What to Put on a Digital Business Card: Fields, Links and Examples

A digital business card should include what someone needs to remember you, contact you and take a next step. That means a short list of essentials, a few links and one call to action.

The essentials

• Photo: a recent, recognizable head-and-shoulders shot.
• Full name: as you want it saved in contacts.
• Job title: one people will understand.
• Company: with logo.
• Phone: the one number you actually answer.
• Email: your work address.
• Website: company site or personal site.

The extras

• Two to four links: LinkedIn, portfolio, WhatsApp, booking calendar.
• A one-line headline: what you do or who you help.
• One call-to-action button: book, message, see work.
• Location: city, or office address if people visit you.

Why less is more

A card with seven essentials and one clear action is easier to scan, faster to save and more likely to lead to a follow-up than one with 15 links. Every extra item competes for attention on a small phone screen.

If you have not built your card yet, follow how to create a digital business card alongside this list.

Type your details exactly as you want them to appear in someone else's phone. When people tap save, your card creates a vCard contact file, and every field is copied as written.

Name

• Use your full professional name: "Priya Nair", not "Priya N." or a nickname.
• If you use a preferred name professionally, use it consistently across your email and LinkedIn.
• Do not add role or company in the name field; those have their own fields.

Phone

• Include the country code, written in international format, such as +44 20 7946 0000 or +1 415 555 0100. This lets people abroad call or message you without editing the number.
• Add only one main number. A second labeled number (office, mobile) is fine if both are answered.

Email

• Use a work address on your own domain where possible.
• Avoid shared inboxes unless the card is for a department, such as a reception or support card.

Title and company

• Use titles people outside your company understand. "Account Executive, Enterprise" works; internal codes like "AE2-EMEA" do not.
• Use the company name customers know.

Test the saved contact

Save your own card on an iPhone and an Android phone and open the new contact. Check every field. vCard formats (versions 3.0 and 4.0 are both common) are widely supported, but a quick test catches surprises.

Add the two to four links people are most likely to use after meeting you. Choose by role and audience, not by which profiles you happen to have.

Strong choices for most professionals

• LinkedIn: the default professional profile for many industries.
• Company website or a specific product page.
• Booking calendar: lets people schedule without back-and-forth.
• WhatsApp: valuable where customers prefer messaging.

By role

• Designers and photographers: portfolio, Instagram or Behance.
• Developers: GitHub and a personal site.
• Consultants: case studies page and booking link.
• Real estate agents: current listings and WhatsApp.
• Recruiters: open roles page and LinkedIn.
• Founders: company site, a deck or demo link, and a calendar.

Links to skip

• Personal social accounts you would not show a client.
• Profiles you have not updated in a year.
• Duplicate links to the same place.
• Long-form pages that do not work well on mobile.

When you need more than a card

If you want to show services, case studies and media in more depth, use a digital profile page alongside your card. The card stays short; the profile holds the detail.

A good photo makes you recognizable later; a good headline tells people in one line why to keep your contact. Together they do more for recall than any other part of the card.

Photo checklist

• Recent: it should look like you do now.
• Head and shoulders, face clearly visible.
• Plain or softly blurred background.
• Even, natural light.
• Square or close to square, so it crops cleanly in a circle.
• Professional but approachable for your industry.

A logo instead of a photo works for shared or department cards, but for individuals, a face is more memorable.

Headline formula

Try: what you do + who for + result. Keep it under about 80 characters.

• "Helping dental clinics cut no-shows with automated reminders"
• "Brand identity for food and drink startups"
• "Selling family homes in North Leeds since 2015"
• "Hiring product engineers for fintech teams"

Avoid

• Buzzword lists such as "Strategic visionary, growth hacker, thought leader".
• Repeating your job title.
• Long paragraphs. Your card is read in seconds.

Choose one main call to action: the most useful next step for someone who has just met you. Make it a large button with a verb and a clear result.

