6 Ways to Send a Text From Your Computer | SimpleTexting (2023)

There are still people out there who miss the Blackberry. Seriously, I’m not kidding.

And we get it. Big keyboards are comfortable to type on. But to those people, I say — you know you can text from your computer, right?

There are a few different ways you can turn your laptop or desktop into an SMS messenger, the most important of which we’ll lay out for you today.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

• Send a Text Message From an Online Platform
• Send a Text Through Email
• Send a Text With iMessage
• Send a Text With Messages for Web
• Send a Text With Google Voice
• Send a Text With Free SMS Websites
• Send a Text Using Your Wireless Carrier’s Website
• Why Business Texting Software Is the Best Way to Text From a Computer
• Texting From Your Computer FAQs

1. Send a Text Through an Online Platform

You can use SimpleTexting to send text messages from a computer to one or more phone numbers. This is convenient if you want to mass text your clients or want to respond to text message conversations quickly.

1. Sign up for a SimpleTexting account.
2. Choose the number you want to text from. We can text-enable an existing local or toll-free number (or help you choose a new one) and walk you through verification for your toll-free number or registration for your local number.
3. Once you’re logged in to your SimpleTexting account, click on the Inbox tab in the left-hand menu.
4. Select New.
5. Enter the phone number of the number you want to text.
6. Type your message in the “Message” field, click the Send SMS button to send your text immediately, or choose the clock icon to schedule your message.

Other Ways to Use a Business Texting Platform

Online platforms like ours are used by businesses, educational institutions, nonprofits, and other organizations to send texts to individuals and large groups.

Our platform allows you to use SMS for customer support, recruiting, sales, and more from your computer or laptop.

You can also send and receive messages and create autoresponders, track and collect data, and even segment your audience by their common interests.

Integrate With Popular Business Tools

With most business texting platforms, you can also use third-party integrations to send texts from your computer.

First things first, you’ll want to choose a platform that integrates with Zapier.

With Zapier, you can set up custom triggers that send out a text to your contacts, like anytime a customer fills out your web form or buys a product from your online store.

2. Send a Text Through Email

As long as you have an email address and know the phone service provider relevant to who you’d like to text, you can send a text through email.

Here’s how it works:

1. Open a new email.
2. In the “To” line, type your contact’s 10-digit phone number.
3. Combine their 10-digit number with the applicable service carrier domain (listed below).
4. Type your message and click send. When a user responds, their text will appear in your email inbox.

Here are the necessary carrier codes to complete your emails:

In the end, it will end up looking a little something like this:

3. Send a Text With iMessage on a Mac

Since tools like iMessage have evolved to send texts through an internet connection, wireless carriers have recognized the ability to use the web to send messages.

Just remember, unless you choose to use a text marketing platform (see tip #3), then you need a cellphone plan to text from a laptop. Here’s how it works:

If you have an iPhone, you can send texts to other iPhones (and non iOS users) using the iMessage app. All you have to do is login to iCloud on both devices. You’ll be able to text other iPhones and Android users. (Though the messages to Android users will appear in the dreaded green bubble. 😉)

4. Send a Text With Messages for Web

Android users, don’t despair. We’re here for you too. Messages for Web is Google’s answer to the iMessage app. If you already use Google’s “Messages” app, getting set up is easy, just head to this site and scan the QR code.

Then, as long as both your Android phone and computer are connected to the internet, you can send text messages from your browser.

5. Send a Text With Google Voice

Sending texts with Google Voice is a great option if you’re specifically looking to have one-on-one text conversations using your computer.

All you need to do to get started is navigate to voice.google.com and open the Messages tab.

From there, click “Send a message” at the top of your screen, enter your contact’s phone number (you can even text small groups of up to 7 numbers), type out your message, and hit “Send.”

Google Voice also lets you read and respond to incoming messages through the same Messages tab you just used. You can even spice up your texts with images or GIFs as long as they stay under the 2 MB limit.

6. Send a Text With Free SMS Websites

There are also a number of websites out there that will let you send SMS messages for free.

Sites like OpenTestingOnline and Text’em will allow you to send text messages directly from their website to recipients with a cell phone at no charge.

A word of caution, though: These websites do come with some limitations. OpenTestingOnline, for example, does not support group messages and Text’em requires the sender to have an email account if they want to receive replies.

All that to say, do some research on your free SMS site to make sure it has all the features you need, and, as with anything free, read some reviews to make sure the site is secure and spam-free.

7. Send a Text Using Your Wireless Carrier’s Website

Did you know some major wireless service providers allow you to text directly from their website?

Carriers like Verizon and AT&T have online portals that make sending texts to other users in your network and receiving text messages right from your laptop easy.

If you navigate to your user account on your carrier’s website ー this would be your “My Verizon” or “My AT&T” page ー you can send and receive texts from other users on the same carrier. T-Mobile users also have the option to use the DIGITS site or desktop app.

Some carriers even have a desktop application like DIGITS that you can download to make the process faster.

There’s lots more to explore about text marketing. We suggest you start your journey by reading our ultimate guide to SMS marketing.

Carrier sites’ ability to send text blasts puts them in a different category than the previous two solutions, which are built for more individual use.

Why Business Texting Software Is the Best Way to Text From a Computer

You now have a lot of solid options for sending texts with your computer, but the question remains: Is one of these options better than the others?

Not to sound biased, but yes. An online SMS platform (business texting software) is the best way to go for businesses that want to run an effective texting strategy on the computer.

Why is a business texting platform superior to these other options? Here are a few reasons.

• All-in-one SMS marketing. You can keep your entire SMS marketing workflow in one tab. From scheduling mass texts to one-on-one conversations to measuring campaign performance with analytics, an SMS platform keeps every step of your communications in one hub.
• All your contacts in one place. Most SMS platforms will let you keep several contact lists (usually unlimited contact lists) in your account, meaning you can simply select a list when you want to send a mass text rather than typing in each phone number individually.
• Clarity in communications. Depending on the software you choose, you can have complete visibility into your entire team’s texting efforts from your account. You can see how your team members have been interacting with contacts, view internal notes left by your team, and more.
• More than just texting. If you pick a platform that offers apps and integrations, you can get into your Zapier, Shopify, or Salesforce integration from your texting account. You can also typically access any text polls, data collection series, or web forms you’ve created.

Texting From Your Computer FAQs

1. Can you text from a computer without a phone number?
   Yes! Solutions like business texting platforms, Google Voice, and email allow you to send texts without a physical cell phone.

2. Can I send an iMessage from my PC?
   Definitely. You can easily send iMessages using iCloud.

3. Can I text from Gmail?
   Yes, again. All you’ll need is an email address, a phone number to text, and the proper service carrier domain to plug in.

Start Texting From a Computer Today

Year after year, texting grows in popularity. It’s only natural that the ways to send and receive these messages grow and change as well.

Texting from your computer is especially helpful for businesses who want to do more than just send the occasional message, whether that means managing opt-in methods, organizing contacts, or scheduling texts in advance.

Want to try streamlined business texting for yourself? Try out SimpleTexting for 14 days, totally free.