QR Code Generator

Generate standard, Micro, rectangular, GS1, HIBC, and Swiss QR-family codes for URLs, text, Wi-Fi, contacts, messages, locations, events, and OTP setup.

Description

Generate downloadable QR Codes for text, URLs, Wi-Fi access, contacts, messages, locations, calendar events, and authenticator setup, with scan-conscious styling and optional logos.

A QR Code is a two-dimensional matrix symbol that stores data in a square arrangement of light and dark modules. This generator produces self-contained SVG or PNG images for ordinary text and structured application payloads, including URLs, Wi-Fi credentials, vCards, email, SMS, geographic coordinates, calendar events, and TOTP enrollment. Standard QR Codes can also use custom colors, dot or rounded modules, styled finder patterns, and a centered raster logo.^[1]

When to use a QR Code

Use a QR Code when a camera-equipped device should receive a modest amount of text without typing it. Common uses include opening a web page, joining a Wi-Fi network, importing a contact, starting an email or SMS, locating coordinates, adding an event, and transferring an authenticator secret. Choose a conventional barcode instead when an established retail, logistics, postal, publishing, or medical workflow requires a particular symbology.

Use the URL payload type so the scheme is checked before encoding.
Use Wi-Fi, contact, event, and communication forms to escape separators correctly instead of composing their payloads by hand.
Use high error correction before adding a center logo, then test the exported image on several devices.
Treat an OTP QR Code as a password because anyone who scans it can copy the shared secret.

How to use the QR Code Generator

First choose the QR format. For an ordinary QR Code, select the content type that matches what a scanner should do, then complete the fields shown for that payload. The preview updates locally as you type. Open Style and rendering to choose error correction, output scale, quiet-zone size, colors, module and finder shapes, or an optional tool.io or uploaded logo. Download SVG for scalable artwork or PNG for a ready-to-use raster image.

Choose Standard QR Code unless the receiving system specifically requires Micro QR, GS1, HIBC, Swiss QR, or another listed variant.
Select Text, URL, Wi-Fi, Contact, Email, SMS, Phone, Location, Calendar event, or OTP and enter the requested values.
Choose the error-correction level and retain a clear quiet zone; use level H when adding a logo.
Apply colors and shapes while keeping strong foreground-to-background contrast.
Scan the preview and the final exported image with multiple devices before distributing or printing it.

Level	Approximate recoverable codewords	Typical choice
L	7%	Clean, controlled display or print
M	15%	General-purpose default
Q	25%	More damage or visual customization
H	30%	Logo overlay or demanding environment

^[2]

How QR Code encoding works

The encoder converts the payload into codewords, adds Reed–Solomon error-correction codewords, places fixed finder and timing patterns, lays data modules into the matrix, and applies a mask selected to reduce visually troublesome patterns. Versions 1 through 40 grow from 21 by 21 to 177 by 177 modules. The L, M, Q, and H settings provide increasing recovery capacity at the cost of available payload capacity.^{[3, 2]}

Serialize the selected content type into its application payload, such as WIFI:, BEGIN:VCARD, geo:, or otpauth:.
Pass the exact payload, QR format, and error-correction level to the local standards-based encoder.
Render the module matrix with the selected quiet zone, colors, module shape, and finder style.
If a raster logo is selected, cap its size, place it over a solid backing plate, and embed it directly into the SVG.
Export the same generated image as scalable SVG or rasterized PNG without sending the payload to a remote QR service.

Styling without breaking scanning

Keep strong contrast between modules and background, retain a clear quiet zone, and avoid making modules too small. Finder patterns are protected from the dot style because scanners rely on their geometry. A logo deliberately hides modules, so its 25% size cap is not a guarantee: payload length, print process, camera quality, glare, resizing, and surrounding artwork can still make a design fail.

Limitations and safety considerations

A generated symbol can be mathematically valid and still fail after low-resolution printing, compression, cropping, glare, or insufficient contrast.
Scanning a QR Code does not establish that its destination is trustworthy; inspect unfamiliar URLs and confirmation screens before continuing.
Wi-Fi passwords, contact details, event notes, and OTP secrets remain visible to anyone who can scan or inspect the image.
Micro QR, rectangular Micro QR, Swiss QR, HIBC, GS1, and other specialized variants impose payload and workflow rules beyond visual encoding.
Custom module shapes and logos are intentionally limited to standard QR Codes; specialized variants retain their encoder-defined design.

Alternative or Complementary approaches

Linear barcodes are often a better fit for product identifiers and established scanners, while Data Matrix, Aztec, PDF417, and other two-dimensional codes serve different capacity, marking, or industry requirements. A short human-readable URL beside a QR Code provides a fallback. For app features such as polls or games, encode a short-lived HTTPS join URL rather than private session state; authorization and expiry still belong to the server behind that URL.

References

What is a QR Code? — DENSO WAVE
Error correction feature — DENSO WAVE
Information capacity and versions of the QR Code — DENSO WAVE

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