vCard QR Code Generator

What happens when someone scans it

A vCard QR code holds a complete electronic business card. When a phone camera reads it, the phone shows a contact preview with your name, company and details, and a button such as “Create new contact” or “Add to contacts”. One tap saves everything at once. Because the details are inside the code itself, saving the contact works even without an internet connection.

How to fill in each field

• First and last name. Filled into the contact's name fields. You can leave both empty and give only a company, for a shop or a front desk.
• Company and job title. Shown under the name on most phones.
• Mobile and work phone. Write numbers in international format with a plus sign and country code, for example +1 555 010 2030. Spaces, dashes and brackets are removed automatically. A number without a country code only works for people calling from the same country.
• Email. Checked for a valid format before the code is drawn.
• Website. If you leave out https://, it is added for you.
• Address. Street, city, state or region, postal code and country are saved as one work address.
• Note. A short line such as “Met at the trade fair, stand 14”. Keep it brief: every character makes the code denser.

The code uses vCard version 3.0, the format described in RFC 2426, which current iPhone and Android contact apps import. Open “Encoded content” under the form to see every line that goes into the code.

Keep the code easy to scan

A contact card carries much more text than a web address, so a vCard code has more, smaller modules. That is fine on a screen, but on a 5 cm business card small modules are harder for a camera to read. To keep it reliable:

• Only include the fields people actually need. The address and the note are usually the first things to drop.
• Watch the Version number shown under the preview. A lower version means fewer, bigger modules.
• Leave error correction at M unless you add a logo. A logo forces level H, which makes the code denser still.
• Print the code at least 2 cm wide on business cards, leave a white border around it and use the SVG download for sharp edges.

Common mistakes

• Expecting the code to update. This is a static code. If you change jobs or phone numbers, the printed code still holds the old details, so make a new code when your card changes.
• Adding a photo. Profile photos are far too large to fit inside a QR code, so this generator does not include one.
• Assuming every app reads every field. Built-in camera apps on iPhone and Android handle vCard well, but some third-party scanner apps place fields such as the address or work phone differently. Test with a couple of phones before you print a box of cards.
• Local phone numbers. Without the country code, a saved number may not dial correctly for someone abroad.

Where vCard codes work well

The back of a business card, a conference badge, an exhibition stand, a sales brochure, the last slide of a presentation, a shop counter or an email signature image. For an email signature, use a 512 px PNG; for anything printed, use the SVG.

Questions

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