QR codes are everywhere — menus, posters, packaging, business cards. Making one is free and takes seconds, but a few details decide whether it scans reliably. Here’s a practical guide.
What a QR code actually stores
A QR code is a 2-D barcode that encodes text. Most often that text is a URL, but it can also be plain text, a phone number, Wi-Fi credentials or contact details. When someone points a camera at it, the phone reads the encoded text and acts on it. You can create one in seconds with a QR code generator.
Static vs. dynamic QR codes
- Static codes encode the content directly. They never expire, work forever, and involve no tracking or third party. The trade-off: if the destination changes, you must make a new code.
- Dynamic codes encode a short redirect URL owned by a service, which forwards to your real destination. You can edit the destination later and see scan analytics — but they depend on that service staying online, and often cost money.
For most needs — a link on a flyer, a menu, a Wi-Fi share — a static code is simpler, free and permanent. Our generator produces static codes that never expire.
What is error correction?
QR codes include redundancy so they still scan when partly dirty, wrinkled or covered (for example by a logo). The level sets how much damage they tolerate:
- L ≈ 7% recoverable — densest, for clean digital use.
- M ≈ 15% — a solid default.
- Q ≈ 25%.
- H ≈ 30% — most robust, needed if you place a logo over the code.
Higher levels pack more modules into the image, so the pattern looks busier. Use M unless the code will be printed small, handled roughly, or overlaid with a logo.
Best practices so it always scans
- Contrast: dark code on a light background. Avoid low-contrast color combos.
- Quiet zone: keep empty margin around the code — don’t crowd it with text.
- Size: bigger is safer. A rough rule for print is a scan distance about 10× the code’s width, so size for how far people will stand.
- Test before you print: scan it with two or three different phones first. A code that fails on a printed 5,000-copy flyer is an expensive mistake.
Common uses
- Link to a website, app store, or event page from a poster.
- Restaurant digital menus.
- Share Wi-Fi without reading out a password.
- Put a portfolio or LinkedIn link on a business card.
Ready to make one? The free QR code generator creates a code instantly and lets you download a PNG — and it runs entirely in your browser, so nothing you enter is uploaded.