vCard QR code for business cards: scan to save the contact

Enter your name, phone, email and anything else you want people to save on the contact card QR code page, press "Create QR code" and print the code on the back of your card. Scanners see your contact page, tap Save contact, and their phone receives a standard contact file (.vcf) to add to their address book. The details live on qrfast rather than in the pattern, so you can change your number or job title later and the cards you already handed out keep working.

Two kinds of vCard QR code

A classic (static) vCard QR code packs the whole contact into the pattern. It works without internet and without any service, but the more you fill in, the denser it gets. A card with name, title, company, phone, email, website and street address comes to about 260 bytes, which needs a 65×65 pattern at error correction level M. Non-Latin scripts take more space: a Thai character, for example, uses 3 bytes. If anything changes, you reprint every card.

A dynamic vCard QR code, the kind qrfast makes, stores only a short link (qrfast.asia plus a 6-character code), which fits a 25×25 pattern, or 33×33 if you add a logo, because a logo switches error correction to level H automatically. At the same print size the modules are more than twice as wide, and the details can be edited at any time. The trade-offs: scanners need an internet connection, tap one extra button, and the contact page shows an ad, which is how the service stays free.

How to make a business card QR code

1. Open the contact card QR code page and fill in first name, last name, company, job title, phone, email, website and address, only the fields you want people to save.
2. Write the phone number with its country code, such as +65 9123 4567, so it dials correctly from abroad.
3. Match the colors to your card or add your company logo, keeping the pattern clearly darker than the background.
4. Press Create QR code, keep the manage link somewhere safe, and download SVG for the printer, or a 2048 px PNG if you lay out the card yourself.
5. Before ordering, scan with both an iPhone and an Android phone, save the contact and check that the number, email and title land in the right fields.

How scanners save your contact

They scan with the normal camera app. Your contact page shows your name, title and company, the Save contact button, and tap-to-call and email links. Save contact gives the phone a .vcf file, the standard contact format.

• iPhone: Apple's iPhone User Guide says you import a vCard by tapping the .vcf file (Import contacts on iPhone). Open the file and save it as a contact.
• Android with Google's Contacts app: if tapping the downloaded file does not add it, open Contacts, tap Organize at the bottom, then Import from file, pick the account and select the .vcf file (Google Contacts Help). Phones that use the manufacturer's own contacts app have different menu names.

If someone just wants to call you right away, they can tap the number on the contact page without saving anything.

What size on a business card

A common rule of thumb is that a QR code should be at least a tenth as wide as the scanning distance. People scan a card from about 20 cm away, so print the pattern at least 2 cm wide. At 2 cm, a 25×25 pattern has modules of about 0.8 mm. A 65×65 static vCard in the same space has modules of about 0.3 mm, so the camera has to get much closer and focus much more sharply.

• Leave a blank margin of at least four modules on every side, as DENSO WAVE, the inventor of the QR code, specifies. For a 2 cm code that is about 3 mm. Keep text and borders out of it.
• On a dark card, put the code in a white box that includes the margin.
• Avoid glossy lamination over the code: reflections can wipe out parts of the pattern in the camera image.
• The smallest option on the builder's A4 print sheet is 12 stickers with a 4.5 cm code, too big for a business card, so download SVG and place it in your card layout instead.

More on size, distance and materials in QR code print size.

Changing your number or job

1. Open the manage link, or the code's page in your dashboard if it is in your account.
2. Edit the fields that changed and press Save.
3. Scan your old card: the contact page and the contact file now show the new details.

One limit to know: people who already saved your contact keep the old details on their phone. Editing on qrfast only changes what the next scan shows, so tell your regular contacts when your number changes.

Without an account, the manage link is what lets you edit this card, and anyone who has it can edit it too. Keep it private, or sign up free and press Add to my account on the manage link to keep the code in your dashboard.

FAQ

Do scanners need an app?

No. The contact page opens in the phone's browser, and .vcf is a standard format that the iPhone and Android contacts apps can import.

Can I add a photo or several phone numbers?

No. A qrfast contact card has one field each for first name, last name, company, job title, phone, email, website and address. To offer several channels, such as WhatsApp and LINE as well, use a multiple links code instead.