How to Add a Click-to-Call Phone Button to Your Website

A click-to-call button lets a visitor on a phone tap your number and start a call right away, instead of having to copy it and switch to their phone app. Since most visitors to a Kenyan business website are browsing on a mobile device, this is one of the simplest changes you can make to turn a visitor into a phone lead.

How it works

A phone number becomes clickable the moment it is wrapped in a tel: link instead of plain text. On a smartphone, tapping a tel: link opens the phone's dialer with the number already filled in. On a desktop computer, most browsers either ignore the link or offer to open a calling app, so it is safe to add without affecting desktop visitors.

Adding a basic click-to-call link

You do not need any special software for this. Add a link like this to any page, usually in your header, footer, or a contact section, replacing the example number and label with your own:

• <a href="tel:+254712345678">Call Us: 0712 345 678</a>

Where to add it

1. If your site is built with plain HTML, open the page file in File Manager (or connect via FTP/SFTP) and paste the link where you want the button to appear.
2. If your site runs on WordPress, open the relevant page in the block editor, add a Custom HTML block, and paste the same link, or add it through your theme's header or footer settings if your theme provides one.
3. Always use the international format starting with +254 for Kenyan numbers inside the tel: link itself, even if the text you display to visitors uses the local format starting with 0. Phones outside Kenya need the country code to dial correctly.

Making it a floating button

Many websites show the phone button as a small circle that stays visible in a corner of the screen as the visitor scrolls, similar to a floating WhatsApp button. If you already have a floating WhatsApp button, placing a floating call button at the opposite corner of the screen keeps both visible without them overlapping. See How to Add a WhatsApp Chat Button to Your Website for the same floating-button approach, using a WhatsApp link instead of a tel: link.

Tip: Keep the number you display formatted the way your customers are used to seeing it, for example 0712 345 678, even though the actual link target must use the +254 international format to work reliably across devices.

Testing it

1. Open your website on a smartphone, not just a desktop browser, since that is where the click-to-call behavior actually triggers.
2. Tap the button or number and confirm your phone's dialer opens with the correct number already entered.
3. If nothing happens when tapped, check that the number inside the tel: link has no stray spaces, letters, or missing plus sign. Even one incorrect character stops it from working.

This is a page-level change to your website's content, so it works the same way whether your hosting account uses cPanel or DirectAdmin. Only the method you use to edit the page, such as File Manager, FTP, or your website builder, differs, and all are covered above.