How to program an NFC card or tag

A blank NFC tag becomes a business card the moment you write to it. The process takes minutes, but two decisions matter: what you write, and whether you lock it afterwards.

Decide what to write first

There are two options. Writing a contact record (vCard) puts the information inside the tag, so it reads with no internet at all — but if your details change you have to rewrite it. Writing a link keeps the content permanently up to date, at the cost of requiring the recipient to open it. If your title or company changes often, the link wins.

The writing steps

Open an NFC writer app, pick the record type (contact or URL), fill in the fields and hold the phone over the tag. Writing takes a second. Then verify by reading it with a different phone — especially check that accented characters in your name survived intact.

Locking is permanent

Most tags can be made read-only. That stops anyone rewriting your card with a different link, and it's recommended for tags left out in public. But locking can't be undone: when your details change, the tag goes in the bin. For a personal tag that lives in your pocket, you can skip it.