Mark Silverberg wrote a WordPress plugin that lets you add a “Call Me” widget right into your WordPress sidebar.   It’s insanely easy to set up and is built around the Phono SDK JQuery architecture.  In about 5 minutes I had mine calling my Google Voice number, but you can configure it to call any 10-digit US number, or SIP address, Skype account or Tropo application.

Here’s how to get it ringing:

First you have to download the plugin and put it in your WordPress Plugins folder.  You can download the latest version here:  WordPhone WordPress Widget

 

Unzip the file into you plugins directory in a folder called “WordPhone”.  Presently there are two files in the package:  jquery.phono.js (the javascript) and wordphone-widget.php.

After that, you’ll need to log into your WordPress dashboard.  Go to your list of plugins and activate the WordPhone plugin.

Next, while still in your WordPress Dashboard, go to your widgets page.  You should now see the WordPhone Widget among the available widgets.  Drag that puppy over to your sidebar.

You can configure your the plugin by pressing the down arrow.  The main thing you want to configure is the number being called.  I picked my Google Voice number, but with PhonoSDK, you can call any 10 digit US phone number, or SIP number or even a Tropo application.

You’ll also need to sign up for Phono to get a Phono API key.  To get one, visit Phono.com and create a free account.   Save your changes and your new widget should now appear in your sidebar!

Now, when visitors to your WordPress site want to call you, all they have to do is click the button and they can make a call right from their browser!

A few important things to note:

• Your WordPress theme must support widgets (you *can* hack your way around this)
• This plugin requires that the caller has a computer with microphone and speakers enabled.  In this version, it’s also required they have Adobe Flash installed (although it’s rumored that future versions may eliminate the Flash requirement).
• I’ve personally tested this with WordPress 3.0 and I’ve been told it works with other versions as well.
• More info can be found on the Github wiki:  http://github.com/marks/WordPhone/wiki
• More info about how PhonoSDK works can be found here:  http://blog.phono.com/2010/10/25/behind-the-phone/