QR Code Guides

Practical, tested advice on making QR codes that work the first time, for rentals, cafés, print and everything in between.

All guides

14 October 2026

QR Code for Office Files: Word, Excel and PowerPoint

No Office file fits inside a code, not even a blank one. One method links all three, and each type needs one different decision. Here are the numbers and the steps.

10 October 2026

QR Code for an Audio File (MP3)

A 3 minute MP3 would need 976 full QR codes. So link to the file instead. Here are the numbers, the steps, and three link styles we tested.

8 October 2026

QR Code Writer Free: How to Write Any QR Code in 3 Steps

A QR code writer is a generator. We ran nine of ours, decoded each code, and listed the exact text each one writes and how large it must print.

8 October 2026

Scan a QR Code From an Image: 4 Ways That Work

Four ways to read a code saved as a picture, and what we measured when it will not scan. Flipping a light on dark code fixed it in both decoders. A blurred photo could not be saved.

5 October 2026

Does a Canva QR Code Expire? Check Yours in a Minute

Scan it and read the address. An address you own means a static code that cannot expire. Someone else's domain means a redirect that depends on them.

5 October 2026

Canva QR Code Generator: 6 Things to Check Before You Print

Static or dynamic, contrast, a logo in the middle, size, file format and a test as a stranger. Six checks with numbers from our own tests.

3 October 2026

QRStuff QR Code Generator: What It Does and What to Check

What QRStuff offers, what its own pages say about expiry, scan limits and plans, and where those pages do not obviously agree with each other.

3 October 2026

Custom QR Code Colors: Which Combinations Still Scan?

We tested 20 colour pairs. Pink at 3.76 to 1 read everywhere, orange at 3.08 did not, and swapping yellow and black changed the result. Contrast beats hue.

1 October 2026

Online QR Code Generator: What to Check Before You Use One

We expected a low resolution download to stop a printed code scanning. It did not. Files from 128 px to 2000 px all failed at exactly the same point.

1 October 2026

How to Make a vCard QR Code, and Which Format to Use

We encoded one contact three ways. MECARD printed 4.8 mm smaller than vCard, but dropping three fields saved 6.4 mm and cost nothing in compatibility.

30 September 2026

What Is Inside a WiFi QR Code, and Who Can Read It

Your password sits in the code as plain text. Anyone with a photo can read it. Plus the semicolon that silently turns a working code into a wrong password.

28 September 2026

Random QR Code Generator: Free, Plus How It Works

Four characters of randomness falls to 1,477 guesses. Twelve takes 322 quadrillion. We measured what that extra length costs to print: nothing at all.

26 September 2026

URL to QR Code: Which Form of Your Link to Encode

We measured the same address six ways. Deleting www and the trailing slash changed nothing. Campaign tags cost 4.8 mm of printed width.

26 September 2026

Text QR Code Generator: How Much Text Actually Fits

34 characters print at 14.8 mm. A full page needs 66 mm, wider than a beer mat. The format holds 2,331 characters and refuses the 2,332nd.

25 September 2026

How to Create a QR Code for Google Drive

Four steps, and the one most guides skip. Plus what we measured: switching from the edit link to preview drops a whole version step.

23 September 2026

QR Signs: How Long Your Link Can Be at Each Print Size

A 20 mm code tolerates 0.24 mm of blur and about 85 characters. A 150 mm one tolerates 1.82 mm and more than the format can hold.

21 September 2026

vCard QR Code Generator With Photo: What Fits, How to Make

A 32 pixel thumbnail takes the code from 45x45 to 125x125 modules, needing 53 mm of print. A real photo does not fit the format at all.

21 September 2026

Bulk QR Codes: What Goes Wrong in a Batch of 500

Unpadded numbering makes codes change size partway through a batch, SVG is half the weight of print PNGs, and one wrong row makes a perfect code.

21 September 2026

QR Code for a Business Card: What Actually Fits

We measured what a vCard costs in printed millimetres. A full contact card needs 27.6 mm, half the height of a card. A link needs 14.8 mm.

19 September 2026

One QR Code for All Your Social Media? We Tested Four Ways

Can one code hold five profiles? We measured every option. A link page you own makes a smaller code than a single Instagram link.

19 September 2026

Why Won't This QR Code Scan? We Measured Blur, Angle and Size

One code decoded hundreds of times while we tilted, blurred and shrank it. Angle survived 60 degrees, but blur of four tenths of a module killed it.

17 September 2026

Location QR Codes: We Tested Which Format Prints Smallest

The same address encoded five ways produced codes from 25x25 to 57x57 modules. The link you copy from the browser bar is the worst one.

16 September 2026

We Damaged QR Codes Until They Broke

Everyone repeats that QR codes survive 30% damage. We ran the test. Level H managed 19% in one place and failed on a single module in another. Location beats quantity.

14 September 2026

QR Code for WhatsApp: Open a Chat With One Scan

How to make a WhatsApp QR code that opens a chat with your number and a prefilled message, using a free wa.me link. Includes the country code mistake most people make.

14 September 2026

How to Scan a QR Code From a Screenshot

You cannot point your camera at your own screen. Here is how to scan a QR code already saved on your phone, on iPhone, Android and desktop, plus what we found about image quality.

11 September 2026

Are QR Codes Safe? How to Spot a Malicious One

How QR code scams actually work, the warning signs before you tap, and what businesses should do to stop their own printed codes being tampered with.

11 September 2026

How to Add a QR Code to Your Email Signature

Step by step instructions for adding a QR code to your email signature in Gmail and Outlook, plus the right image size and the mistakes to avoid.

11 September 2026

QR Code for Google Reviews: The Setup That Actually Works

How to create a QR code that opens your Google review form directly, where to place it, what to write next to it, and the rules that protect your listing.

11 September 2026

QR Codes for Hotels: A Practical Guide

Which QR codes a hotel actually needs, where they belong in the guest journey, how to print them for rooms and lobbies, and the accessibility rules to respect.

10 September 2026

QR Code Size for Print: The Numbers That Actually Matter

How big should a QR code be? Scanning distance, minimum sizes, quiet zones and the print mistakes that stop codes working, with a practical size table.

10 September 2026

QR Codes for Cafés and Restaurants: What Actually Works

Which QR codes a café actually needs, where to put them, how big to print them, and the mistakes that make customers give up and ask a member of staff.

10 September 2026

Static vs Dynamic QR Codes: Which One Do You Actually Need?

The real differences between static and dynamic QR codes, what you gain, what you risk, and a simple way to get editable links without paying a subscription.

10 September 2026

How to Create a WiFi QR Code for Your Airbnb

A step by step guide for Airbnb hosts: create a WiFi QR code, print it so it scans first time, and stop answering late night password messages.

10 September 2026

WiFi QR Code Not Working? 7 Fixes That Actually Solve It

Your WiFi QR code scans but won't connect, or won't scan at all. Here are the seven real causes, in the order you should check them.

What these guides cover

Generating a QR code takes about ten seconds. Getting one to work reliably in a real environment, a dim restaurant at 9pm, a printed card handled by a hundred people, a guest arriving with no data allowance, takes a handful of specifics that are rarely written down properly.

These guides cover that gap. Each one deals with a concrete situation rather than QR codes in general, and gives the numbers where numbers matter: minimum print sizes, the character counts where codes start failing, which test actually proves a WiFi code works, and where an ad or a code must not be placed.

Start here by situation