How to customise your digital business card so it looks like your brand

How to customise your digital business card so it looks like your brand — Online Business Cards

By Online Business Cards Editorial Team | Published | Updated | Setting up your card

Customising a digital card is less about colours and more about decisions: what people should see first, what to leave out and what you want them to do next. Ten steps, in order.

A digital business card is a small web page about you. Customising it well is mostly about decisions rather than decoration: what someone should see in the first few seconds, what you can leave out, and what you want them to do next. Get those right and the visual choices become much easier.

Here are ten steps, in the order we suggest doing them.

1. Decide what the person scanning should do

Before you open the editor, finish this sentence: "When someone opens my card, I want them to..." For a consultant it might be "book a call". For a tradesperson, "ring me". For a photographer, "look at my work". That one action decides what goes at the top and which button gets the most attention.

2. Gather your material first

Collect everything in one folder before you start:

  • a recent photo of you, and your logo if you have one
  • your name, role, company and the contact details you want to share
  • links to your website and social profiles
  • any documents, such as a brochure, price list or CV
  • three to six photos of your work, products or premises

Having it ready means you build the profile in one sitting rather than leaving gaps.

3. Choose a template

Our profiles are built in the profile editor, which has more than 30 templates. Choose one for how it presents your photo, name and main button rather than its colours. You can change template later without losing what you have added, so it is fine to start with one and try others once your content is in.

4. Add your photo and logo

People remember faces, so a clear photo of you usually does more than a logo alone. Use a recent, well-lit head-and-shoulders photo against a plain background, cropped so your face is not tiny on a phone screen. If you are a business rather than an individual, add your logo as well, and pick a template that suits your brand colours.

5. Write a headline people understand

Under your name, say what you do in plain words, for someone who has never heard of you:

  • "Kitchen fitter, Leeds and surrounding area" works better than "Bespoke interior solutions".
  • "Employment lawyer for small businesses" works better than "Legal professional".

Keep it to one line, and use the same wording as your LinkedIn headline and email signature.

6. Put the important sections first

Use the contact display settings to choose which details appear and in what order, so your most useful contact method comes first. Then use the visibility and order settings to arrange the rest of the profile around your main action. A typical order for a service business is details, services, gallery, testimonials, documents. Hide any section you have nothing to put in; an empty heading looks unfinished.

7. Add proof carefully

Real evidence helps people trust you:

  • Gallery. Your own work, products or premises, not stock photos.
  • Testimonials. Short quotes from clients who have agreed to be quoted, with their first name and business if they are happy for you to use them.
  • Documents. A brochure or price list that answers common questions.

Never invent reviews or quotes. Besides being dishonest, fake reviews are banned under UK consumer law. Our list of common digital business card mistakes covers other things that undermine trust.

8. Keep it readable

Most people will open your card on a phone, often standing up:

  • Keep paragraphs short and avoid walls of text.
  • Do not put important information only inside images; text in a picture can be hard to read and is invisible to screen readers.
  • Check that text is easy to read against the background of the template you chose.
  • Use clear link text such as "Price list (PDF)" rather than "Click here".
  • Keep documents small enough to open quickly on mobile data.

9. Use password protection while you build

If you want to share your card only when it is finished, password protection keeps it private until you are ready. Remove the password before you start sharing the link or QR code widely.

10. Test it like a stranger would

Open the card on your own phone, then send it to a friend and ask them to:

  1. scan the QR code with their camera
  2. save you to their contacts
  3. tap each button and link
  4. tell you what they think you do, in one sentence

If their sentence does not match your headline, adjust it. After you start sharing, check the analytics now and then to see how often your card is opened.

Why personalisation matters

People remember people, not layouts. When someone opens your card a week after meeting you, they are trying to place you. A recognisable photo and a line in your own words do that far better than a job title on a stock background. It builds trust. A card with real details, such as who you work with, where you are based and how you like to be contacted, reads as a real person or business. A card full of placeholder text and unused sections does the opposite. It helps the right people choose you. A personalised card says who you are for. That helps the people you want to work with, and saves time with those you do not. It makes the next step obvious. When the card is built around how you actually work, the main button is the thing you want people to do, not whatever the template put first.

Personalisation, branding and design are different things

These overlap, but it helps to keep them apart:

  • Branding is how your card looks: logo, colours and type. Our guide to brand identity on a digital business card covers it.
  • Customisation is using the editor's settings: templates, sections and buttons. See our guide to customising your card.
  • Personalisation is making the content about you and the people who read it. That is what this guide is about.

Where to stop

Personalisation is not sharing everything. Leave off your home address, your date of birth and personal social accounts you would not want a client to see. Our guide to digital business card privacy goes through what to share and what to leave off.

Be careful with claims, too. "Friendly, local and reliable" is fine; "the best in the county" or a rating you cannot back up is not.

Three quick examples

  • A family solicitor leads with a calm photo, a headline naming the kind of cases she handles, and a button to book a first call.
  • A personal trainer leads with a short video in the gallery, his training areas and a WhatsApp button.
  • A salon owner leads with the price list and the booking button. Our guide for hair, beauty and wellness businesses goes further.

Keep the same look everywhere

Your card will be seen alongside your email signature, your LinkedIn profile and anything you print. Use the same photo, wording and colours across all of them. Our guide to adding your card to your email signature shows how to link them.

Customising the look is half the job. Our guide to why personalisation matters covers making the content about you and the people who read it.

What you can change, and when it matters

What to change | When it matters most | Where

Template | When you set up or rebrand | Templates

Photo and logo | Always; it is the first thing people see | Details

Headline and bio | Always | Details

Section order | When your main offer changes | Visibility and order

What each plan lets you customise

Brand Presence (£45, one-off) includes templates, details, social links, gallery, documents, products, testimonials, a blog, contact display, visibility and order, password protection and analytics. The Business Plan (£90, one-off) adds the business tools: forms and enquiries you design, bookings, reviews, contact leads, subscribers, a CRM, a card scanner and export. See the online business card page for the full list.

Read next: What to put on a digital business card and Writing your digital business card headline and bio. You can also browse all our guides.

Frequently asked questions

Can I change my template later?

Yes. You can switch template later without losing the content you have added.

Can I hide sections I do not use?

Yes. The visibility and order settings let you hide sections and change the order of the ones you show.

Can I keep my card private until it is ready?

Yes. Password protection keeps your profile private until you remove it.

Can I choose my own fonts and exact colours?

Layout and style options depend on the template you pick, and we have not listed every option here. If a particular font or colour matters to your brand, contact us before you order and we will check.

What should I personalise first?

Start with your photo and headline, since they are the first things people see. Then hide sections you will not keep up to date, and put the most useful button first.

How much personal information should I put on my card?

Only what you are happy for anyone with the link to see. Work contact details are usually enough; leave off your home address and anything you would not tell a stranger.