vCard QR Code Generator

How a vCard QR code works

A vCard is the standard format phones and address books use to exchange contact details. This code carries a complete vCard inside it, so scanning it offers to save your name, company, phone, email, website and address as a new contact — no typing, no transcription errors.

Because the details are encoded in the symbol rather than fetched from a server, the code works offline and never expires.

Where it earns its keep

• Business cards. The card gets thrown away; the contact record stays.
• Conference badges. Swapping details takes a second instead of a minute.
• Email signatures and slide decks. Anyone can save your details from a screen.
• Trade counters and service vans. Customers keep your number without asking for it twice.

Getting it right

Every field you add makes the code denser. This is the type most likely to produce a symbol that is hard to scan, because a full vCard is a lot of data. If the code will be printed small — on a business card, say — stick to name, phone and email and leave the mailing address off.

Include the country code on the phone number. A saved contact without one may not dial correctly from abroad.

Print it large enough. As a rule of thumb, a dense code wants at least 2cm square on paper, and more if the printing is low quality. Test the actual printed piece, not just the screen.