Words or visuals – what do you look for in an ecard?

What is it in an ecard that makes you choose it, over hundreds, maybe thousands of others?

Just on the home page of any ecard site, like this one, and you will see at least ten different ecards for various categories and occasions. Each occasion has at least a dozen choices. Popular categories like birthday, anniversary and Christmas carry even more. With so many free ecards to choose from, how do you pick the one card that you want to send?

The two main components of an ecard are visuals and words. People choose an ecard for one or both of these reasons. The accompanying sound or music complements both.

Sometimes, an animated ecard is just too attractive to pass up. Especially if it is really funny, interactive or has beautiful visuals.  At other times, it’s the words and the message it conveys.  Some people choose a card for its witty lines or the original poem it carries. If an ecard is really well thought out and professionally created, it scores on both accounts. That’s when you get the ‘Aha’ feeling of having found the perfect card that says exactly what you want to. But that may not happen all the time and you might have to settle one way or another.

So, tell us. What is your way of choosing an ecard? Do you look for a card that has the right words? Or do vivid visuals grab your attention? What kind of cards do you like to receive? Ones which draw a picture with words? Or one that communicates volumes with a picture?

What would be the components of your perfect ecard for any occasion?