to action. You can see this technique in action on the following mobile site:
This is a very handy technique when a person is browsing your website from a mobile device and may turn out to be a highly convertible one.
Agreed. I have a service business and most of my customers already come through my website. I didn’t know how easy it was to create a click to call link. Maybe it will generate a few more calls per month and more business for me. Thanks for this article.
This is an excellent technique and one which I have fully integrated in my http://www.taxinumbers.co site. I am amazed it is not more popular yet!
I am web designer I had no idea how easy this was! I have been meaning to learn about this but putting it off due to feeling overworked and overwhelmed, just now I queried this and wow. Thanks for the article and for including a discussion of ways to increase it’s effectiveness such as using an arrow and call-to-action. Bookmarked and shared!
Very handy to know, Thanks much.
As I have a service business and most people want to talk to you. It is a good tool for the smartphones. This way they will not have to exit, then go to phone and then call.
Much easier to click and let the phone do the work.
Boy are we all gettin lazy, or is this technology???
I am looking for similar function. But I would like to dial into my IVR from the mobile.
For ex my no is +99999999999 there will be many IVA Menus associated with the no
ex – my web page will have options like +99999999999 111 , +99999999999 2222 , +99999999999 333
So once the user clicks on +99999999999 111 first the call to +99999999999 will be made & then 111 digit needs to be inputted manually so that it can land on my particular IVR.
Let me know how this can be achieved
Hey Ive searched for a same to create that link on my website. Thank for your sharing. Looking more more such impressive tips from you.
Thanks.
Genifer
This is great knowledge! Works great on mobile. I’m wondering how when someone clicks on this link on a pc what code I could use to have it directed to perhaps a ContactUs page. Right now it goes to an error page on pc.
Yeah i have the same problem.
It works fine on smartphones but when i click the button on a PC i get an error “The address wasn’t understood”.
Did you find a solution for that??
Thanks
but PCs aren’t meant to understand the link–there is no way a PC could act on it. The key is to make the link show up only if a mobile device is employed to view the page. So that brings you to responsive design, which we at TastyPlacement feel is the best way to deliver a web property to mobile devices in a commercial environment.
Awesome! I was wondering how to do this, can’t believe it was that simple! I’ve called several companies directly from mobile browsing simply because it’s so quick I don’t have time to change my mind. Thanks Michael!
Tq for sharing. I’ve been looking for this. Will give a try.
Thanks Michael. I used it in a cool button link, works great.
Excellent technique for Pay per Call Campagins for affiliate marketing. This is gold! Thanks Michael.
Nice I used it today. Cool code! Love the Click to call function for mobile websites.
Hi Michael,
have you had an escenario where besides the phone number you would have to add pauses and waits ?
I’m currently trying to accomplish so and I’m having to define the CTI characters per device type.
for example +1111 {pause} 3{wait}
would be:
+111,3* on iphone
+111p3: on android
thanks,
Andrea
whoa man, you got me…we have never implemented that. If you come up with a solution, please post another comment and we’ll publish it.
For WordPress websites is possible to use this: http://wordpress.org/extend/plugins/call-now-button.
Please, see and this: http://wordpress.org/extend/plugins/search.php?q=call