Skip to the generator

URL QR code generator

Turn a link into a QR code anyone can open with their camera.

Paste or type any address. If you leave off https:// we add it for you.

Your QR code appears here

Start typing and it updates as you go.

PNG is 2048px. SVG scales to any size, which is what print wants.

Design
Colours

Or start from a pair that scans well:

Module shape

The empty border around the code. 4 is the standard.

Recovers about 15% damage. The usual choice.

Centre logo

Optional. Keep it simple - a mark reads better than a wordmark at this size.

What is actually in a URL QR code

A URL QR code holds the link as plain text and nothing else. There is no redirect in the middle, no shortener and no server of ours involved. The camera reads the characters, sees that they start with a scheme like https://, and offers to open that address. If you type example.com without a scheme, https:// is added for you, because a scanner has no way to tell a bare word from a link.

Because the address is inside the pattern, the code cannot be changed after you download it. This is a static code. Printing 5,000 flyers that point at a URL you do not control is the expensive version of that sentence, and it is the single most common regret with printed QR codes. Point the code at a page on your own site, then change what that page says or where it forwards to, and every printed copy follows.

Length is the other thing worth understanding. Every character has to be drawn, so a 30-character link produces a code with visibly chunkier squares than the same link carrying 90 characters of campaign parameters. At the same printed size, chunkier squares scan from further away and survive a cheap printer better. Trimming a long URL is usually easier than printing the sign bigger.

The text inside the code

https://northgatebakery.com/menu

Good for

  • A menu on a restaurant table
  • A poster in a shop window
  • A yard sign outside a listing
  • The back of a business card
  • A packaging insert
  • The last slide of a talk

Worth knowing before you print it

  • Keep the link short

    Tracking parameters are the usual culprit: a link that fits comfortably can double in length once utm_source, utm_medium and utm_campaign are attached. Keep only the parameters you will actually read in your analytics, and prefer a short path on your own domain over a long one.

  • Test it on a phone, on mobile data

    Scan the finished code with a phone that is off your office Wi-Fi. That catches a staging URL, a page still behind a login, and a link that only resolves inside your network. Checking it on the laptop that made it proves nothing, because that laptop can already reach everything.

  • You cannot edit it after you print it

    There are no dynamic codes here and no dashboard to repoint one. If the destination might move, point the code at a URL you own - a short path like yoursite.com/menu - and put the redirect on your own server. That is the one change that turns a reprint into a two-minute edit.

  • Check the page on a small screen first

    Almost every scan happens on a phone held at arm's length. A destination that needs pinching and zooming, or that opens a 40MB PDF over a patchy signal, loses people at the moment they were most interested. Test the landing page the way it will actually be met.

Common questions

No. The link is stored inside the code itself, so there is nothing on our side that can lapse, and no account that can be closed. The code works for as long as the page it points at exists. If that page ever moves, the code keeps pointing at the old address, which is why it is worth using a URL you control.

Not in the code. A static QR code is a printed copy of the link, and changing it means making a new one. The practical workaround is to point the code at a short path on your own site and put a redirect there, so the printed code stays valid while the destination moves.

Not from the code. Nothing is tracked here, and a static QR code has no way to report back. If you need counts, point the code at a page with your own analytics on it, or give each printed placement its own URL - /menu-table and /menu-window - so your existing site stats separate them for you.

The format can hold a few thousand characters, so length is rarely a hard limit. It is a practical one: past roughly a hundred characters the squares get noticeably finer, and the code needs to be printed larger or scanned from closer. If a link is long, shorten it before you make the code rather than enlarging the sign afterwards.

No. The built-in camera on current iPhones and Android phones recognises a QR code and shows a tap-to-open banner. On much older phones a scanning app may be needed, which is a limitation of the phone rather than of the code.

It is free, there is no account, and there is no limit on how many you make or how you use them. The codes are generated in your browser, so nothing you type is sent to us, and commercial use is fine - print them on packaging, signs or products.

Other kinds of QR code

All free, all made in your browser.

Printing it? How to print a QR code covers size, contrast and the quiet zone.