QR Code Generator

Put a link on a poster, a menu on a table or a Wi-Fi password on a fridge — this free QR code generator turns any text or URL into a scannable code in your browser. Pick the error-correction level, the size and the colours, then download the result as a PNG or an SVG.

Because the code is generated locally, the link you encode is never sent to a server or logged. For sharing a Wi-Fi network specifically, the WiFi QR Code Generator builds the special format phones expect. If you need a scannable code for a product label instead, try the Code 128 Barcode Generator.

How QR codes work

A QR code stores data as a grid of dark and light squares called modules. The three large squares in the corners are finder patterns — they tell a phone camera where the code is and which way up it is. The remaining modules carry the encoded data plus error-correction information, laid out in a fixed pattern around timing and alignment markers.

Error correction: the clever part

QR codes use Reed–Solomon error correction, the same maths that keeps scratched CDs playing. Part of the code is redundant data that lets a scanner rebuild the original even when some modules are damaged, dirty or covered by a logo.

Higher correction makes the code denser (more modules), so use the lowest level that fits the situation. Level M is the right default for most prints; step up to Q or H when the code will be outdoors, small, or partly covered.

Printing tips

Keep a quiet zone — a blank margin at least four modules wide — around the code, or scanners may fail to find it. Print dark modules on a light background with strong contrast, and test-scan the printed result at the size people will actually use it: a code that scans on screen can still fail when shrunk onto a business card.