How to Create a QR Code for a Website

Start with a clean link

Before you open any tool, get your web address into shape. A QR code simply encodes whatever text you give it, so a long, messy link with tracking clutter produces a denser, harder-to-scan code. Copy the exact page you want people to land on, strip out anything unnecessary, and make sure it starts with https rather than http. If the address is very long, consider whether a shorter version of the same page exists, such as your homepage instead of a deep link with parameters.

Double-check that the page actually loads and looks right on a phone. Most QR scans happen on mobile, so a page that is broken or unreadable on a small screen wastes every scan. Open the link in your phone's browser yourself, tap through it, and confirm it is the experience you want a stranger to have.

Open the Website URL tab

Open the QR Code Generator and choose the Website URL tab. Paste your cleaned-up link into the field. The tool validates the address and builds a static QR code, which means the link is encoded directly into the pattern with no server involved. The code you get will work forever, needs no account, and costs nothing to keep.

You will see a live preview of the code as you type. Take a moment to confirm the previewed link text matches exactly what you pasted. A single mistyped character in a web address sends scanners to the wrong place, and once the code is printed, that typo is permanent.

Generate and download the PNG

When the preview looks right, generate the final code and download the PNG file. PNG is the right format here because it is lossless: every square stays crisp, which matters for scanning. Avoid re-saving the file as a low-quality JPEG later, since compression blur softens the sharp edges scanners rely on. Keep the original download somewhere safe, so you can reprint the same code at any size without regenerating it.

If you plan to print professionally, download the largest size available. You can always shrink a big image for a small print, but enlarging a small image produces blurry squares that fail to scan.

Test with a real scanner before printing

This is the step most people skip, and the one that prevents the most embarrassment. Before the code goes on a flyer, business card, or shop window, scan it with at least two different phones. Open your phone's camera, point it at the code on your screen, and tap the preview to confirm it opens the correct page. Then ask a friend or colleague to scan it with their phone, ideally a different brand.

Testing on screen first is fine, but also do one test print at the real size you plan to use. A code that scans beautifully on a large monitor can fail when printed two centimetres wide on a card. Print one copy, scan it in normal room light, and only then commit to the full print run.

Print-size and placement tips

Size is the most common reason printed codes fail. As a rule of thumb, a QR code should be at least 2 by 2 centimetres for close-up scanning, such as on a business card or receipt, and larger the farther away people will stand. A code on a poster viewed from two metres away needs to be much bigger than one on a menu held in the hand. When in doubt, go bigger.

Place the code where lighting is even and the surface is flat. Avoid glossy lamination that creates glare, curved surfaces that distort the grid, and busy patterned backgrounds that confuse the scanner. Keep the quiet zone, the white margin around the code, intact, and leave some breathing room so the code does not compete visually with nearby text or images.