A virtual phone number is a phone number that is not connected to a physical landline. Using the internet, the landline connects conversations through the web and can be used through landlines, smartphones, computers and more. In this blog, we will cover virtual phone numbers in detail on what benefits they can provide for small businesses or start-ups.
What is a virtual phone number?
As we touched on earlier, a virtual phone number is a phone number that uses the internet rather than a phone line to make calls. These virtual phone numbers, also known as VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) offer flexible communication and even additional security to your calls.
How do virtual phone numbers work?
A virtual phone number works by picking the type of phone number you desire, this could be a local, national or freephone number. With this information, your VoIP provider will set up a virtual number which can then be added to your phone, computer or tablet. You can then set up a route so that any new calls your virtual number receives will be transferred to your preferred smartphone or computer.
What can a business do with a virtual phone number?
Introducing your business to a virtual phone number can be a great way to increase your local presence in an area, or increase flexibility within your working environment. Using virtual phone numbers can allow you and your employees to answer business calls whilst on the move, or working from home. Your local presence can be increased by owning a local number from an area that your business operates in.
Advantages of using a virtual phone number for business
There are many advantages when it comes to using a virtual number with Virtual Landline for your business. From reducing monthly costs, to introducing remote work for your employees, learn how a virtual number can change your business for the better.
Build a local business presence
Building a local presence in areas that your business appears to be performing well in can be a great way to increase buy-in from locals, as well as increase the trust factor for individuals living in that specific area.
Through local phone numbers, your business can purchase a phone line from a specific area of the country, which can help your business to appear local to individuals who live there.
An example of this would be a business sees an influx of orders from Manchester, so they acquire a Manchester landline number to appear local to the area.
Freephone
One advantage your business can create by using a virtual number is the choice of picking a freephone number. If you are a small business or start-up, or start up, you know how important it is to retain and encourage customers. Making your number free to call can encourage customers to reach out as it will not cost them a penny.
This does mean that your business will take on the charges from customers phone calls, but the potential customers it could bring in will outweigh the additional costs.
Improved customer service
When using a Virtual Landline number, you can use a range of great tools to improve your customer's experience. Using global routing means that no matter where you are in the world, your customer's call can be instantly sent to your phone, meaning that they are not waiting for you to call them back. The introduction of call menus can direct customers to exactly where they need to be. Quickly send them to your sales team if they are looking for your services, or direct them to customer care to deal with their queries.
Virtual Landline offer a large range of features that can benefit your business and your customers. Read the full list of features today.
Remote working
Remote working is here to stay, so being a business that can offer your employees the opportunity to work from home can be a great benefit for retaining staff and enticing new staff from a larger surface area.
Using virtual numbers, extensions can be easily made for the customer care team to be established from home, or can even give the salesperson a few days to base their operations from their home office. Adding this large benefit to a business can help increase job satisfaction and save your business money on office space and general costs within the office.
Reduced costs
Old-school landlines traditionally come with large upfront costs for installation, as well as a high monthly fee once completely setup. With Virtual Landline, you can start your VoIP journey from just £9.95 a month with our coveted Virtual Landline office package. This package is ideal for businesses that need more than one user and comes with a great range of benefits and features including Auto-Attendant, Office Hours routing and Voicemail-to-Email.
Why are virtual numbers in demand?
With readily available internet connections wherever we go through 4G and 5G, you can understand why virtual numbers are in demand, but is there anything in the landscape of communication that is pushing virtual numbers into the future?
Well, in 2025 all traditional landline connections will be swapped over to virtual phones. With the old landline system needing constant repair and using out-of-date hardware, the cost of maintaining the old landline has become too expensive.
Different types of virtual phone numbers
Local numbers
Local numbers are landline numbers that are assigned to a specific location of the country. A popular example of this would be Manchester's icon “0161” location prefix.
Every phone line in Manchester will begin with the number “0161”, but these special numbers can be obtained through VoIP.
National numbers
National numbers are phone numbers that do not represent a specific location of the country. These numbers are typically used by larger businesses that have customers up and down the UK.
To make your business appear nationally focused, why not pick up a virtual number that starts with the iconic prefixes of 01 or 02?
Free numbers
Free numbers are phone numbers that allow customers or potential clients to call your business for free. These numbers start with 0800 and can be typically found within small businesses or large companies' customer care departments.
These numbers are free for the caller, but the owner of the virtual number will pick up the bill for the user.
Transitioning from a single business phone number to a fully integrated phone system was a significant step, and Virtual Landline made the process seamless. Their platform offers a robust set of features—call routing, voicemail-to-email, multi-user support, and more—that were clearly explained and easy to implement. The onboarding process was smooth, and within just a few days, we began seeing improved efficiency and communication across the team. For any business seeking a scalable, cloud-based phone solution, Virtual Landline is a solid choice.
Kieran handled our recent transition to the new Virtual Landline call management system. The migration process of our business VoIP was smooth, and the onboarding video call to explain the system’s features and benefits was clear and informative. For anyone considering Virtual Landline as their VOIP service provider, rest assured—you’re making a reliable choice.
Virtual Landline made the setup process refreshingly simple. Their range of plans offers excellent flexibility and affordability, making it easy to find the right fit for your needs. What really stands out is the scalability of the service—it's reassuring to know that as my business grows, Virtual Landline has the features and support in place to grow alongside it. A smart choice for any business looking for reliable VOIP solutions.
Great to speak to a UK based call centre on the phone, Dan couldn't have been more helpful and friendly! Everything was explained clearly, and the switch over to Virtual Landline from my old copper landline went really smoothly. It did exactly what it promised. Really happy with how easy it all was.