QR Code for Contact Details (vCard) Free

Paper business cards get lost, and typing a number from one into a phone is nobody's favourite job. A contact QR code fixes both. It holds your details in a standard format called a vCard, the same kind of contact card your phone creates when you share a contact. A phone that scans it understands at once what it is looking at and offers to add you to its address book. The free GetPlugzz QR Code Generator makes one in your browser, and nothing is sent anywhere.

How to make a contact QR code in four steps

1. Open the generator and pick Contact. It is in the row of types, next to Link / Text, WiFi, Email, Phone and SMS.
2. Fill in the fields. First name, last name, phone and email, plus a company and a website if you want them. You need at least a name, a phone number or an email for a code to appear.
3. Test it. The code updates as you type. Scan it with your own phone: it should offer to save the contact with your details in the right places.
4. Download it. PNG for screens, SVG for printing at any size without blur. You can wrap the code in a "Scan me" card as well.

Which details should you put in?

The tool covers the basics: name, phone, email, company and website. It does not have fields for a street address, a job title or a photo. If you want more than the basics, put your website in the code and let the page carry the rest.

Type the phone number with the country code, like +1 555 123 4567. It then works wherever the person who scans it happens to be.

There is also a reason to keep it short. A QR code is a grid of tiny squares, and more text means more and smaller squares. Think of writing a long message on a postcard: the letters have to shrink to fit. On a printed business card, tiny squares are hard for a phone camera to read, so a short code that holds just a name, a phone and an email scans faster than one crammed with everything.

What it looks like when someone scans it

The person opens their camera and points it at the code. The phone recognises a contact card and offers to save it straight into the contacts, so there is nothing to type. They check the details, tap save, and you are in their address book.

Using it on a business card, a badge or a slide

• Give it room. As a rule of thumb, aim for at least about 2 cm (under an inch) on each side, with an empty border around it.
• Dark on light. Black or dark colours on a white or light background scan best. Skip pale colours and inverted codes.
• Test the printed card. Scan a printed copy from the distance people will really use, before you order a hundred of them.
• Use SVG for print. It stays sharp at any size. PNG at 1024 pixels is also good for print.

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Two honest limits

The code is fixed. It cannot be edited later. If your phone number or email changes, make a new code and reprint. For cards you will hand out for years, use details you plan to keep.

Your details are in the picture. Anyone who gets the code can read them, just as with the printed card. Put in only what you would print on a card anyway. Nothing is uploaded: the code is drawn in your browser.

New to QR codes in general? Colours, a logo in the middle and PNG versus SVG are explained in How to Make a Free QR Code That Never Expires. Need to share your Wi-Fi as well? See how to make a Wi-Fi QR code.

Good to know before you start

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