How to Create a QR Code

Turn a link or text into a scannable code — and test it before you print it.

A QR code is a shortcut: instead of typing an address, someone points a phone camera and taps. The QR Code Generator builds codes in your browser for URLs and plain text, with adjustable size and colors and downloads as PNG or SVG. Making one takes under a minute — doing it well means thinking about where the code will be seen and testing it before it goes out.

What can a QR code contain?

Most codes hold a web link: a menu, a payment page, a social profile, a map location. Always use the full address including https:// so phones open it directly in the browser. Codes can also hold plain text — a Wi-Fi network name and password is the classic example, letting guests join without typing a long password. Keep the content short: the more data a code holds, the denser and harder to scan it becomes.

Step by step

  1. Enter your content. Open the QR Code Generator and type or paste your link or text. The code is generated locally, as you type.
  2. Set the size. Match the size to the use: small for a business card, larger for a poster that will be scanned from a distance.
  3. Choose colors carefully. You can adjust the colors, but scanning reliability comes first: keep the code dark on a light background. Inverted or low-contrast codes fail on many phone cameras.
  4. Download. Choose PNG for documents, screens, and everyday printing. Choose SVG when the code will be printed large — the vector file stays perfectly sharp at any size.
  5. Test-scan the result. Scan the downloaded code with your own phone before printing or publishing, and confirm it opens exactly what you intended.

Where QR codes work best

Codes earn their place where typing is annoying: a restaurant menu, a poster's web address, a product label linking to instructions, or a café Wi-Fi login. They work worst when the audience cannot easily scan — on a fast-moving vehicle, or on a screen the viewer is already holding. As a courtesy, print the plain web address under the code as well, so anyone whose camera struggles still has a way in. A QR code should be a shortcut, never the only door.

Before you print

Print a single test copy first and scan it at the distance people will actually stand. Leave a quiet margin of white space around the code — cramming it against text or edges makes scanning unreliable. If the code points to a page you control, double-check the page opens correctly on a phone. And once a code is printed, its content cannot change, so proofread the link character by character before a big print run. Need the downloaded image at an exact size for your layout? The Image Resizer adjusts it in your browser.

Create a QR code now

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