# What is Tap-to-call?

> Tap-to-call is a phone number or button on a website that starts a phone call straight away when tapped on a mobile, with no copying or retyping.

- Source: https://nerdsharks.com/glossary/tap-to-call
- Publisher: Nerdsharks (Exeter, Devon, UK)
- Updated: 2026-09-26

Also called: click-to-call, call button, tel link, sticky call bar.

On a phone, a properly set-up number or ‘Call now’ button opens the dialler with your number already filled in. It is a small piece of code that turns a phone number into a link.

Many sites go further with a bar fixed to the bottom of the screen on mobile, so the Call button is always within reach, however far down the page someone scrolls.

It sounds basic, yet plenty of small business sites still show their number as plain text or, worse, as part of an image, which cannot be tapped at all.

## Why it matters for a small business

For local services and many other businesses, the phone call is often the most valuable enquiry there is. Every extra step between ‘I need this’ and the phone ringing loses a few people, particularly in emergencies. Tap-to-call removes the steps.

**Example:** A plumber's mobile site has a fixed orange bar along the bottom: ‘Call now’ on one side, ‘WhatsApp’ on the other. Someone with a leak taps once and is through.