Many things in life have gone digital, either because of their efficiency, pandemic, or both. And one thing I’m personally very happy to see digitalized is business cards.

While business cards remain relevant in the corporate world for networking and sharing contact details with those you share mutual interests with, paper business cards are no longer the way.

In fact, traditional business cards have never really been the way.

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And if you’re wondering if digital business cards are worth it, think about the following things: 

1. People have nowhere to stash physical cards since they stopped carrying wallets. Even if they have one, it’s probably filled with more personal items, and they wouldn’t want to fill it with random business cards. 
2. People will rarely recycle the cards they don’t want to use, so you end up unintentionally harming the environment.
3. You have a lot more opportunities to customize and keep your virtual business card up to date with the relevant information. If you need to update anything on a print version, you need to discard the old ones and create a whole new batch. 

All these and more have given rise to the popularity of virtual business cards.

This guide will highlight your best options to create and share digital business cards easily.

1. Haystack

Haystack was founded in 2014 by three brothers and a friend. The aim was to create a better alternative to physical business cards, and it’s safe to say they’ve achieved their targets.

This electronic business card maker helps individuals and businesses connect with family, friends, colleagues, and business partners all over the world. It is currently one of the most popular electronic business card makers, with services in over 60 countries.

There are numerous templates to choose from. Select the one that appeals to you. 

Design the digital business card to your taste with the company logo and brand colors, and add social media links. 

After that, you can get a link to share your e-business card.

You can also sync to your phone easily by downloading the Haystack app.

Other notable features

• Business card scanner. Have several paper cards to store in the address book? Do so quickly and conveniently with the card scanner from Haystack.
• Email signature opportunities. Getting multiple services from a single tool is always a good idea. With haystack, you can adjust your digital business card and use it as an email signature.

• Integrations with numerous other tools. Haystack integrates easily with several CRM, messaging, email, and schedule planning tools. That includes Hubspot, Salesforce, Gmail, LinkedIn, Slack, Calandly, Twitter, etc.
• Analytics lets you know what’s happening behind the scenes. Haystack analytics tells you how people receive and share your virtual business card, as well as other essential details you should know.

Pricing

Haystack is free for individuals who want to create unlimited e-business cards. However, businesses who want additional features, like analytics and CRM integration, can opt for the Business pricing plan starting at $7.95/month. 

2. HiHello

HiHello came to life in 2018, courtesy of Manu Kumar and Hari Ravi. They are passionate about helping people connect, which is evident in the offerings from HiHello. This e-business card maker lets you create quick digital cards and provides multiple ways to share them.

Using the digital card scanner, you may also convert physical business cards into digital equivalents. However, what stands HiHello out is the freedom that lets you express yourself or represent your brand with colors, logos, a QR code, etc.

Getting started is also relatively straightforward. First, you need to input basic information like name, contact details, company, picture, etc. 

And you’re all set to start connecting. There are also multiple styles to choose from. 

You can even add your virtual business card to your Gmail, Outlook, Apple Mail, etc., as an email signature. To add to Gmail, copy the link and click on the settings icon on Gmail. Navigate till you find “Signature,” click to add a signature, and paste. Then, save changes to start using. 

Other notable features

• Quick email signature optimization. As stated earlier, you can add your digital business card to your emails to make them look professional and make it easy for recipients to reach you.
• Smart address book. HiHello helps you keep track of all your connections. The contact manager arranges people you meet, and live contacts enable you to stay connected.
• Customize and use groups. Since you can create multiple business cards, HiHello will group your contacts, so you know what kind of relationship exists with each contact.
• Analytics exportation. HiHello has a contact export function that should come in handy if you need your contacts for other purposes.

Pricing

HiHello’s pricing is one of the most affordable around. There’s a free plan that allows limited electronic business cards, but with plans starting at just $3/month, you can make as many digital business cards as you want.

3. SwitchIt

SwitchIt is a digital business card app available on the two major handheld device platforms and on the web for others. It is a very powerful tool that packs a lot of cool features. However, what makes SwitchIt stand out is its additional video marketing function.

To create an electronic business card with video marketing, register on the SwitchIt website or download the apps. Next, select a name for your first business card, enter other details, and set social media accounts to add. 

Then, click on “Add Video” and select the right one from your gallery. 

Then, share the electronic business card or accept others. You can also sync contacts with your CRM software.

Other notable features

• Availability on multiple platforms for free. Giving you access to unlimited ease, SwitchIt lets you create and manage digital business cards on the web or through Android and iPhone apps.
• Image and video integration. You know all the benefits that come with videos. SwitchIt lets you add marketing, intro videos, or images to your electronic business cards to help you get to prospective customers easily.
• Multiple branding attachments. You may also add documents, flyers, etc., either to make your business card stand out, make a quick transition into the next connection stage and keep your contact details up to date. 
• Digital card scanner. You can also easily convert a physical business card to digital cards with the card scanner.

Pricing

While SwitchIt is available for free on all platforms, you can only create four virtual business cards. To get more, you have to pay a fee of $6.99 for the Premium plan, which also gives you an electronic card scanner, custom themes, image and video attachments, etc.

4. About.me

About.me is one of my favorite ones because of its incredible features and seamless platform. This is an all-in-one digital business card maker that helps you generate quality leads while giving you ways to connect with them.

Not only does this tool let you build a professional business card and email signatures, but it also lets you add valuable call-to-actions, domains, testimonials, and schedule appointments.

When you enter your name, job description, location, and interests, About.me crafts a short bio, and you can pick from three designs. 

