How to make a QR code
- Choose what the code holds: a link, plain text, Wi-Fi, a contact card, an email, a text message, a phone call, a map location or a calendar event.
- Fill in the details. If you like, change the colours and shapes, or add a logo and a “Scan me” frame. The code updates as you type.
- Download a PNG for screens and documents, or an SVG, PDF or EPS for sharp printing at any size. Scan it with your phone before you print many.
Good to know
Many QR code sites make “dynamic” codes: every scan goes through their server first, and the code stops working when a trial ends unless you pay. These codes are different. They hold your link or details directly, so they keep working for as long as the link does, and nobody can track who scans them. The code is made by your browser, on your device.
Each kind of code uses a format phone cameras read without an extra app. A Wi-Fi code lets guests join without typing the password. An email, text message or phone code opens the right app with the details filled in, but nothing is sent until the person taps Send or Call. A map location code holds a normal Google Maps link, because that opens on every phone; the other format, “geo:”, doesn’t open reliably on iPhones. Calendar events are stored in universal time (UTC), so phones in any time zone show the right local time. iPhone cameras offer to add the event; on Android it depends on the phone, and some only show the text.
You can change the colours, use rounded squares or dots, round the three corner markers, add a logo, and put a caption such as “Scan me” in a frame. A plain border is always kept around the code, because phones need it to find the code. With a logo, the code uses the strongest error correction (H), so it still scans with up to 30% of it covered, and the logo takes at most a fifth of the code’s width. Dark on a light background scans best: the tool warns you when the contrast is too low or the colours are the wrong way round. The more you put in a code, the denser it gets, and a dense code needs a bigger print.
Questions
Will the QR code ever stop working?
No. It doesn’t depend on us or on any account. A link code works as long as the website it points to exists, and a Wi-Fi code as long as the network name and password stay the same.
Can I add my logo and colours?
Yes. Pick a picture from your device (PNG, JPG, WebP or SVG) and it goes in the middle on a plain patch, at most a fifth of the code’s width. Keep the code dark on a light background. Plain squares work with every scanner. Phone cameras read rounded shapes and dots too, but some older scanner apps read them less reliably, so scan a test print first.
Which file should I download?
PNG for screens, documents and websites (512, 1024 or 2048 pixels wide). SVG, PDF or EPS for printing: they stay sharp at any size. The PDF comes on its own small page, or in the middle of an A4 or US Letter page. A logo inside SVG, PDF and EPS stays a picture of up to 400 × 400 pixels. PDF and EPS can only write Western European letters in a caption, so for other alphabets use PNG or SVG.
How big should I print it?
The tool shows a minimum size under the code, for example 2 cm (0.8 in) for a short link. Long text makes a denser code that needs a bigger print. Keep the plain border around the code, and test it with a phone.
Is anything I type sent to you?
No. The code is made by your browser on your device, and nothing you type is sent to us or anyone else. Scanning the code doesn’t go through us either.
Page last reviewed 21 October 2026.