Lets visitors talk to you face to face, straight from your website
A live video call button I designed, built and run on this website, and have also added to a client’s site. When I’m at my desk, visitors can call me from the page, with no app to install and no phone number needed.
- Live
- Website feature
- Also on a client’s website
- Nothing recorded
Want to try it? When I’m at my desk and free, a “Video call James” button appears right here.
The call window · desktop
- apps to install or accounts to create: it works in the web browser
- 0
- seconds of ringing, then an easy way to send a message instead
- 30
- call situations checked by automatic tests in real browsers
- 24
- websites it runs on: this one and a client’s
- 2
The challenge
Many people would rather talk than type, especially before they trust someone with their money. But a mobile number on a website attracts cold calls and spam, and a booking tool can make a ready customer wait days for a chat.
I designed, built and run a live video call feature for this website, and I’ve since added it to a client’s site. When I’m at my desk, a visitor can talk to me face to face in their web browser: no app, no account and no phone number.
How it works for visitors
It only appears when I can answer
The call button shows only while I’m at my desk and free. If I’m away or already on a call, it disappears and visitors see the contact form instead, so nobody calls into silence.
Sound checked before it rings
Before ringing, callers choose their microphone and speaker, watch a bar move as they speak, and can play a test sound. If they plug in or unplug headphones mid-call, the call carries on and they’re told what changed.
A missed call isn’t a lost enquiry
It rings for 30 seconds. If I can’t pick up, the visitor gets one button to send a message instead, with their name and topic already filled in. My desk page lists who tried to call, and what about.
{ "relay": true }Neither side sees the other’s internet address, and nothing is recorded.
Privacy
An ordinary video call can show each side the other’s internet address, which gives away roughly where they are. I send every call through Cloudflare’s relay instead, so neither side sees the other’s address. The sound and picture stay encrypted, and nothing is recorded.
Could this help your business?
Sell something people like to talk through?
If you’re a builder, a wedding photographer or an accountant, a quick face-to-face chat can turn a visitor into a customer while they’re still interested.
Worried about time-wasters?
A spam check keeps out bots, anyone you turn down has to wait 10 minutes before calling again, and you can hide the button whenever you’re busy.
Don’t want to give out your mobile number?
Customers can talk to you without either of you sharing a phone number, and calls are never recorded.
Want customers to call you from your website?
Tell me what you need, and I’ll tell you honestly what it would take.