# Phone number for your online store.
By [wildcard](https://paragraph.com/@vijayraj) ยท 2023-01-28
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I was setting up an online store for a bunch of friends through Shopify. We completed setting up chat channels using Messenger and Shopify Ping, but we still wanted to have a phone number in case the customers wanted to talk. The online store did not have a physical store and did not yet want to invest in a help desk setup.
We came up with a simple solution through a Twilio phone number - that when called simultaneously rang the mobile phones of the partners.
Requirements
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1. A Phone Number
2. Initial Greeting
3. Simultaneous Dialings
4. Record A Message
A Phone Number
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Twilio has been super great being a developer friendly service. We chose Twilio to purchase a virtual phone number. Some of the choices include region specific phone number or a toll free number. You can purchase once you sign up for free at [twilio.com](https://www.twilio.com)
Purchase a number [here](https://www.twilio.com/console/phone-numbers/search)
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* Search for a number of your liking
* Choose Voice capability
Initial Greeting
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When any customer calls the above phone number, you could program it in multiple ways. We went with creating a simple TwiML script.
* Configure your active numbers [here](https://www.twilio.com/console/phone-numbers/incoming)
* Configure the Voice & Fax section by choosing _TwiML Bin_ for _A call comes_ in option
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* Press the + on the right to create a new TwiML script (full script in the end)
Voice greeting can be set using the **block.** Welcome to online store dot com - please wait while we connect your call. `` block speaks the text in a computerized (yet human-like) voice. There are multiple options for `voice` available. Simultaneous Dialings The next requirement was to have the incoming call result in calling a few of the partners and the most available person would pick up and connect the call. This code block dials the numbers in the values. +16000000000 +14000000000 Parameters `timeout`, `record`, and `callerId` are passed to the Dial block. `timeout` sets the number of seconds the numbers below should ring before going to the next block `record` sets the setting to record or not `callerId` sets the phone number from which the Numbers below should receive the calls. We set to a Twilio verified number, as we wanted to partners to know that this is a call for the online store. You will not be able to specify a number that has not been verified in Twilio `...` blocks are put inside `` block to dial simultaneously. Record A Message At instances where all the few partners are able to receive the call, we wanted the customer to record a message to replay and address the needs. This code block achieves the requirement All our representatives are busy. Please leave a message and we will contact you back. Thank you. Before recording the voicemail, we put a prompt that everyone is busy and to leave a message. Record block records upto 20 seconds of voice Conclusion TwiML script is executed top down one block at a time. `` block will be executed as response to the incoming call. Here is the full code. Welcome to online store dot com - please wait while we connect your call. +16000000000 +14000000000 All our representatives are busy. Please leave a message and we will contact you back. Thank you. Hope this helps you in a similar case. Please let me know if there is a better way to fulfil the requirements. Also, here is a referral link if you would like to try out Twilio.
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*Originally published on [wildcard](https://paragraph.com/@vijayraj/phone-number-for-your-online-store)*