Examples by goal

• Get meetings: "Book a 20-minute call".
• Show work: "See my portfolio".
• Start a conversation: "Message me on WhatsApp".
• Generate leads: "Get a quote".
• Hire: "View open roles".
• Sell property: "See my listings".

Make it easy to tap

• Place it high on the card, below your name and details.
• One primary button, styled in your brand color.
• Secondary links smaller and further down.

Ask for their details too

Turn on contact exchange, so visitors can share their name, email and phone with you in one short form. CardDeck saves each contact with its source and a consent record, ready to tag and export. See contact management.

Leave off anything you would not hand to a stranger, anything out of date, and anything that distracts from your main action. Your card is designed to be forwarded, so treat it as public.

Leave off

• Home address. Use a city, office address or nothing.
• Personal phone numbers you do not want shared widely.
• Personal social accounts, unless they are part of your work.
• Date of birth, ID numbers or other personal identifiers.
• Old roles and dead links.
• Long lists of skills or certifications. Link to a profile or case studies instead.

Think about forwarding

People forward digital cards to colleagues, which is useful, but it means your details travel further than a paper card would. If you want a card for a narrow audience, such as investors, create a separate card with only what that audience needs. Pro includes five cards.

Privacy settings

Profiles can be public, link-only or hidden from search engines. If you do not want your card indexed by search engines, choose that setting.

Here are six worked examples showing how the same structure adapts to different jobs. Each has essentials, a few links and one action.

Sales account executive

Photo, name, "Account Executive, Enterprise", company, mobile, email, LinkedIn, company product page. Action: "Book a demo". Contact exchange on.

Freelance designer

Photo, name, "Brand identity for food startups", email, WhatsApp, portfolio, Instagram. Action: "See my work". See digital cards for freelancers.

Consultant

Photo, name, "Operations consultant for logistics firms", email, phone, LinkedIn, case studies. Action: "Book a discovery call".

Real estate agent

Photo, name, agency and license line if required locally, mobile, WhatsApp, listings page, reviews page. Action: "See my listings".

Recruiter

Photo, name, "Technical recruiter, fintech", email, LinkedIn, open roles page. Action: "View open roles". Contact exchange on, so candidates can share a CV link.

Founder

Photo, name, "Co-founder and CEO", company site, email, LinkedIn, calendar, deck link. Action: "Book a call".

Start from a template

Every one of these fits a standard template. Browse business card templates and fill in your own version.

Yes. A company or team card follows a shared template with required fields, while a personal or freelance card can be shaped entirely around you. The core fields are the same, but who controls them differs.

On a company card

• Logo, colors and layout are set by the company and usually locked.
• Company website, product links and a standard booking or contact page are often pre-filled.
• You add your photo, direct number, territory and personal booking link.
• Contacts captured through the card belong to the company workspace, so they stay with the business if you move on.

On a personal or freelance card

• You choose the design, links and call to action.
• You can run more than one card for different audiences or businesses.
• Contacts you capture are yours.

If you have both

Many people keep a company card for work and a personal card for a side business, speaking or community roles. Keep each focused on its audience, and do not mix company and personal links on the same card. Teams can manage everyone's company cards from one place with digital business cards for teams.

Share your card wherever you already exchange details, and use the same link everywhere so updates reach everyone.

Sharing checklist

• QR code saved to your phone's photos for in-person meetings.
• Email signature with a card link and small QR image.
• Paper cards with a QR code on the back, if you still use them.
• NFC card or tag for a one-tap handover.
• LinkedIn contact info and other bios.
• Slides and proposals: the last slide, the footer of a proposal.

If you only want to share contact details

A plain vCard QR code saves your name, phone and email directly, without a web page. It is quick but static: if your details change, the code is out of date. A digital business card gives you a photo, links, an action, analytics and updates.

Review regularly

Set a reminder every quarter to check your card. Update your title, links and booking page, and remove anything that no longer applies. Create or update your card with the digital business card maker.