Create HTML link that starts a Skype call
Nowadays most of the people use Skype, but not everyone knows that we can use an HTML link to launch Skype calls from your web browser or emails. Today I’ll show how to add a Skype “Call Me” button to your website or blog and let people get in touch with just the click of a button. Whether they’re on a computer or mobile, they will get through with a voice call or an instant message.
Here is an examples:
Call Me | Chat with Me |
---|
The examples above will use the demo user of Skype (echo123
) – which will record a call and play it back or ping back the typed in chat messages.
Link with Phone number
To create an HTML link that starts a Skype call to phone number use the following example where you need to replace the 1234567890
with a valid phone number.
<a href="skype:+1234567890?call">Call Me</a>
The optional flag is call
– to force Skype to call.
Also you can use the another method that is more universal:
<a href="callto://+1234567890">Call Me</a>
or:
<a href="tel://+1234567890">Call Me</a>
Link with Skype Username
Firstly you need to know your Skype username. You can find it by this Skype tutorial.
Then, to create an HTML link that starts a Skype call to Skype user use the following example where you need to replace the username
with your Skype username that you found before.
<a href="skype:username?call">Call Me</a>
The optional flag is call
– to force Skype to call.
Instead of the text “Call Me” you can use an image:
<a href="skype:username?call"><img src="/images/call.png"></a>
You can choose icons to your taste on iconfinder.com.
Also we have a several options to add after the ?
in the href
attribute. The syntaxis is skype:username
and optional flags. See the examples below to see the usage.
See info about a Skype user
The optional flag is userinfo
. Example:
skype:username?userinfo
Add a Skype user to address book
The optional flag is add
. Example:
skype:username?add
Send a message to chat
The optional flag is chat
. Example:
skype:username?chat
Send a VoiceMail to a Skype user
The optional flag is voicemail
. Example:
skype:username?voicemail
Create a Skype conference call with multiple users
The optional flag is call
. By separating with semicolons list the users that you want to connect. Example:
skype:username1;username2?call
Create a conference chat with multiple users
The optional flag is chat
. By separating with semicolons list the users that you want to connect. Example:
skype:username1;username2?chat
Tips & Warnings
- Users must have Skype already installed on their devices in order to the link worked.
- When testing your own link, it will probably say,
You cannot call yourself!
. Don’t worry, it will work for everyone else. - You can get officially generated Skype button here. Skype offers a button that shows your current status.
If this article has helped you then please leave a comment
Thanks for reading!
Arthur is a designer and full stack software engineer. He is the founder of Space X-Chimp and the blog My Cyber Universe. His personal website can be found at arthurgareginyan.com.