Maxvoltar - Card.ly

Card.ly

On Monday, a new web app/service called Card.ly launched. Basically, it allows people who don’t know how to build a website to create a small vCard website (like mine), which I think is a great idea. You can even attach it to your own domain by getting a premium account (login required).

Pretty soon after it launched (yes I’ve been on TechCunt FFS), both me and the creators got a lot of feedback saying it was a blatant copy of timvandamme.com. The reason I’m writing this article is to tell everyone the opposite.

Just like all the sites I’ve featured on my little Wall of Fame, Card.ly is inspired by the concept, and is nowhere near a rip-off.

7Comments

Steve

4995 days ago

Holy shit. TimVanDamme is NICE! That’s a beautiful UI.

Honestly though, both are just fun for a few minutes but aren’t something you build a business off of.

Matthew

4994 days ago

Indeedly not a rip, but no-where near as nice also.

Ive yet to see a card.ly site that I like and doesnt look fugly or awkward.

Pretay

4994 days ago

I agree with Matthew on the aesthetics. Your design is much nicer Tim.

I don’t believe that it was ever meant to be a foundation for an online presence. It is just another way of driving individuals to your content. The simple UI acts like a filter for users seeking particular information. It is no wonder people are inspired or ripping off the idea.

Joel Helin

4994 days ago

I love this idea, even though I consider yours to be the “one and only”. Please don’t make an industry out of it. Be jealous, fine. But leave it alone.

Michael

4992 days ago

Tim, I was really impressed with TimVanDamme.com and spent a few hours attempting to figure out how to create something similar with jquery and the like…(or, how I wasted 3 hours of what would have been sleep).

I just don’t have the skill or spare time to even begin thinking about creating something on my own. I caught the article about Card.ly and jumped on it really quickly, but not before visiting your website to see if there was any reaction (since it felt similar, but different).

Just really happy you find their service worthy and not fit for the Wall of Shame. I signed up without feeling weird about it and now have a decent v-card website. Glad they mentioned you in their About section, too. Still not as good as TimVanDamme, though!

Michael