You can spend thousands of dollars on graphic design software to make anything from letterheads to movies. Then you can spend hundreds of hours learning how to use it to make anything remotely decent. There are much simpler business card creator packages out there that are either much cheaper or free to use or download. They don’t always offer the same features or flexibility of proprietary software, but are much more cost effective for the small business.
As well as a much smaller investment of money, they are much easier to use and configure as their scope is fairly narrow. You don’t need too many features to design a business card, unless you are a graphic designer of course! The rules are fairly standard. The card has to be a certain size, around 2×2.5” and fairly thin material. The design has to be clean and easy to determine on the small space. It has to contain the standard information, like first name, last name, job title, company name, office phone number, and sometimes a cell if appropriate. All of this has to go on a little piece of card or plastic the size of a credit card.
It makes sense to include an element of your existing business brand if you have one, so it presents a coherent image to the client. Be that a specific font or a logo or design feature that links the card to the company. This will increase the impact of the card monumentally as it will show itself a part of a larger whole, and thus a much more professional image.
Of course there are many printers either local or online that offer business card creators to help you in your task. It is generally offered as a value add service to make the process of ordering something printed as easy as possible. If you are looking at a niche card like plastic or metal instead of cardboard then there are printer online who will even design the card for you for free. The cards themselves are far more expensive, but the effect far more enhanced.
The online versions of the creators are generally very similar to the software versions. The rules and processes are the same. Keep the size as default so it can fit in wallets, purses and card holders. Unless you are making a statement card, keep the shape the default too. That will save time and production costs. You can design your card there and then on the website, or upload an image or design you have already. Proof your design checking for problems and errors. Check all of your wording, spelling and phone numbers to ensure they are all correct. Rushing or missing this bit could be an expensive mistake!
If you don’t design things for a living there is no need to spend a lot of time and money of business card creators or graphic software. There are plenty of cheap or free resources to achieve a similar outcome.
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