vCard QR Code Generator for Business Cards
A vCard QR code carries a whole contact record: name, company, job title, mobile number, email, website and work address. Scanning it opens the phone's 'add contact' screen with every field filled in, which beats retyping a phone number from a tiny business card. Print it on the back of your card, on a name badge, on a trade-show banner or in an email signature. QRPebble writes a standards-based vCard 3.0 record and escapes commas and semicolons so company names like 'Smith, Jones & Co.' import correctly. The data lives in the code itself, so there's no profile page to host or keep paying for.
Static code: the data is encoded directly, so it never expires and is not tracked. Need to change the link after printing or count scans? Create a free dynamic code.
How to make it
- Enter a First name (and optionally Last name); at least one is required.
- Add Company, Job title, Phone, Email, Website and Address as needed. Leave out anything you don't want shared.
- Enter the phone in international format such as +1 415 555 0123 so it dials correctly abroad.
- Download and scan-test: tap 'Create contact' on your own phone and check every field landed in the right place.
What gets encoded
The payload is a vCard 3.0 block: BEGIN:VCARD, VERSION:3.0, N (last;first), FN, then optional ORG, TITLE, TEL;TYPE=CELL, EMAIL;TYPE=INTERNET, URL and ADR;TYPE=WORK, ending with END:VCARD. Text is escaped per RFC 2426. The iPhone Camera and most Android scanners import vCards directly into Contacts. Some third-party scanner apps map fields differently, which is why testing matters. Because vCards are verbose, every extra field makes the code denser; if you only need name, phone and email, a MeCard produces a smaller code.
Where people use it
- The back of a printed business card
- Conference badges and booth signage
- Real-estate yard signs and property flyers
- Staff directory posters in an office
Tips before you print
- A full vCard is a dense code. Print it at least 2.5 cm wide on a business card and use error correction L or M.
- Your address goes into a single street field; keep it short, like '12 Main St, Springfield'.
- Leave room for the margin setting. Cropping the white border is the most common reason card codes fail.
- If your details change often, consider a dynamic URL code pointing to a contact page instead.
FAQ
What's the difference between vCard and MeCard?
vCard is the richer standard with company, title and address fields. MeCard is a shorter format with fewer fields, which yields a smaller, easier-to-scan code.
Will it work on Android and iPhone?
Most modern phone cameras import vCard 3.0 codes. A few scanner apps display the raw text instead, so test with the phones your audience is likely to use.
Can I update the contact after printing?
No. The contact data is baked into the pattern, so changes need a new code.