Click-to-call
What is Click-to-call?
Click-to-call (also called click-to-dial) is a button or link — on a website, in an ad, or inside an app — that lets a visitor start a phone call with a single click instead of manually dialing a number. It works one of two ways: connecting the visitor directly through the browser using WebRTC, or triggering a callback that dials the visitor's own phone first and bridges them to the business once they pick up.
More detail
The callback variant skips running any calling logic in the visitor's browser: the visitor submits their own number, the platform calls it, and only bridges them to the business once they pick up — useful when WebRTC isn't practical, or a visitor is on an unreliable connection.
A click-to-call button is frequently paired with call tracking, since the page or campaign a visitor clicked from is captured the instant they interact with the button — before the call itself is even placed.
Orbit's browser SDK ships a click-to-call element that a business drops onto its own website or app, authorized with a short-lived token minted by its backend rather than an API key, so the click starts a real call without ever exposing a credential to the visitor's browser.
Frequently asked
- Is click-to-call the same thing as a callback request?
- Not exactly — click-to-call covers both patterns: a direct in-browser WebRTC call, or a callback where the platform dials the visitor's own phone first and then bridges them to the business. A callback request is just the second variant.
- Does a website visitor need to install anything to use click-to-call?
- No. A browser-based click-to-call button uses WebRTC to place the call directly from the page, and a callback-based button just needs the visitor's existing phone number — neither requires a plugin or app install.
See also
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