How to make a contact QR code
- Fill in the details you want to share: name, company, job title, phone, email, website and address. Leave any of them empty.
- Watch the preview: every extra field makes the code a little denser, so leave out what people don't need.
- Download PNG or SVG for your business card, badge, email signature or slides.
- Scan it with your own phone and check the contact it offers to save.
Good uses
- Business cards and name badges
- Conference and trade-show stands
- Email signatures and presentation end slides
- Contractor vans, shop windows and leaflets
- Labels on equipment with a contact for help
What goes in the code
BEGIN:VCARD
VERSION:3.0
N:Lovelace;Ada;;;
FN:Ada Lovelace
ORG:Analytical Engines Ltd
TEL;TYPE=CELL:+447700900123
EMAIL:ada@example.com
END:VCARDThe code holds a vCard 3.0 contact card, the format iPhone and Android contacts apps import. Commas, semicolons and line breaks in your details are escaped so the card reads correctly.
Good to know
- Write the phone number in international format (+44 7700 900123) so it works for people abroad.
- A contact code can't update itself. If your details change, print a new code; or use a Link code to a contact page you keep up to date.
- Business cards: print the code at least 2 cm across, with a clear border.
Static codes: no expiry, no tracking
Codes made here are static: your contact card is written into the code itself, not kept on a server. So the code never expires, works without an account or subscription, and nobody, Yuzool included, sees who scans it or when.
The trade-off is that a static code can't be edited after it's printed: make a new one instead. Dynamic codes from other services point to a short link they control, so they can count scans and change the destination, but they stop working if the service or your subscription ends.
Printing, size and error correction
- Size: at least 2 cm (about 0.8 in) square for anything held in the hand. For posters and windows, make it about a tenth of the scanning distance: 20 cm across to scan from 2 m away.
- Contrast and border: a dark code on a light background, with the plain border (the quiet zone) kept clear of text and pictures. The app warns you about low contrast and light-on-dark codes.
- Error correction (in Style and size) lets a code still scan when part of it is dirty, scratched or covered: Low recovers about 7%, Medium 15% (the default), Quartile 25% and High 30%. Higher levels make the code denser, so keep Low or Medium for small prints with a lot in them, and choose Quartile or High for stickers, outdoor signs and things that get handled.
- File: SVG stays sharp at any size, so use it for print. PNG (up to 2048 pixels) suits screens, documents and slides.
- Test with two different phones before you print a batch.
Questions
What is a vCard QR code?
A QR code that holds a contact card in the vCard format. When scanned, the phone offers to add the person to its contacts, with name, phone, email and the rest already filled in.
Does it work on iPhone and Android?
Yes. Both read vCard codes from the camera app and offer to save the contact.
Is a vCard QR code the same as a MeCard?
Both store contacts. MeCard is a shorter, older format; vCard 3.0, which this tool makes, is the one contacts apps use everywhere and carries more fields.