Can your international clients call you easily? And what to do if they can't

How to write your telephone number properly on your website for international callers and why it matters

Most people tend to write their phone numbers incorrectly on their websites, when it comes to international phone numbers. For example if their number is 01332 898 429 they write it like this:-

0044 1332 898 429

Why that's incorrect & why it matters

1) UK dealers tend to presume that everyone uses 00 to dial international because this is what we do. However, lots of countries (including the US) don’t use 00 to dial international.

If calling the UK from the US you would dial:-011 44 1332 896 731

So writing 0044 1332 896 731 is incorrect because that's only for people calling the UK from the US and excludes everyone else!

2) These days the majority of internet browsing is done on either tablets or mobile phones. If someone is browsing on a phone, most phones will see a phone number and make it a link so you can click on it and your phone will then dial the number. However if you write the number wrong this won’t work, leading to a barrier to the enquiry or the sale because your potential client cannot easily contact you.

The correct way to write it

According to international standards, such as ITU standards E.123 and E.164, the correct way to write an international phone number is to start with a plus symbol + then the international country code (44 for the UK) then the phone number with the leading 0 in brackets. Eg:-

+44(0)1332 896 731

If you write your number like this:-

• Anybody from anywhere in the world can dial it with ease
• If you click on the number on a web page on a phone (or sometimes even a tablet) then it will call it

Et Voila!

Happy international selling!