How to set up your digital business card

Part 1: The basics and your look

First you'll pick a layout, add your photos and words, claim your web address and add the buttons people tap to reach you.

Step 1: Log in and open the card editor

Log in to your account at backend.crocadilo.com.

1. Find the dark menu down the left-hand side.
2. Click Business Cards.
3. In the top-right corner of the Business Cards table, click the blue Create New button.

No account yet? Sign up free. You don't need a bank card.

Step 2: Choose a card type

There are four card types. Pick the one that fits how you work:

• Business: for shops, salons, cafés and trades. Shows your services, products, opening hours and bookings.
• Personal: for consultants, freelancers, employees and self-employed stylists. Focuses on you, your work and your contact details.
• Custom: full control over colours, styles and background images, without a fixed template.
• AI Generator: take a photo of your paper business card. Crocadilo reads your name, phone number, email and company from the photo and builds your digital card for you. This uses AI credits, which come with the Basic and Teams plans.

Step 3: Pick a theme

Click the blue Choose a Theme button at the bottom-left of the editor to open the theme gallery. Themes are grouped by type of business:

• Hospitality and cafés: warm, photo-heavy layouts that put your menu and WhatsApp ordering first.
• Wellness, salons and aesthetics: clean, calm layouts that show off your treatments, portfolio and bookings.
• Trades and home services: strong, easy-to-read layouts with call buttons, certificates and booking forms up front.
• Corporate and professional: simple, modern profiles made for networking and one-tap contact saving.

Don't overthink it. Pick the one closest to your taste. You can change every colour, font, button and the order of sections later.

Step 4: Add your photos and language (Basic Details)

Open the Basic Details tab and fill in:

• Display language: the language for standard button labels such as "Save Contact" and "Book Now".
• Cover type and media: choose Photo, YouTube or Vimeo. For a photo, upload a JPG or PNG that's twice as wide as it is tall (for example 1200 × 600 pixels). For a video, paste the link and it will play on a loop at the top of your card.
• Logo or profile photo: a square image (for example 400 × 400 pixels). JPG and PNG both work, including PNGs with a see-through background.

Keep cover photos landscape, twice as wide as tall. Tall portrait photos get cropped on phones.

Step 5: Add your words and claim your link

Still in Basic Details, fill in the text:

• Title: your business or personal name, for example "Apex Heating & Plumbing" or "Sarah Jenkins, Medical Aesthetics".
• Sub title: a short line about what you do, for example "Gas Safe heating engineer, boiler specialist".
• Description: two or three sentences on what you do, who you help and where. Keep it short; people read it on a phone.
• Personalised link: your web address, for example backend.crocadilo.com/your-name. A green tick means it's free and yours.

Click the blue Submit button at the bottom of Basic Details to save your link. The other tabs (Social Links, Services, Products and so on) only unlock after you do this.

Step 6: Add contact and social buttons

Open the Social Links tab and click Add Link/Plug Feature to add buttons:

• WhatsApp: opens a chat with you without the customer having to save your number first. Give it a clear label like "Message me on WhatsApp".
• Phone: starts a call straight from their phone. Handy for emergency trades, reception desks and urgent enquiries.
• Google Maps: opens directions to your shop or salon.
• Social profiles: Instagram, LinkedIn, Facebook, TikTok or YouTube, so people can see your recent work.

Type phone and WhatsApp numbers with the country code, but no plus sign and no spaces. For a UK mobile, enter 447911123456, not +44 7911 123456.

Step 7: Add payment links

Open the Payment Links tab to add ways for people to pay you:

• Display type: Link. Use this for payment web addresses, such as Stripe Payment Links, PayPal.me, Monzo or Revolut payment links. Tapping it takes the customer straight to the payment page.
• Display type: Image. Use this to show a picture, such as a payment QR code, a card with your bank sort code and account number, or your food hygiene rating certificate. Tapping it opens the image full screen.
• Label: say plainly what it does, for example "Pay with Monzo" or "Bank transfer details".

Click Submit to save.

Part 2: Services, products and bookings

Now turn your card into something people can buy from and book with.

Step 8: List your services

Go to the Services tab and click Create New for each service:

• Service name: a clear title, for example "Haircut and beard trim" or "Annual boiler service".
• Service description: what's included and how long it takes.
• Service image: a clear photo of the work or the finished result.
• Inquiry button: set to Enabled.

If you added a WhatsApp number in step 6, the enquiry button opens a WhatsApp chat with you, with a message that already names the service.

Click Save changes to publish the service.

Step 9: Add products

Open the Products tab and click Create New for each item:

• Product badge: a label like "New", "Sale", "Bestseller" or "Popular".
• Pricing: set the currency (GBP, USD, EUR, INR and others), the regular price and, if you like, a sale price. The regular price then shows crossed out.
• Stock status: In Stock or Out of Stock. Out-of-stock items show a "sold out" label.
• Product image: a tidy photo on a plain white or neutral background works best.

