It is important for any business to make a stunning first impression, introduce themselves and share contact information with customers. Sure, you can do this on your business website(s) and customers can bookmark your business to their favorites, so they can come back to your site in the future. But if you have a physical store and want customers to remember your business and/or contact information and refer friends, you want something for them to keep for future references. This is where business cards come in handy. Business cards also serves the purpose of identifying your employees and what they do for the company. This could be extremely important to certain customers as it gives them a personal connection of who can help them with their needs, which could potentially make them a loyal customer and coming back to your business again and again.
What information should a business card contain?
Business Logo:
First and foremost, you will need a business logo because it makes your business unique and distinguishes you from others in the industry. If you don’t care to have a logo, then you don’t even have to think about it and if you already have a logo that you’ve created, then you should be all set. But if you need help in creating a logo, there are DIY templates and design companies that can help you. Keep reading and scroll down to find out our recommended options for help. In the meantime, keep these tips in mind when creating your logo:
- Match your logo to your business industry
- Focus on your message
- Make it clean and functional
- Use your logo to illustrate your business’s key benefits
Once you have a logo created, you may also want to consider trademarking it or getting a patent.
Contact information:
Since business cards are cards bearing business information about a company or individual, it should typically include:
- The company or employee’s name
- Street address
- Telephone numbers
- Fax numbers (this is optional since we now live in the online era)
- Email addresses
- Social media addresses such as Facebook, Linkedin, Twitter, etc.
What other characteristics should you think about?
Construction:
There are many forms a business card can be printed on. Here are a few to choose from:
- Card Stock. This is the most commonly form and card stocks can be full colored or coated with a UV glossy coat.
- Magnets. This style of business card allows your customers to put your business card on their refrigerator or similar material for easy storage and access when they need to call you. If you already have business cards that are printed on card stock but want the magnetic look, you can use Self-Adhesive Magnets to stick it on there.
- Compact Disc (CD). Business card CDs may be square, round or oblong but are approximately the same size as a conventional business card. CD business cards are designed to fit within the 80mm tray of a computer’s CD-ROM drive and can hold about 35-100MG of data.
- Plastic. There are also business cards made from plastic (PVC), especially frosted translucent plastic, crystal clear plastic, white or metallic plastic. This type of construction may have the look and feel of a credit card.
Dimensions:
Business cards can come in an array of shapes and sizes. There is no standard for the business card dimensions. However, having your business card match the dimensions of credit cards makes storage easier for customers. The tricky part is that every country has different credit card dimensions, so you may have to choose a size based on the country. To help you, here’s a list of countries and their standard credit card dimensions:
| Country/Standard | Dimensions (mm) | Dimensions (in) |
|---|---|---|
| Ireland, Italy, United Kingdom, France, Germany, Austria, Netherlands, Spain, Switzerland, Belgium, Slovenia, Portugal, Turkey | 85 × 55 | 3.346 × 2.165 |
| Australia, Denmark, New Zealand, Norway, Taiwan, Sweden, Vietnam, India, Colombia | 90 × 55 | 3.54 × 2.165 |
| Japan | 91 × 55 | 3.582 × 2.165 |
| Hong Kong, China, Singapore, Malaysia | 90 × 54 | 3.543 × 2.125 |
| Canada, United States | 88.9 × 50.8 | 3.5 × 2 |
| Iran | 85 × 48 | 3.346 × 1.889 |
| Sri Lanka, Argentina, India, Brazil, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Costa Rica, Czech Republic, Croatia, Estonia, Finland, Hungary, Israel, Kazakhstan, Lithuania, Poland, Romania, Russia, Serbia, Montenegro, Slovakia, Ukraine, Uzbekistan, Bulgaria, Latvia, Mexico, South Korea and South Africa | 90 × 50 | 3.543 × 1.968 |
Best Business Card Creators:
Here are the top companies we have identified that can help you build your logo, design or print your business cards:
- Vistaprint. Not only do they print or let you design your business cards, they can also help you create your own personal logo with a free DIY template or for $90 with a special graphic designer assigned to you.
- Zazzle. Best for those that already have a logo created and just need to design the business card.
- Shutterfly. If you don’t need a logo and just want a nice, simple business card, then this company is for you as they only have the basic features in creating or printing business cards.
- Moo. Best for those that already have a logo created and just need to design the business card. They have many selection of paper construction, sizes and special finishes. If you already have a full design or layout you want to use, you can upload that or use their free templates or start your design from scratch.