How to Make Greeting Cards for Any Occasion: The Easy Way

So you need to learn how to make greeting cards? You’ve come to the right page. Just go to our greeting cards page and select the specs you want and use the design online option. If you already have your artwork, all you need to do is choose your specs and upload it.

If you don’t have your artwork but still want to create a killer card design, don’t worry. Here’s how to make greeting cards -- the easy way.

1.) Give about a month’s lead time.

You don’t want to make your greeting cards in a rush. Be sure to start planning your cards about a month or more from the event. Not only will you have more time to figure out your audience and tailor your designs, you can now allot more time for distribution.

2.) Figure out your themes and concepts.

What message are you trying to send with your cards? We’re not talking about the personal messages you write in them. Your card’s artwork and design can communicate things about you that the recipients will pick up on. Take some time to figure out which themes will resonate with your recipients.This will ensure that your greeting card designs have more focus and are more effective.

3.) Decide your layout.

Where do you want your artwork to be? Do you want flat or folded greeting cards? Will they be oriented vertically, like most greeting cards, or horizontally for a more interesting look?

Flat greeting cards have a image-centered, no-frills look while folded cards give you a way to surprise recipients with the inside message. Folded horizontal cards can also be easily stood up on a table while still keeping the insides hidden. Be sure to choose the layout that best matches your intent.

4.) Make a few mockups

You can use a design app for this, but we find it’s best to use a ruler and pieces of paper you have laying around. This is especially useful if you haven’t designed greeting cards before. Make a few rough sketches and create a basic layout of how you want your greeting card to appear. Since these will just be mockups, you don’t have to be overly detailed, or even a good designer. Use the ruler and mark the size of the cards, and take a couple of minutes to figure out how they will be presented and how the recipients might open them once received. This will be useful later on in the design and order process for choosing the specs that best suit your design.

5.) Download a greeting card template

Since you already have a clear idea of the sizes and layouts you need, it’s time to get started designing them on your preferred app. To make this simpler, use greeting card templates that closely match the sizes and layouts you need. Downloading a template will also make it simpler to create a print-ready card through your design app. Templates will also prevent important parts of your greeting card design from being trimmed off at the printer.

6.) Create a few different versions

This is optional, but highly recommended if you’re sending out greeting cards to customers. Create a few different versions of your greeting cards, in different layouts if necessary. Two or three different versions should be enough for most situations. This will give you a few choices as to which one to submit for printing. Creating different versions will also force you to evaluate your designs better. If you make just one version, you might end up using it because it’s all you have, despite problems that might exist. Having a couple of versions on hand will also come in handy for future campaigns, as you will have existing designs ready to use.

7.) Upload your design

When you’ve chosen your final greeting card design, simply go to your printer’s greeting cards page, choose the specs you need, and upload it. You’ll often have a design tool as well to create the design from scratch, or to make final tweaks to your design. From there it’s just a matter proceeding with your order.

Print greeting cards today.