An SMS link is a form of contact built into your website. When a customer visits your site on a mobile device, they click the relevant HTML link. Doing so prompts their device to open its messaging service so they can send a text. The purpose is to offer a fast and convenient form of communication.
SMS texting requires an HTML link similar to one that opens an email to your business. But, rather than using an HTML link with mailto:, it uses sms: to open the device’s default messaging service.
Luckily, the process for how to create an HTML link for SMS texting is pretty easy, even if you don’t know the code. Here are the steps for creating an SMS link on your website.
Your link text is what customers see on your website that they click to begin the process. As with other forms of contact, it doesn’t need to be long or complicated. Something like “click here to message us” is more than enough.
Alternatively, you could use an image or turn an email signature into an SMS link. Whatever you use, make sure it’s clear that your customers can use it for contact.
The next step is to write the actual SMS message. Note, this is the message the customer sends to you, as on some devices you can populate a message with some default text.
Again, it should be short and professional. Some examples include:
How you set up the SMS link on your site is up to you. The main options are a text link or button link. Text links are easier to do, while button links might need some knowledge of CSS.
It doesn’t matter which you choose – it depends on your site’s look and layout. Both link types achieve the same ends.
Now comes the most important step: adding the HTML for text links. What this looks like will depend on your website service and builder.
It could be as simple as sms:[phonenumber] or you might need to use the full HTML code:
<a href=”sms:[phone number]&body=[default message]”>[link text]</a>
Here, you’d add your business phone number and default message in the square brackets.
Finally, you’ll want to run a test to make sure the link works. This is pretty simple: visit your website on your phone and click the SMS link. Next, check your business number/account to see if the message shows up. Providing it does, everything has worked.
The benefits of SMS texting may be obvious, but here are the most important:
We’ve covered the basics of creating an SMS link for your business. But here are some important things to be aware of when setting it up:
SMS texting only works for mobile devices, so it’s only worth setting up if your customers actually visit your site on mobile. Similarly, you can tailor the service to specific operating systems.
Use something like Google Analytics to check what browsers and OS your customers use. Then create an HTML link that caters directly to these devices. For example, some versions of iOS don’t support message population, which might make this step pointless.
Your customer’s messages will obviously be sent to a business number. Make sure you set one up specifically for dealing with bulk messages of this kind. Doing so gives you a dedicated location for linking SMS messages, meaning other ones don’t get lost.
No business is open 24/7, but customers can contact you any time of day. To manage expectations, set up an auto-reply. You should activate this when your business isn’t open to ensure customers know not to expect a response immediately.
It only needs to be something simple like, “Thanks for your message. Our business hours are 9-5, so we will respond to your message then.”
Some messaging services will let you create snippets for easier responses. These are pre-written replies to common queries.
For example, if you’ve set up a default message asking for an appointment, your snippet could be a link to a booking page. Alternatively, it could be responses to FAQs.
Textr Team offers everything you need to get started with SMS texting. It includes unlimited SMS and MMS messages, and call minutes. You can tag customers, manage contacts and more from a single location.
Setting up an SMS campaign has never been easier, too. You can send bulk messages and begin generating leads with almost no effort.
Better yet, there’s a 7-day free trial to make sure Textr Team offers everything you need, and more.
So get started today and download Textr Team for mobile and web browsers.