Calling terms
Click to Call From Website Links, CRMs and a Number Clicked in Chrome
Click to call means starting a phone call by clicking a number instead of typing it. Here are its common forms, how to make a click-to-call link, and what The Auto Dialer does with a number clicked in Chrome.
Click to call meaning
Click to call is a one-step way to place a single call: a number shown on a screen becomes a link or button, and activating it starts the call. The term covers several setups that look alike from the outside. On a mobile web page, tapping a phone link opens the dialer with the number filled in. In search and social advertising, a call button lets a prospect ring the business directly. In CRMs and browser extensions, a click sends the number to a softphone so the call runs through the computer. The Auto Dialer offers a fourth arrangement: a click on a number in the Chrome browser is passed to the user's phone, which dials it over its SIM, with 3 settings to choose: the SIM, auto-call and the speaker. The computer stays the place where you read and research; the phone stays the line customers recognise.
Click to call terms
| Term | Meaning | Where you see it |
|---|---|---|
| Phone link (tel:) | A link that hands a number to the device's calling app. | Contact pages and mobile sites |
| Click-to-call button | A visible button wrapping a phone link. | Headers and footers of business websites |
| Click-to-call ad | An advert whose main action is ringing the advertiser. | Search and social ad platforms |
| Callback widget | A form where a visitor leaves a number to be called back. | Sales and support pages |
| Softphone click to call | A click places the call through computer software and a headset. | Cloud CRMs and browser extensions |
| Computer-to-phone dialing | A click on the computer makes a nearby mobile phone dial. | Phone-based dialer apps such as this one |
Click to call link
A click-to-call link is ordinary HTML. Use the full international format with no spaces, so it works from any country:
<a href="tel:+441632960000">Call +44 1632 960000</a>
Show the number as visible text too, because many desktop browsers have no calling app set up and people may want to copy it. Make the link at least 44 pixels tall so it is easy to tap on a phone.
Click to call from browser to phone
Desk-based callers often live in a browser: web CRMs, email, supplier portals, a shared sheet. Copying a number from there into a phone is where mistakes happen. With The Auto Dialer, the sequence is short:
- Set the options once: the SIM for these calls, the auto-call setting and the speaker setting.
- Click a phone number on a page open in Chrome.
- The phone dials it through its SIM, as an ordinary mobile call.
- When the call ends, record the outcome on the phone's after-call sheet, as with any other call.
Leads finished this way are labelled "click to call" in the Done tab, separately from those completed by the auto dialer, so a manager can see how the work was done. More on working from a computer is on the auto dialer for PC page, and the outcome step is explained under call disposition.
Click to call vs auto dialer
Click to call suits a caller who chooses each number: a handful of priority accounts, numbers found while researching, a reply to an email. An auto dialer suits a list that should be worked top to bottom without choosing, which is what auto dialing means. Many teams use both in one day, and the wider trade-off between starting every call yourself and letting software start them is laid out in auto dialer vs manual dialer. The outbound dialer overview places click to call among the other dialing methods, and the calls per hour calculator shows how much the gap between calls costs when each one is started by hand. If your click to call runs through a softphone on internet lines instead of a mobile, that model is compared under VoIP auto dialers.
Click to call example
An example with round numbers, for illustration only.
An account manager in Singapore spends the morning in Chrome, reading 30 supplier emails and portal pages. Ten need a quick call. Instead of reading each number aloud to herself and typing it into her phone, she clicks it; her phone, propped on its stand with the speaker on, dials from her business SIM. Ten calls, no misdials, and each one sits in her phone's call history with its outcome noted. Calls that need a second conversation get a follow-up alarm, the call reminder app side of the same phone.
Click to call limits
The Auto Dialer's click to call starts from Chrome on a computer and places the call on the phone; the audio is on the phone, not the computer, so this is not a softphone. It does not add click-to-call buttons to your website (use the link above for that), run click-to-call adverts or provide a callback widget. If your team needs calls to run through computer headsets, look at a cloud calling platform instead, as compared on the auto dialer for call center page. For phone-first teams, the auto dialer app page describes the rest of the calling screen.
Click to call FAQ
11 questions, answered
How does click to call work?
A click on a phone number hands that number to something that can place the call: the phone’s dialer when the link is tapped on a mobile, a softphone or calling app on a computer, or, with a phone-linked setup, the mobile phone sitting on the desk. The caller never types the digits.
How to make a phone number click to call?
Wrap the number in a link that starts with tel: followed by the full international number without spaces, for example tel:+441632960000. Phones open their dialer when the link is tapped; computers offer whatever calling app is set to handle phone links.
What is a click to call service?
Usually it means a website callback widget: the visitor types their number, and the business’s telephone system calls them back and connects an agent. Some providers also use the phrase for browser extensions that place calls through their internet telephony lines.
Does The Auto Dialer have click to call?
Yes, from a computer. With The Auto Dialer, clicking a phone number in Chrome makes your phone dial it, with settings for which SIM to use, an auto-call option and the speaker. A lead completed this way shows “click to call” in the Done tab.
Which click to call setup uses my own mobile number?
The Auto Dialer’s Chrome-to-phone dialing does, because the computer only sends the number and your phone places the call through its SIM. The person you call sees your normal mobile number, and the call appears in the phone’s call history.
What is a click to call ad?
An advert whose main button rings the business instead of opening a website, mostly shown on phones in search and social placements. The advertiser pays under the ad platform’s own terms. The Auto Dialer does not create such ads; it handles the calls your team places.
What is a click to call Chrome extension?
A browser add-on that turns phone numbers on web pages into clickable links and hands them to a calling app. Most route the call through a softphone on internet lines; The Auto Dialer’s Chrome-to-phone dialing instead passes the clicked number to your handset, which rings it on its SIM.
How do you write click to call in HTML?
Use an anchor whose href begins with tel: followed by the number in international form, with no spaces or brackets, and show the number as the link text. Test it on a real phone, and give the link generous padding so it is easy to tap.
Does click to call work on a desktop computer?
Only if the computer has something to hand the number to: a softphone, a calling app paired with a mobile, or a dialer like The Auto Dialer that sends the clicked number to your phone. Otherwise a phone link on a desktop does little, so print the number as text too.
Is click to call the same as an auto dialer?
No. Click to call starts one call that a person picked; an auto dialer works through a whole list and launches each next call itself. They complement each other: clicks for scattered numbers found during the day, a dialing session for a planned list.
Which SIM does click to call use on a dual SIM phone?
With The Auto Dialer you decide. The Chrome-to-phone settings include which SIM places these calls, alongside the auto-call and speaker options, and the app separately lets you pick a SIM per call or set a default one for business calls.
Click the number on your screen and let your phone dial it
Try Chrome-to-phone dialing with your own SIM during a free trial.