Telephone

Examples

Default

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Three Digit Number

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Extension

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Not Clickable

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International

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Aria Described By

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TTY

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SMS

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Vanity Number

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Usage

When to use Telephone

• When a phone number is to be shown on a page. The component can be configured to have selecting the number make a phone call, call a teletypewriter/teleprinter, or send an SMS text message.

When to consider something else

• When the link text is not a phone number to be called or messaged.

How this component works

• By default, phone numbers provided to this component are clickable with a link and accept a value of 3, 5, 6, or 10 digits.
• Props can be added to provide phone numbers with an extension, make them non-clickable, and to include an international phone number indicator.

Behavior

• By default selecting the link will trigger a phone call, opening the default program on the computer or device for placing phone calls.

Choosing between variations

• If the phone number should have an extension, be non-clickable, or represent an international number, additional props can be added to accommodate.
• For TTY numbers, pass the tty boolean prop to have appropriate indicators in the link text and the aria-label.
• For text messages, pass the sms boolean prop to have the link trigger a SMS text message instead of placing a phone call. This will open the default program on the computer or device for sending messages.

Placement

• Phone numbers can appear within a sentence or on their own line.

Code usage

Attributes and Properties

Events

Content considerations

Using the Telephone component will apply the following formatting and accessibility guidance:

• Use hyphens between numbers, and don’t use parentheses to set off the area code: 212-123-1234.
• Use +1 only when the information is specifically addressing Veterans or people who are living outside the U.S.: +1-201-123-1234.
• For phone numbers with an extension, use ext. at the end: 202-123-1234, ext. 9.
• Always include days and hours of operation when listing a phone number.
• Use “select” to indicate the menu option after dialing a phone number.
• Use a verb ahead of the number. Use “call” or “call us at…” for phone numbers and “text” or “text us at” for text numbers.
• Hyperlink all phone numbers, including TTY numbers. It is not a requirement to link the “call” or “text” verb that precedes the number. We do however include “TTY” in the link and aria-label to make it clear that it’s specifically for TTY so that users who need the service see it and so those who do not do not unintentionally call a TTY number.
• Include an aria label using spaces between the digits and periods between sections in order to have screen readers read the phone number one digit at a time like a phone number, rather than as thousands or hundreds. For example:
  • <a href="tel:+18008271000" aria-label="8 0 0. 8 2 7. 1 0 0 0.">800-827-1000</a>
  • <a href="tel:711" aria-label="TTY. 7 1 1.">TTY: 711</a>.

If for some reason you cannot use the Telephone component, you are responsible for meeting the same formatting and accessibility guidance when creating links to phone numbers.

Don’t use vanity phone numbers in body copy

We don’t use vanity phone numbers in body copy, as it adds visual noise and is not helpful to screen readers. We use and hyperlink only the numeric phone number in body copy.

• Exception: In marketing or promotional messaging, such as the right rail promo component, we discourage but make an exception for vanity phone numbers. In marketing or promotional components, use the format: 877-222-VETS (8387) and hyperlink the complete number including the parenthetical.

Accessibility considerations

• By default an aria-label will be created based off of the context entered into the component and will be formatted as a combined phone number with parts within the label separated by periods, e.g. “800-555-1212” becomes “8 0 0. 5 5 5. 1 2 1 2”
• If the non-clickable prop is enabled aria-hidden="true" will be added to the span element containing the number and a sr-only CSS class will be added to the span element displaying the number in the aria-label format as shown above.