The printed business card is no longer the measure of all things. With online business cards, data can be transferred much faster and more reliably. Learn more here about the possibilities of sharing your data digitally. We also provide an overview of which providers are suitable for online business cards.
Online business cards, often also called digital or electronic business cards, make it possible to transfer contact data directly to the smartphone address book or email contacts.
Online business cards are becoming increasingly popular because they have numerous advantages over conventional business cards:
Essentially, two types of online business cards can be distinguished on the basis of data transmission: Cards with QR code and cards with NFC technology.
QR codes can be easily scanned with a smartphone or tablet camera to retrieve information. The QR code can then be used to redirect to a website or contact file. You can simply print the QR code on a business card.
NFC technology makes it possible to transfer data completely contactless. For this purpose, a chip card is embedded in the business card, which transmits data using Near Field Communication (NFC) technology. This allows data to be transmitted via radio waves over distances of up to 10 cm. The NFC chip is protected from dirt and moisture by the card, which can be conveniently stored in a wallet. All modern devices produced since 2018 support NFC as standard. Just to be sure, you can check our list of supported NFC devices.
A business card with a QR code is rather old school. Because this is also printed in the end. The data to which the QR code leads can be customized, but the business card design and the code itself cannot. With NFC business cards, you remain much more flexible and can take full advantage of the benefits of online business cards. Of course, cards with an NFC chip are more expensive than printed business cards with a QR code.
Depending on the type of online business card you choose, there are different providers to consider. Most of them specialize in specific business card products.
NFC World specializes in the production of NFC products, including NFC business cards. Personalization is relatively expensive and only possible to a limited extent.
You can have all kinds of print products printed at particularly low prices via Flyeralarm. The print giant also offers the printing of business cards with QR codes and special NFC cards. Numerous finishing options are also available, from soft touch to metallic foil. However, Flyeralarm specializes in printing rather than design, so you have to take care of the design yourself. What's more, you only get the print product from this provider, but not a profile in which you can manage your online business card. You would need an additional provider for this.
vistaprint is also a classic print provider that only offers a limited range of online business cards. Numerous customizable design templates are available via the business card designer, so that an appealing design is possible even without a graphic designer. However, vistaprint only offers the option of printing a QR code on online business cards. This must be managed externally.
With YourVCard, you can easily create a contact profile with all the relevant information about you and your company. You can then print this on your business card using a QR code. Unfortunately, YourVCard does not offer a connection with an NFC card.
Specializing in the production of networking products based on NFC technology, baningo also offers online business cards with an NFC chip. Unfortunately, personalization of the carrier card is quite expensive. In the basic version, only a monochrome black or white design without a logo can be selected.
Lemontaps offers online business cards with an NFC chip. You can store your data on the card via an online profile. Personalization is possible, but relatively expensive even for simple plastic cards.
You can create a digital business card free of charge via Becard.me. Monthly costs are only incurred if you want to use additional functions and an NFC carrier card. Particularly practical: you can store two profiles on your NFC business card, for example a private and a professional profile, and switch between them effortlessly. In addition to standard designs, you can also create a customized look using the online designer. However, this option is significantly more expensive.
With Spreadly, you can create online business cards easily and inexpensively. You can create and use your digital business card free of charge in the basic version. For a monthly fee, you can create a carrier card with a customized design and NFC chip for your digital business card and activate additional functions.
Strengths of the online business card from Spreadly