How to make a clickable link in a post

Creating clickable links in Telegram channel posts is straightforward — you can use inline hyperlinks, plain URLs, or formatted text links depending on your goals. Telegram supports rich text formatting that lets you embed links within any word or phrase, making your posts cleaner and more professional than pasting raw URLs.

How Links Work in Telegram Posts

Telegram offers two main ways to include clickable links in your channel posts:

  1. Plain URLs — Simply paste a full URL (e.g., https://example.com) and Telegram automatically makes it clickable. A link preview with title, description, and image will appear below your message.

  2. Inline hyperlinks — Hide the URL behind custom anchor text, so readers see a clickable word or phrase instead of a raw URL. For example, "Check out our latest guide" displays as a clean, tappable link.

Both methods work in channels, groups, and private chats. However, inline hyperlinks give you far more control over how your posts look and read.

Creating Inline Hyperlinks (Step-by-Step)

Step 1: Open the Message Editor

Open your Telegram channel and tap the message input field. Type or paste the text you want to publish. Select the word or phrase you want to turn into a clickable link.

Step 2: Access Formatting Options

The method differs slightly by platform:

  • Desktop (Telegram Desktop / macOS): Select your text, right-click, and choose Formatting → Create Link. Alternatively, use the keyboard shortcut Ctrl+K (Windows/Linux) or Cmd+K (macOS).
  • Android: Select the text, tap the three-dot menu (⋮) in the context toolbar, then choose Create Link.
  • iOS: Select the text, tap BIU in the context menu, then choose Create Link.
  • Telegram Web: Select the text, click the formatting toolbar icon (chain link symbol), or use Ctrl+K.

Step 3: Paste the URL

In the dialog box that appears, paste or type the destination URL. Make sure the URL includes https:// or http:// at the beginning. Tap OK or Save to confirm.

Step 4: Send or Schedule

Your text now contains an inline hyperlink. The selected words will appear as blue, underlined, tappable text. Send the message immediately or schedule it for later using Telegram's built-in scheduler.

Using Markdown and HTML in Bots

If you manage your channel through a Telegram bot or the Bot API, you can format links using either Markdown or HTML syntax:

Markdown style:

[Click here](https://example.com)

HTML style:

<a href="https://example.com">Click here</a>

When sending via the Bot API, set the parse_mode parameter to MarkdownV2 or HTML accordingly. This is particularly useful for automated posting through services like tgchannel.space, which preserves link formatting when exporting your channel content to the web.

Controlling Link Previews

When you paste a plain URL into a post, Telegram automatically generates a link preview — a card showing the page title, description, and thumbnail image. Here's how to manage previews:

  • Disable preview: Click the × button on the preview card before sending. On desktop, you can also find this option in the formatting menu.
  • Choose which link gets previewed: If your post contains multiple URLs, Telegram lets you select which one generates the preview. Tap the preview area and cycle through available links.
  • Preview position: In recent Telegram updates, you can place the link preview above or below your message text for better visual layout.

Link previews are generated server-side by Telegram. If a website hasn't been crawled yet, the preview may be empty or minimal. You can force Telegram to refresh a preview by sending the URL to @WebpageBot.

Advanced Link Techniques

Deeplinks to Telegram Entities

You can link directly to Telegram usernames, channels, and specific messages:

  • Channel link: https://t.me/yourchannel
  • Specific message: https://t.me/yourchannel/142
  • User profile: https://t.me/username
  • Bot with parameter: https://t.me/yourbot?start=ref123

These are especially useful for cross-promoting other channels or referencing previous posts.

Anchor Links in Long Posts

For very long posts (Telegram supports up to 4096 characters), you can use multiple inline links to direct readers to different resources. Structure your post with clear sections and embed relevant links within each paragraph rather than dumping all URLs at the end.

Phone Number and Email Links

Telegram also supports tel: and mailto: link schemes:

  • [Call us](tel:+15551234567) — opens the phone dialer
  • [Email us](mailto:hello@example.com) — opens the email client

These are clickable on mobile devices and useful for business channels.

Tips & Best Practices

  • Use descriptive anchor text. Instead of "click here," write "read our complete guide to channel growth." This improves readability and helps your content perform better when indexed on platforms like tgchannel.space.
  • Keep URLs short and clean. If you must display a raw URL, use a URL shortener or remove unnecessary tracking parameters. Clean links build more trust.
  • Limit links per post. Two to three links per post is optimal. Posts overloaded with links look spammy and reduce engagement — Telegram's algorithm may also deprioritize them in recommendations.
  • Test links before publishing. Always tap your links after posting (or use Telegram's preview feature) to verify they resolve correctly. Broken links damage credibility fast.
  • Use inline links for CTAs. When you want readers to take action — subscribe, buy, read more — embed the link directly in the call-to-action phrase: "Subscribe to our newsletter" is far more effective than a standalone URL.
  • Combine with buttons for important actions. If you use a bot to post, consider adding inline keyboard buttons alongside text links for critical CTAs. Buttons have significantly higher click-through rates than text hyperlinks.

Common Mistakes

Mistake 1: Forgetting the protocol prefix
Why it's wrong: Typing example.com without https:// may not be recognized as a clickable link in all Telegram clients, especially when using inline hyperlinks via the Bot API.
How to avoid: Always include the full URL with https:// when creating links.

Mistake 2: Using link shorteners excessively
Why it's wrong: Many users are wary of shortened URLs (like bit.ly links) because they can't see where the link leads. Telegram may also flag some shorteners as suspicious.
How to avoid: Use full URLs when possible. If you need tracking, use UTM parameters on your actual domain instead of a third-party shortener.

Mistake 3: Pasting raw URLs in professional channels
Why it's wrong: A long raw URL like https://example.com/blog/2026/02/how-to-grow-your-telegram-channel-step-by-step-guide?utm_source=telegram&utm_medium=post looks messy and unprofessional.
How to avoid: Always use inline hyperlinks to hide long URLs behind readable text. Your posts will look cleaner and more polished.

Mistake 4: Not checking link previews before sending
Why it's wrong: Telegram's auto-generated preview might pull an irrelevant image or outdated description from the linked page, confusing your audience.
How to avoid: Always review the preview card before hitting send. Remove or adjust it if the preview doesn't match your intent.

Mistake 5: Overlapping formatting on links
Why it's wrong: Applying bold, italic, and hyperlink formatting to the same text can cause rendering issues on some Telegram clients, especially older versions.
How to avoid: Keep link formatting simple. Bold links are fine, but avoid stacking three or more formatting types on the same text span.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I edit a link after the post is published?
Yes. Telegram allows channel admins to edit published messages. Tap and hold the message, select Edit, then modify the link text or URL. The edit will update for all readers, though a small "edited" label will appear.

Do clickable links work in Telegram Stories?
Telegram Stories support links, but the implementation differs from regular posts. You add a link via the dedicated link sticker or button when creating a story, rather than embedding it in text.

Can I track how many people clicked my link?
Telegram does not provide built-in click analytics for channel posts. To track clicks, use UTM parameters with your analytics platform (Google Analytics, Plausible, etc.) or use a link tracking service. Services like tgchannel.space that publish your channel content on the web can provide additional traffic insights.

Is there a limit to how many links I can put in one post?
There is no hard limit on the number of links per message, but Telegram's 4096-character limit for text messages effectively caps it. For bot messages with parse_mode, the same limit applies. Practically, keeping it under five links per post ensures readability.

Why does my link preview show the wrong image?
Telegram caches link previews. If the target page was recently updated, the preview may still show old content. Send the URL to @WebpageBot with the command /update to force Telegram to re-crawl the page and refresh the preview.