If you want customers to fill a basket and send you the order on WhatsApp, see the WhatsApp store setup guide.

Step 10: Add photos and reviews

Galleries: click Add New in the Galleries tab and upload photos of your work: before-and-after shots, dishes, finished jobs. Always fill in the caption so people know what they're looking at, for example "New combi boiler fitted in Redland".

Testimonials: click Add New in the Testimonials tab for each customer review:

• Reviewer name: the customer's name.
• Reviewer subtext: a bit of context, for example "Homeowner, Bath".
• Review: what they said, in their words.

Only use real reviews from real customers, with their permission.

Step 11: Set up pop-ups

Open the Popups tab. You can show a pop-up when someone opens your card:

• Newsletter pop-up: collects email addresses. Sign-ups are saved in your card's stats, and you can download them as a spreadsheet (CSV file).
• Information pop-up: shows a notice, such as holiday opening hours, a discount code or a closure.
• Confetti effect: a burst of confetti when the pop-up opens. Fun for sales and anniversaries.
• Pop-up fields: add an image, a headline, some text (for example "15% off your next cut if you book this week"), the button wording and where the button goes.

If you collect email addresses, only send marketing to people who agreed to it.

Step 12: Opening hours and bookings

There are four related settings:

• Business hours: tick Always Open, or untick it and set opening and closing times for each day, Monday to Sunday.
• General appointments: set the slot length (for example 30 or 60 minutes). Slots are created from your business hours. Set an appointment price (enter 0 for free) and the email address that gets booking alerts.
• Service bookings: turn Service Booking on to let people book a specific service from your list. Choose the days, hours and the email address for confirmations.
• Contact form: add the email address that receives form messages, or tick Hide Contact/Inquiry Form if you'd rather people reach you by WhatsApp or phone.

Part 3: Extra settings and managing your cards

These are optional, but worth five minutes.

Step 13: Advanced settings, search and "save to home screen"

Open the Advanced Settings tab:

• Enable PWA: turn this on. It lets people save your card to their phone's home screen, with your logo as the icon, so it opens like an app. Nobody has to download anything from an app store. (PWA stands for progressive web app, which is the technical name for this.)
• Language switcher: lets visitors switch the card between languages.
• Search and sharing settings:
  • Favicon: a small square icon (PNG or ICO) that shows in browser tabs.
  • Meta title and meta description: the title and short summary that show when your link is shared on WhatsApp, iMessage or LinkedIn, or appears in Google.
  • Meta keywords: words people might search for, for example "Bristol electrician, EV charger fitting, rewiring".
• Custom CSS and JS: for people comfortable with code. You can add Google Tag Manager, a Meta Pixel, custom fonts or your own styles. If you add tracking, make sure your card asks for cookie consent where the law requires it.

Step 14: Rename section headings

Open the Section Titles tab to swap the standard headings for your own words:

Click Submit and the new headings show on your live card straight away.

Step 15: Manage your cards (the Actions menu)

On the main Business Cards table, click the three dots (...) in the Actions column next to a card. You'll find:

• Preview / Live: see your card as it looks on a phone, or open the public link.
• Connect: connect other tools and add tracking codes.
• QR code: download a QR code (SVG or PNG) for your shop window, counter, flyers or packaging.
• Visitors and newsletters: see how many people viewed your card and which buttons they tapped, and download newsletter sign-ups as a CSV file.
• Enquiries and contacts: read messages from customers and download their details.
• Appointments: view, confirm, move or cancel bookings.
• Edit / Duplicate: change a card, or copy it in one click to make a matching card for a new team member.
• Disable / Delete: switch a card off for a while without losing anything, or delete it for good.

Putting your card on an NFC tap card

Once your card is live, you can put the link on a physical tap card, a counter stand, a key fob or a sticker. People tap it with their phone and your card opens. Here's how to set one up yourself:

1. Copy your card's web address, for example https://backend.crocadilo.com/your-name.
2. Download the free NFC Tools app from the Apple App Store or Google Play.
3. Open NFC Tools and tap Write, then Add a record, then Custom URL / URI.
4. Paste your card's web address and tap OK.
5. Tap Write and hold the NFC card against the top of your phone until you hear or feel the confirmation.

Need a card? We make engraved metal and wooden NFC cards with our partner NDC Creations: metal from £29.99, bamboo or walnut from £24.99, and counter stands from £19.99. See the NFC cards.

Stuck?

Email us at hello@cvcinternational.com and tell us which step you're on. A real person will reply. You can also compare plans on the pricing page: the Personal card is free forever, and Basic (£10 a month, 5 cards and a WhatsApp store) comes with a 30-day free trial.