flower image : Birthday E Cards

As part of the convenience brought by the internet is the ability to send out electronic cards or e-cards. As long as you have an internet connection, an e-card allows you to send out greetings in the comfort of your own home, anytime, anywhere. You can find internet sites that offer services for free, or those that simply ask for donations to keep the website operational, or actual greeting card sites that require you to become a member before you can download a card.

Delivery

E-cards utilize the e-mail technology to deliver the card. Most of the services send the card immediately after you press the send button on the page, but there are selected providers that allow you to select the date of delivery. There are some sites that send the actual card directly to the recipient in the form of an e-mail, but usually what is sent is just a link pointing to the actual location of the e-card. The link usually points back to the provider. Once the card is viewed by the intended receiver, a notification is sent back to the sender.

Types of E-Cards

The basic type of e-card is a static image. The image usually includes depiction of a gift, a party celebration, banners, a birthday cake, birthday candle, party hats, wine glasses, flower image or anything that is related to birthdays. You have the option to include your own message or send it as is, just including the information for the sender and the receiver. If you include a customized message, depending on the e-card and the provider, the message can be written on top of the image on the predefined space, or it would be placed outside of the image.

Another type of e-card which is growing in popularity is the animated card. This type of card would have the same set of contents as static images, but areas of the image are moving and there can also be inclusions of sounds and background music. The message is usually embedded in the card and cannot be customized. If there are additional messages aside from the preset one, it would be placed outside of the animation.

Disadvantage

The only disadvantage of sending an e-card is that there is no way to save the card. Although providers do not immediately delete the card right after it is viewed, but the cards are kept only for a limited period of time, so eventually the recipient can no longer go back and appreciate these cards.

By Marcus Peterson