How to Create a QR Code, Step by Step

Create a QR code in 3 steps

Every QR code generator works roughly the same way: pick a type, enter the details, style it and download it. The whole thing takes under a minute. What makes a code work in the real world is the detail inside each step, so here is how to do it in QRLoom, with what to watch for.

1. 1

   Choose a type and enter your details

   Decide what should happen after the scan: open a website (Link), pay by PromptPay, join Wi-Fi, add you on LINE or save a contact card. Then fill in the details. For a link, copy it straight from your browser’s address bar so there are no typos.

2. 2

   Style it so it scans easily

   Choose a dark code colour on a light background, a dot style, and a frame with a call to action such as “Scan for our menu”. While you design, watch the scannability check under the preview and fix any colour or margin warning it shows.

3. 3

   Download and test it

   Download a PNG for posts and chats, and an SVG or PDF for print, because vector files stay sharp at any size. Print one sample and scan it with an iPhone and an Android phone before you order the full print run.

Which type of QR code do you need?

Choose by what you want people to do after scanning, not by how the code looks. To open a website, a Facebook Page or a hosted file, use a Link code. To get paid, use PromptPay. To get guests online, use Wi-Fi. The right type tells the phone which app to open, so customers have nothing else to do.

• Link (URL): a website, a Google Maps pin, a Facebook Page, an online shop, or a PDF hosted online.
• PromptPay: get paid to a mobile number, citizen ID or e-Wallet, with an optional fixed amount.
• Wi-Fi: guests join your network without typing the password.
• LINE: add your LINE Official Account as a friend, or open a chat with a message ready.
• Contact card (vCard): saves your name, phone, email and company to the scanner’s contacts.
• SMS and phone call: opens a text message or dials a number.
• Plain text: shows a short message, with no internet needed.

Design rules that keep a QR code scannable

The first rule is contrast: the code must be clearly darker than its background. Our generator aims for a contrast ratio of at least 4.5:1 and warns below 3:1. The next rules are to leave a blank margin around the code, and not to distort the three corner squares or cover too much of the pattern with a logo.

• Use a dark code on a light background. Light-on-dark (inverted) codes can’t be read by some scanner apps.
• Leave a blank margin (quiet zone) of at least 2 modules, the smallest squares in the pattern. Keep text and background graphics away from the code’s edge.
• If you add a logo, the generator switches to the highest error-correction level (H), which can restore about 30% of the data. Keep the logo small enough that it doesn’t use more than half of that budget.
• Longer links make denser patterns that need printing bigger. Use the shortest link you can, or a dynamic code, which only stores a short link.
• The three large corner squares are how cameras find the code. Don’t hide or heavily restyle them.

What size should you print a QR code?

The recommended minimum is 2 × 2 cm for close-up scanning, such as a business card or product label. For anything scanned from further away, use the 10:1 rule: a code scans from roughly ten times its width. If customers will stand 2 metres from a sign, make the code at least 20 cm wide.

• 2 cm wide: scans from about 20 cm. Business cards, labels and stickers.
• 5 cm wide: scans from about 50 cm. Table tents and flyers.
• 10 cm wide: scans from about 1 metre. Counter signs.
• 30 cm wide: scans from about 3 metres. Posters and shop-window signs.

The rule is an estimate. Dim light, glossy paper and very dense patterns all call for a bigger print. For print, use SVG or PDF, which are vector files and stay sharp at any size. Exporting at an exact print size in centimetres, at 300 DPI, is a Pro feature.

Test your QR code before you print

Always print one sample at the real size first, then scan it with at least two phones, an iPhone and an Android, from where customers will actually stand and in your shop’s real lighting. Wasting one sheet of paper is far cheaper than printing a thousand flyers and finding out the code doesn’t scan.

• Read the web address your camera shows before you tap it, and check it’s the link you meant.
• Test links in a private browser window. A file or post that isn’t public opens for you but not for customers.
• PromptPay codes: scan with a banking app and check the account name and amount (no need to send money).
• Try it in low light and at a slight angle. If it still reads quickly, it’s ready.

Static or dynamic QR code?

If the details will never change, such as a Wi-Fi password, a contact card or a PromptPay code, use a static code: it’s free and never expires, because the data is stored in the pattern. If the link might change after printing, or you want scan counts, use a dynamic code, which goes through an editable short link (Pro or a Lifetime code).

In QRLoom, dynamic codes are available for the Link type. If you cancel your plan later, a dynamic code keeps redirecting to its last destination; it isn’t switched off.

Keep reading

• How QR codes that never expire work
• Make a PromptPay QR code
• Make a LINE QR code
• Check a QR code before you scan

Frequently Asked Questions