So you want website visitors to call you with one click. Good move—fewer hoops for prospects to jump through means more calls, more leads, and less friction. This guide walks you through adding click to dial with Aircall to your site, minus the hand-waving and “digital transformation” buzzwords. Whether you’re a small business owner, marketer, or just the unlucky one who drew the short straw, you’ll get a working setup—without needing to be a developer.
Why add click to dial for inbound leads?
Short version: People are lazy (and busy). If you make it easy to call, more people will. Typing numbers is a pain, especially on mobile. Click to dial turns any phone number into a clickable link that launches a call—usually through whatever phone or softphone app your visitor uses.
When you use a cloud phone system like Aircall, you can:
- Route calls to the right team
- Track calls as leads in your CRM
- Record calls (if you want)
- Get instant notifications and analytics
It’s a small tweak with a big payoff—if you set it up right.
Step 1: Get your Aircall account ready
Before you mess around with your website, make sure your Aircall setup won’t trip you up.
- Log into your Aircall dashboard and check that you have at least one phone number assigned. If you haven’t, buy one or port your existing number in.
- Set up your team’s call routing and business hours. No point in getting more calls if they all go to voicemail.
- Confirm that whoever’s answering calls has the Aircall app installed—on desktop, mobile, or both.
Pro tip: Test your Aircall number by calling it yourself from another phone. Make sure it rings where it should and that you can answer.
Step 2: Choose the right click to dial approach
There are a few ways to add click to dial to your site. Here’s a quick rundown:
1. The bare-bones tel: link
This is the fastest and simplest method. You turn your phone number into a link like this:
html Call us at (123) 456-7890
What happens:
- On mobile, this opens the phone’s dialer with your number filled in.
- On desktop, it’ll try to open the default calling app (could be FaceTime, Skype, or Aircall Desktop if set as default).
Pros:
- Easy, no plugins or scripts needed.
- Works everywhere.
- No dependencies.
Cons:
- On desktop, only works if the visitor has something (like Aircall Desktop) set up to handle tel: links.
- You don’t get fancy features like call tracking unless you catch the call in Aircall.
2. Aircall’s Browser Extension (for your team)
Aircall offers a browser extension that turns phone numbers on websites and CRMs into clickable links—for you and your team, not your visitors. This is handy for outbound sales, but it doesn’t help inbound leads call you. Don’t confuse the two.
Ignore this for inbound click to dial.
3. Aircall’s Click-to-Call Widget (for your website)
Aircall does offer a “Click to Call” widget, but it’s not a built-in tool like some other providers have. You’ll either need to:
- Build your own widget using the tel: link (see above), or
- Use a third-party form/chat tool that integrates with Aircall (like Intercom or Drift), which can hand off calls to Aircall.
Bottom line:
For most people, the tel: link is all you need. If you want a slick “call us now” button that pops up everywhere, you’ll need to build or buy it.
Step 3: Add the tel: link to your website
For basic HTML websites
Just find where your phone number is listed and replace it with:
html Call us at (555) 123-4567
Make sure to:
- Use the full international dialing code (e.g., +1 for US, +44 for UK).
- Only include numbers—no spaces or dashes—in the href.
Example: tel:+442071234567
- Format the visible number how people expect to see it, but keep the link clean.
For WordPress or other CMS
Most themes let you edit content and add links. Highlight your number, click the link icon, and enter tel:+15551234567 as the URL.
If you want a button, add some basic CSS:
html Call Now
css .call-button { background: #00b388; color: white; padding: 12px 24px; border-radius: 6px; text-decoration: none; font-weight: bold; }
For “sticky” call buttons
If you want a floating button that’s always visible on mobile:
html Call Now
css .floating-call-btn { position: fixed; bottom: 20px; right: 20px; background: #00b388; color: white; padding: 16px 32px; border-radius: 50px; font-size: 18px; box-shadow: 0 4px 12px rgba(0,0,0,0.15); z-index: 9999; text-decoration: none; }
Step 4: Connect click to dial with Aircall’s inbound tracking
Here’s where Aircall shines: it can track, route, and log incoming calls—if those calls are coming into your Aircall number.
What you need to check:
- The number in your tel: link matches your Aircall number exactly (including country code).
- Your Aircall settings route inbound calls where you want (sales team, support, etc.).
- If you’re using CRM integrations (like Salesforce, HubSpot, or Pipedrive), make sure Aircall is connected so calls get logged as leads or tickets.
Pro tip:
If you want to track which page or campaign a call came from, you’ll need to get fancy. Some businesses use dynamic phone numbers (call tracking software) or ask callers what page they’re on. Aircall doesn’t natively track source URLs for inbound calls.
Step 5: Test everything (don’t skip this)
Don’t trust that it “should work.” Test it like a visitor would:
- On your phone: Tap the link. Does it open your dialer? Does the number appear correctly?
- On desktop: Click the link. If you have Aircall Desktop, does it open there? If not, you may need to set Aircall as your default calling app (see below).
- Try with different browsers and devices—sometimes browser settings or extensions mess with tel: links.
Setting Aircall Desktop as default (Windows/Mac)
If your team wants desktop visitors to have calls open in Aircall by default:
- Windows:
- Open “Default Apps” settings.
- Scroll to “Choose default apps by protocol.”
- Find “TEL” and set it to Aircall.
- Mac:
- Open FaceTime app.
- Go to Preferences.
- Set “Default for calls” to Aircall.
There’s no way to force site visitors to use Aircall; it’ll always use their default.
Step 6: Optional—add tracking or analytics
Want to know how many people are clicking your call button (even if they don’t complete the call)? Add some click tracking.
With Google Analytics
html Call Now
Heads up:
This only tracks clicks, not completed calls. If you want more, you’ll need a fancier call tracking service (not included with Aircall by default).
With tag managers
If you use Google Tag Manager, set up a trigger for clicks on links starting with tel:. There are plenty of tutorials out there; it’s a five-minute job.
What to ignore
- Aircall browser extension: Good for your team, useless for site visitors.
- Complex JavaScript widgets: Unless you want to track every detail, the basic tel: link is fine.
- Overcomplicating things: More tech, more problems. Keep it simple unless you really need extra features.
Common issues and troubleshooting
- Calls not routing correctly? Double-check your Aircall routing rules and business hours.
- Number not recognized on some devices? Make sure you use the correct international format with
+and country code. - Clicks not opening Aircall Desktop? Set Aircall as your default calling app, or remind your team to do so.
If you’re stuck, Aircall’s support docs are decent, and their support team is pretty responsive.
Summary: Keep it simple, then improve
Adding click to dial isn’t rocket science. For most businesses, a plain tel: link to your Aircall number works just fine. Fancy widgets and deep tracking can come later—don’t let perfect be the enemy of “actually gets you more leads.” Get it live, test it, and see if your phone rings more. Iterate from there.