Twitter Direct Message button now available for any website

Twitter is adding a new message button to its set of publishing tools that can be added to external sites, meaning it could potentially start popping up all over the web.

The tool lets users connect with their favourite brands and businesses from their personal websites using Twitter’s direct message function.

Businesses that wish to add the feature will first need to create a Twitter account, then provide their profile URL, or username, and user ID to get started.

Brands can then embed the button directly on their website, which when clicked by a visitor (or customer) will allow them to get in touch with the brand via Twitter.

The move makes sense as an extension of the platform’s core live chat experience, and will help Twitter play catch-up to rival Facebook, which already has a comments plugin for websites.

Twitter’s message button is now available alongside its other plugins, which include an embedded grid for multimedia stories, embedded tweet, and embedded timeline.