Then, it opens you up to a world of opportunities. You can adjust your bio, link to an email, or add your domain on the right-hand side panel. 

To set an appointment, click on the option and select any of the CTAs below. 

Then, you just have to connect to your Google Calendar to finish the setup for anyone who wants to book a session with you. To capture leads or build an email list, you can choose any of these options before connecting to a Google Sheets account.

You can also add testimonials, work portfolios, or embed an intro video. 

Other notable features

• Email signature. Email signatures let you include our details in every mail you send. 
• Capture leads with the spotlight button. The spotlight button is valuable for introducing contacts to your work and generating leads. It features a CTA that directs them to different sections of your work.

• Customized search results. It’s crucial to control how you appear on search results. About.me can help you achieve that when you subscribe to the Pro plan.
• Valuable information with Google Analytics. Another feature available with the Pro plan, Google Analytics, gives an overview of everything around your digital business card so that you can adjust appropriately.

Pricing

About.me’s pricing is as straightforward as it gets. There’s a free plan for the basics and a Pro plan starting at $6.58/month for all the advanced features. 

5. Knowee

Digital business cards ordinarily contribute to eradicating the harm done to the environment by reducing carbon imprint. Yet, it’s fulfilling to find companies that take this seriously, like Knowee. 

Knowee is one of the leading virtual business card makers that helps you digitize how mobile business cards are created and exchanged. It is a great app focused on building business and personal relationships for users. 

To make the process seamless, Knowee has close to 40 templates you can choose from. You can also add several data fields to get all the details.

Other notable features

• Analytics and metrics. Through centralized card management, the analytics keeps you informed about essential statistics, whether concerning your card or those of all employees.
• Video marketing function. Knowee grants access to multiple file types so you can express yourself better. Hence, you can add videos, various links, images, etc.
• Data security. Knowee keeps your data safe using URL masking and SSO authentication.
• Data export feature. In case you need the information on your contact database for anything, you can extract it all by exporting it as a .CSV file.

Pricing

Knowee has an affordable pricing system. It lets individuals create digital business cards for free using any of the templates. However, there are ads that you can escape with the team plan at €2.49/month or the Business plan at €0.9/month for each user. 

6. CarmCard

While CamCard is not a virtual business card maker like others, I decided to include it because of its powerful features. It does not let you make an e-business card from scratch. Instead, it is super helpful for bringing your card and the ones you’ve collected together.

The upside is you have the freedom to create digital business cards as you want them on any platform. CamCard allows you to share contact details with others, collect physical and electronic business cards, and organize everything from a single workspace.

Start by capturing cards with the card scanner. Its scanner is pretty effective for capturing all information and saving it. 

Next, you can share your information and organize all accepted cards securely. To exchange business cards, you’d need a secret code that only those you want to share your card with will know. 

From here, you can manage cards smartly and get more information about those in your contact list.

Other notable features

• Easy database creation. With CamCard, you can enter data quickly and accurately in the company database simply by scanning their business card. 

Smart and easy workplace collaboration. CamCard has a collaboration feature for teams and organizations. It helps them work together through easy sharing and task delegation through their roles. 

• CRM integration. Like most electronic business card apps, CamCard integrates and syncs with CRM tools like Salesforce, Google Contacts, SugarCRM, Outlook, etc.

Pricing

You can use CamCard for free, but you’d have to fight off some ads. Ads-free CamCard is available starting from $21/month for the Premium plan. The Professional plan at $25/month is the other plan that makes up CamCard pricing. 

7. Kado

Thinking of bringing all your contacts together from multiple points? Then, think Kado. Kado is another robust business card software that helps you stay connected with people that matter.

One of its top features is rounding up contacts from mailing and CRM programs like Salesforce, HubSpot, Outlook, and Google. However, it offers many digital business card basics and a few extras. 

When building your digital business card, you can let it reflect your brand identity with a background image and a color palette of four colors.  

There are also options to add a CTA for generating leads and embedding a marketing or introductory video. 

Other notable features

• Integration and contact syncing from multiple sources. Don’t worry if all your contacts are scattered across CRM tools. Kado can bring them all together through contact syncing and integration. 
• Never miss anything with Kado notes. With so much information to remember about each contact or during meetings, notes help you jot things down for future revisions. 
• Leverage LinkedIn for even more. Since LinkedIn is a network of prospects and business partners, it only makes sense to use its information to your advantage. And with Kado, you don’t have to do any extra work.
• Keep your privacy intact. Care for an extra layer of privacy? Kado lets you make contacts, notes, and critical information private.

Pricing

There are two pricing plans alongside the free plan. The more popular option is perfect for teams at just $3.71/month, while the Business plan goes for $7.48/month. 

Conclusion 

It is said that change is the only constant. Therefore, it should be no surprise that digital solutions and other newer technologies continue to spring up from time to time.

Physical business cards have been an essential part of the networking journey for a long time. However, the harmful effects of cutting down trees for production, among other reasons, have necessitated the need for other options. 

And in digital business cards, we have an alternative that doesn’t only eliminate the downsides but also presents a much better way that aligns with present-day realities. 

You can easily create and exchange cards or even add them to your emails as an email signature. This way, you can save more cards and make more meaningful connections. 

It is even better since these digital business card platforms offer more value. For instance, HiHello and About.me are great apps for capturing leads, while SwitchIt and Knowee help with video marketing. 

Haystack helps with scheduling appointments, and Kado is perfect for taking notes. 

Whether you just want the essential business card functions or are looking for more, these tools should be just what you need.