How to Create a QR Code for a Website or Text
A straightforward guide to creating a QR code, checking that it works and using it on posters, menus, documents and other everyday materials.
In this guide
What a QR code actually does
A QR code is simply a way of putting information into a pattern that a camera can read. Most people use QR codes for website addresses, but they can also carry plain text and other supported information. The useful part is the hand-off: instead of asking someone to type a long address, you give them something they can scan.
Create the code
Enter the exact text or web address you want to share, then generate the code. Take a moment to read the original address before you publish it. A QR code will faithfully store what you give it, including a spelling mistake or an old web address.
Test before printing
This is the step that is easiest to skip and most annoying to regret. Scan the finished code with a phone and make sure it opens the right destination. If you are printing it, test a sample at roughly the size people will see in the real world.
Make it easy to scan
Keep a clear margin around the code and give it enough contrast against its background. Avoid squeezing it into a tiny corner of a poster. If the code is going on packaging, signage or a menu, test it under the lighting conditions people are likely to encounter.
Where QR codes work well
They are useful on business cards, restaurant menus, event posters, product packaging, receipts, notices and printed instructions. A good QR code has a clear purpose: tell the user what they will get when they scan it instead of leaving them guessing.
Try the related tool
If you came here because you need to do the calculation or create something now, you can use the matching KingToolsKit tool and then come back to the guide when you want the explanation.
Open the tool →