Put the things someone needs to remember you and reach you: your name, job title, company, a photo, one phone number or email, and a Save Contact button. Then add two or three links that lead to a clear next step, like your LinkedIn profile, a portfolio or a booking page. Leave off your home address, your birthday and any number you don’t want strangers calling.
Start with what the phone saves
A digital business card ends up in someone’s address book as a vCard, the contact format defined in RFC 6350. Its fields are what Contacts apps know how to store, so it makes a good checklist:
| vCard field | What it holds | Put on your card? |
|---|---|---|
| FN | Your formatted name | Yes, it’s the only required field |
| TITLE | Your position or job | Yes |
| ORG | Company or organization | Yes |
| PHOTO | A photo | Yes |
| TEL / EMAIL | Phone and email | At least one |
| URL | A website link | One main link |
| NOTE | Supplemental information | A one-line description, optional |
| ADR | Delivery address | Only a work address people visit |
| BDAY | Birth date | No |
Only the name is required: FN “MUST be present in the vCard object”. For every other field, I ask whether the person who saved me will need it in three months, once they’ve forgotten where we met. A job title and a photo pass. A fax number doesn’t.
The essentials
Your name, written the way you use it. If everyone calls you Sam, put Sam. People search their contacts by the name they remember.
Job title and company. The standard separates TITLE (“the position or job”) from ROLE (“the function or part played in a particular situation”). Title is usually enough. If yours is vague, like “Associate”, add what you actually do in the one-line description: “Associate, commercial leasing”.
A photo. Paper cards never had room for one, and it’s what makes a contact recognizable. Use a clear, recent headshot, not a logo.
One way to reach you, done well. A single number you answer beats three numbers you sometimes check. If you prefer email, lead with email.
A Save Contact button. It turns a web page into a contact. Without it, people have to copy each field by hand, and they won’t.
Links: fewer than you think
Pick two or three, each with a clear next step:
- LinkedIn, for your work history
- A portfolio, product page or company site that shows what you make
- If you take meetings, a booking link
Add social accounts only if they’re part of your work. A designer’s Instagram belongs there. A sales manager’s holiday photos don’t. Every extra link is one more thing to skip past on the way to the one you care about.
What to leave off
A digital card is a public web page. Anyone with the link or a photo of your QR code can open it, which a paper card handed to one person never allowed.
So leave off your home address, your birthday and personal numbers you don’t want shared widely. Apple made the same call. It says NameDrop shares only your name, the phone number or email address you choose, and that details like your home address or birthday aren’t shared. Your card should be at least that careful.
A real example
A real estate agent sets up a card before an open house. Her first draft has a personal mobile, an office line, a fax number, a home office address, seven social links and a long bio.
The version that works has her name, “Real estate agent” with her agency’s name, a photo, the office line shown and her mobile behind a call button, a link to current listings, and a booking link for viewings. Visitors who scan the sign at the door can save her in one tap and book a viewing in two.
Matching the card to the setting
Bitly’s pros and cons write-up notes that a digital card “may feel too casual or impersonal in contexts where a formal exchange helps build trust.” What you put on it changes that. A law firm partner’s card should read like a letterhead: name, title, firm, office number, email. A freelance photographer’s can lead with a portfolio link.
Our guide on business card etiquette covers when to show the QR code and when to send the link. Sales people should read why sales professionals need a digital business card, which covers capturing leads.
How QRCard handles this
QRCard cards have the fields above, and the Save Contact button gives people a standard .vcf file. You get up to 2 links on the free plan and 20 on Pro.
Phone, email and location each have three privacy settings: shown, button only (a call or email button appears, but the number or address itself isn’t displayed), or hidden. The real estate agent used button only for her mobile.
The limitation: 2 free links is too few for LinkedIn, a portfolio and a booking page. You pick two or pay for Pro.
Next, make a QR code for your business card, or compare plans on the pricing page.
FAQ
What is the minimum a digital business card needs?
Your name, what you do, and one way to reach you, plus a Save Contact button. The vCard standard only requires a formatted name, but a card with just a name is not useful to anyone you meet.
Should I put my personal phone number on a digital business card?
Only if you want calls on it. A digital card is a public web page, so anyone with the link can see what it shows. Use a work number, or a tool that shows a call button without displaying the number.
How many links should a digital business card have?
Two or three that lead somewhere useful, such as LinkedIn, a portfolio and a booking page. A long list makes people choose, and most will choose nothing.
Should I add a photo to my digital business card?
Yes. vCard has a PHOTO field, and a photo is what helps someone remember which of the people they met last week you were. Use a clear, recent headshot.
Do I need my home address on a business card?
No, and on a public page it is a privacy risk. Add a work address only if people actually need to visit you there.