QR Code Generator: Complete Usage Guide

Purpose

This tool encodes text or a URL into a static QR code you can download and use forever. Static means the data lives inside the code itself: there is no redirect service in the middle, no account, no expiry, and no third party that can start charging you or shut down and break every printed copy. That makes it the right choice for menus, packaging, signage, business cards and anything else that will outlive a marketing campaign.

How to use it

1. 1Paste the URL or text you want to encode. Shorter data produces a less dense, more reliable code.
2. 2Adjust size and error-correction level if the options are available — use M for screens and Q or H for print.
3. 3Check the live preview and scan it once from your own phone before downloading.
4. 4Download the PNG and place it in your design with a clear blank margin around it.

Tips & tricks

• Size for distance: the code should be at least the scanning distance divided by ten. Three metres away means a 30 cm code.
• Keep the quiet zone. The blank border around the code is functional, not decorative — deleting it breaks scanning.
• Dark code on a light background, always. Inverted codes fail on many scanners.
• Add three words of instruction beside it — 'Scan for menu' measurably increases scan rates over a bare code.
• Test on at least three phones, including an older cheap one, in the lighting where it will actually be used.

Common errors and fixes