Link buttons in a funnel — through Craft or direct
How to make a button in a Telegram funnel open a bot, channel or another funnel's step right away, with no browser, and what stops working when you do.
How it works#
A link button in a Telegram funnel message has two modes, just like broadcast buttons.
- With stats: the tap goes through Craft. We count it on the funnel map, apply click tags, run the action and send the person on to your link. The cost is that a Telegram link first opens in the built-in browser instead of going straight to the bot or channel.
- Direct puts your link into the button as is. Telegram opens
t.me,telegram.meand@namelinks right inside the app, with no browser.
🔴 On a "Direct" button, click tags, the action on tap and click counting don't work: the tap doesn't go through Craft, so we never hear about it. If you need tags, keep "With stats" or set the tag on the next funnel step.
💡 Buttons created before September 13 work as before: without tags or an action they open directly, and the panel shows them as "Direct". To see their taps, choose "With stats".
How to choose the mode#
- Open the funnel in the builder and click the button in a message.
- In the panel on the right, choose the "Link" action and paste the address.
- A "With stats / Direct" choice sits under the address field from the start. Pick the one you want — even before you paste the link.
🔴 Paste the link in full: https://t.me/your_bot, t.me/your_bot or @your_bot. The editor highlights a broken direct link in red, and when sending we still route it through Craft — otherwise Telegram would reject the whole message.
A button that leads to another funnel's step#
- In the same panel, click "Funnel step".
- Pick a funnel, then a step or "From the start".
The button gets that step's link and its mode switches to "Direct". The person taps it and the bot sends the chosen step.
⚠️ A funnel that's turned off doesn't start from a link — it's marked in the list, so turn it on.
In an Instagram funnel the same button is called "Insert Telegram funnel link": it takes the person from Instagram to your Telegram bot at the chosen step. Instagram buttons have no "Direct" choice — Instagram opens links in its built-in browser anyway.
If it doesn't work#
| What you see | Cause and what to do |
|---|---|
| A Telegram link opens in the browser | The button is set to "With stats" and has tags, an action or click counting. Choose "Direct". |
| The tag wasn't applied on tap | The button is set to "Direct". Switch back to "With stats" or set the tag on the next step. |
| The step button doesn't start anything | The funnel is turned off. Turn it on. |
| The link field is highlighted in red | The address is incomplete or has a space in it. Paste it in full. |