# Card Groups

> You need an [account](https://www.digicard.pro/signup) to use card groups. Use a card group as a template for new digital business cards and to manage linked Editable Cards from one place.

## When should I use a card group?

Use a card group when you want to manage several cards centrally. A card group lets you:

- set shared details and a consistent design;
- lock individual fields for linked cards;
- create cards one at a time or import an Excel or CSV file;
- apply later changes to linked Editable Cards.

If you don't want to create an account, use [card templates](https://www.digicard.pro/help/understand-templates/index.md) instead.

## Which cards stay linked?

Only Editable Cards can stay linked to a card group after purchase. A fixed card becomes independent after purchase and doesn't receive later group changes.

For linked cards, [shared defaults, variable fields, and locked fields](https://www.digicard.pro/help/understand-defaults-variable-and-locked-fields/index.md) determine which values come from the group and which values you can change on the card.

You can link an already purchased, active, independent Editable Card to an active card group with the same card type. If you detach the card later, it keeps the group values currently applied to it. Future group changes no longer apply.

Follow [Create digital business cards with card groups](https://www.digicard.pro/help/create-digital-business-cards-with-card-groups/index.md) to set up a group.