In brief
- On paper, the only way to change a detail is a reprint; on a digital card you edit the profile once.
- The profile doesn't update itself: now and then, check its contact buttons, links and photo.
- You can switch off a lost card's chip in your Studio; its printed QR code keeps opening your profile.
The details on a business card go out of date quietly. A new phone number, a changed title, an office move, a new website: each one makes the cards you've handed out a little more wrong. Usually you find out when someone calls your old number.
Where details go out of date
- Phone and email. The first to change when you change jobs.
- Title and team. Promotions and new roles never reach the card.
- Address. When the office moves, old cards point to the wrong place.
- Links. Websites, portfolios and social accounts change, and old links lead nowhere.
On paper, the only fix is a reprint
With paper, changing a detail means printing new cards. That costs time and money, and the cards you've already handed out are never updated.
On a digital card, you edit the profile
A digital card doesn't carry your details; it opens your profile. At Avant you edit your profile in your Studio whenever you like. Because the card always opens the same address:
- When you update the profile, the card shows the new details.
- Cards you handed out or had scanned earlier open the current profile too.
- Nothing needs reprinting.
What to check now and then
A digital card doesn't update your details by itself; you do. Once a month, or after any big change, it's a good habit to check:
- Contact buttons: do they reach the right number and address? Tap each one once from your own phone.
- Links: do they still open? Remove any that lead to a page that has closed.
- Title and company: are they current?
- Photo: does it look like you today? People will remember you by it.
- : are the details it saves right? Save yourself to your contacts once and look.
Staying current as a team
In a company, details change faster than for any one person. With Avant for Teams, a group's look is set once and profiles are managed from the company's Team area; anyone who leaves drops off the company page at once. More in Digital business cards for your team.
If a card is lost
The card holds no details, only your profile's address; whoever finds it and taps or scans it sees what your profile shows to everyone. At Avant, when you mark a lost card as in your Studio, its chip stops opening your profile. The QR code printed on it leads to your profile's own address, so it keeps working; that's one more reason to keep only what you're happy for anyone to see on your profile.
In short
Details change; what matters is that the cards you've handed out show the change. With a digital card you do that once, by editing your profile. For a comparison with paper, see Paper or digital business card?; the cards are in the Shop.