What happens when someone scans it
The code contains a small contact card in the vCard format that every phone understands. The iPhone camera and Android’s camera or Google Lens show a prompt to add the contact. One tap opens the new-contact screen with your details already filled in, ready to save. No app or website is involved.
Keep it short
Every field you fill in goes into the code itself, and more text means more, smaller squares. A card with name, phone, email and company scans easily from a business card. Add a full street address, job title and website and the code gets dense enough that older phones struggle at small print sizes. Two practical rules:
- Fill in only what you’d want saved in someone’s phone.
- Print it at least 2.5 cm (1 inch) wide on a business card, and test with two phones before ordering a box of 500.
- Enter the phone number in international format, such as
+44 7700 900123, so it dials correctly for contacts abroad.
vCard or a link to a profile page?
A vCard code works offline and saves the contact directly, but can’t change once printed. If you move jobs often or want to show a portfolio, put your details on a web page you control and use the QR code generator to link to it. That takes the visitor to a page first, and saving the contact is up to them.
Questions
Does the code expire?
No. The contact details are inside the code itself, not on a server, so there is nothing to expire or pay for.
Can I add a photo to the contact?
Not in a QR code. Even a small photo is far more data than a QR code can hold.