How to Create Free Business Cards Business Cards Directions

Contact Info

Enter the information you wish to include into the spaces provided. It is not necessary to use all the spaces, use what suits your needs. To make free business cards you can enter whatever info you desire into the spaces provided, you don't necessarily have to enter the information for which the spaces are asking.

You can put a web address into another space if you like. This can be done with any of the entries, but bear in mind the card styles where designed to allow for a certain number of characters for each entry. For example, a phone number requires fewer characters than your name or a slogan. As a starting point limit your text to 40 characters per line so as not to alter the dimensions and design of the card templates. After you select your fonts and text sizes you can adjust your text so that everything fits nicely.

Business Card Styles

Click an image to view a larger example of the card templates it will open into a new window so you don't lose your place in the creator program. Click one of the template images to select a style. You can come back at any point to choose another template by clicking Preview, then the Styles button.

Logos

You can use a logo from our business card logos gallery or one of your own. If you don't want a logo select "No Logo." Click one of the category buttons to browse the logo gallery. If you want to use one of our logos click your desired logo.

If you want to use your own logo click the My-Own-Logo button so you can enter your own logo information. On the My-Own-Logo page click the MY LOGO label above the logo info box to select it. Use the box provided to enter the web address of your own logo. You can use an existing logo on the web or upload one to an image hosting site, links are provided to three popular image hosting sites on the My-Own-Logo page. Enter the web address of your logo that was given to you by the image hosting site. A good starting point is to try a logo that is 50X50 pixels. To change your logo to one from our gallery click the category buttons to choose one from the gallery.

Backgrounds

You can use a background from our gallery or your own. If you don't want a background image select "No BG." If you want a solid colored background you can choose that in the Colors section. If you want to use one of our backgrounds click your desired background. For more choices click one of the buttons labeled BG1-BG10 to browse the gallery.

If you want to use your own logo click the MYBG button, use the MYBG page to enter your own background. If you want to use your own background click the MY BG label the box above to select it. Use the box provided to enter the web address of your desired background. You can use an existing background on the web or upload one to an image hosting site, links are provided to three popular image hosting sites on the MYBG page. Enter the web address of your background that was given to you by the image hosting site. To change your background to one from our gallery click the BG1 button and choose one from the gallery.

Colors

Choose your colors for your business card background, the color of your text, the trim and decoration colors by clicking the palette images below. This will make the color selection palette boxes appear. If your computer settings prohibit the color selector boxes from appearing use our color chart to pick your colors and manually enter the hex codes into the boxes below on the left.

Use the Card Background Color Selector to choose the color your paper will be printed if you choose to have a card without a background image. The default background color is white, using a background color will use a lot of ink so keep that in mind if setting it to any other color.

A background image supersedes a solid color. If you change your mind and want a solid color instead if a background image, you must go to the "Backgrounds" page and set your background to "No Background" otherwise the background image will continue to be displayed.

Use the Text Color Selector to choose the color your printed text will be, the default color is black. Use the Decoration Color Selector to choose the color of horizontal rules or other accents, some of the styles use this color for your Company Name.

Fonts

Use the drop down box to select the font you wish to use, the default font is Arial, the fonts we have listed all come standard with Windows.

If you wish to use your own fonts you must have them installed in your computer, then type the proper name of that font into the box provided. Instructions explaining how to install and use your own fonts are shown here and on the fonts page of the creator program.

How to get and use your own fonts: Enter the name of a font you wish to use that you have installed in your computer. Be sure it is installed in your computer or it will not work. Also, make sure that you correctly spell the name of the font or your font will not be displayed, your browser's default font will be displayed. Be sure to use the name of the font NOT the file name. To find the name of the font go to the Font folder in Windows and double-click a font, the proper name will be shown in the font viewer program.

If you need a greater selection of fonts visit our free fonts archive website, there you can preview and download tons of fonts for free. You will also find complete instructions that tell you how to install and use the fonts. The font archive will have the correct names of the fonts listed on the pages, that is what you will type into the space after you have installed the new font.

In the font size area the Name Size is the size of the text used to spell out your name, all the size choices shown will affect the corresponding entry. All the Rest is for the other text on the business card not specifically governed by the other size selectors which includes the address, phone numbers, slogan, email and web address. A higher number will provide a larger font than a lower number.

Preview

You can preview your card at each step by click ing the Preview button on each page. Use the blue measuring bars to ensure that your card has the proper dimensions for printing caused by your text or logo distorting the card from its proper size. When creating your cards make sure the card does not become longer or wider than the blue bars or spread them apart. If this occurs reduce the size of your font, make the lines of text shorter, choose another more compact font or choose a different style. Our card sizing example will show you how it should and shouldn't appear.

If there is something that needs to be corrected or changed there are buttons provided to go to each section for editing. Read our design tutorial to help increase the selling power of your card. When you preview your card at the beginning of the creation process things may not look quite right, undesirable results will be corrected as you progress.

Finish

After you have previewed your card, it is the proper size measured against the white bars and you are satisfied with it, read these instructions then use the Print button to print. Be sure you set your browser correctly as described below or your background and logo will not print. Also, read the section below to properly set your page margins.

If you have completed your business cards click the "Print" button. Check you business cards for typographical and grammatical errors, if you are not satisfied with any part of the card click one of the six buttons to make corrections.

For an ink saving tip use lighter backgrounds or set your printer to print lighter. You can see how it will look by using the Print Preview feature in your browser by going to Menu > Print Preview.

Very Important! If your browser is not set correctly the backgrounds will NOT print.

To correctly set Chrome, Firefox, Opera & Safari:
1. Go to Menu > Print > Page Setup
2. Select the Format & Options tab > select the Print Background box.

Press the Save Card button to download a file that will enable you import your information to print more cards at a later date or make easy updates. To use it double-click the downloaded file, it will open into your browser and bring you back to the creator program.

To correctly set Internet Explorer:
1. Go to Tools > Internet Options…
2. Select the Advanced tab > scroll down to Printing
3. Select the Print background colors and images box
4. Click Apply then OK

You need to set the margins correctly and remove the header and footer in your browser's Page Setup. Simple instructions complete with pictures can be found on our Card Printing Tips page.

Height problems can be corrected if the cards don't line up on the paper correctly, use the Top Margin selector to push them down as needed. A higher number will push it down more than a lower number, you may or may not need to change this.

Be sure to set the top and bottom margins to .5" (1/2 inch) and the left and right margins to .25" (1/4 inch). Then remove the header and footer in your browser's Page Setup simple instructions and pictures can be found on our Card Printing Tips page. If you don't set the page margins correctly the cards will be positioned too far down on the paper with no way to compensate for it!

Checking the Card Outlines box will put outlining borders around the cards for printing on plain non-perforated paper to show where to cut them out. For perforated paper keep the box cleared.

After you make your cards and print them out you can make some matching letterhead or post your card to our online Business Card Listing.

If you used your own images print and save your cards first before you post your card to our listing. Your own images are not allowed on our listing page as we cannot ensure how appropriate they are or how long they will be live on the web giving red x's instead of images. Please go back to the Logos and/or Backgrounds pages and use images from our gallery.