What a digital business card is
A digital business card does the job of a paper card without the paper: it tells someone who you are and how to reach you. It lives at a web address of its own, so you can send it as a link in a message or an email, or show a QR code that opens it when someone points their camera at it.
Because it's a web page, it does things paper can't. The person you meet can tap to call you, email you, open your website or follow you on LinkedIn. They can save your details to their phone's contacts in one step. And if you change jobs or numbers, you edit the card once and every copy you've ever shared shows the new version.
With Linq, the card also works the other way round: after saving your contact, the visitor is asked to share theirs, so the people you meet end up in one place, with a note on where you met them.
What people see when they open your card
When someone scans your QR code or opens your link, this is what they get, from top to bottom:
- Your photo, name, title and company in your card color, then a short bio.
- Save contact, which gives them your contact file (a vCard) to add to their phone.
- Call, Email, WhatsApp and Website buttons, for whichever details you filled in.
- Your social links, each with its icon.
- Documents you've made public, such as a CV, a brochure or a portfolio, to view or download.
- Stay in touch, a short form to send you their name and an email or phone number.
At the bottom they can switch the card between English, French and Arabic. Nothing they do needs an app or an account. The full tour is in What people see when they open your card.
How to make a digital business card
With Linq it takes about two minutes and no design skills:
- Create a free account with Google, GitHub or your email address.
- Add your name, photo, title, company and a short bio. A live preview shows the card as you type.
- Add the ways to reach you: phone, WhatsApp, email, website and your social profiles.
- Pick a card color. 8 presets are free; your own brand color comes with Pro.
- Publish. Your card gets its link and QR code straight away, ready to share.
Step by step, with screenshots: How to make a digital business card for free, or the shorter quick start.
A few choices make a card more likely to be saved: a real photo, a title people understand, and only the contact details you'll actually answer. We wrote them up in How to make a digital business card people actually save.
After the share: get their details back
A paper card is a one-way thing: you hand it over and hope. A Linq card asks for something back. Right after a visitor saves your contact, a short panel asks whether they'd like to share their details with you. Name, email or phone, company, job title and a note, in a few seconds, and only if they want to.
What they send lands in your Contacts, next to the people you added by scanning their card or typing their details. You note where you met, add a tag, and set a follow-up reminder. That's the part a card is really for.
How it works on your side: Contacts and Scan and add contacts.
Digital or paper?
Paper still has a place: it's a physical gesture, and it works with no phone at all. But it runs out, it goes out of date the day your details change, and it tells you nothing about who kept it. A digital card is free to make, always current, and tells you who opened it and who got in touch. Many people carry both and put the QR code on the paper one. The trade-offs, honestly: Digital vs. paper business cards.
What a digital business card costs
With Linq, the card is free for as long as you like: one card with its link and QR code, Save contact, the Stay in touch form, Google Wallet, the email signature and video call background, and the last 7 days of insights. No payment details needed.
Pro is $5.99 a month and adds up to 10 cards, a custom link, your own brand color, 90 days of insights with sources, contact export, and a team of three. Business is $19.99 a month for a team of 10 and a public page for your business. Everything is on the pricing page, and you can cancel anytime.