What a contact QR code does
Scan a contact QR code and the phone offers to save a new contact — name, phone, email, company, website — with no typing. It is the modern replacement for the business-card pile: your details go straight into the address book, correctly spelled, at the moment the person is interested. This generator builds the code in either vCard or MeCard format from the fields you fill in, entirely in your browser, and outputs a PNG or SVG for cards, badges, email signatures and slides.
vCard vs MeCard
| vCard | MeCard | |
|---|---|---|
| Origin | Internet standard (RFC 6350), used by every address book | NTT DoCoMo, designed for QR codes |
| Fields | Rich: multiple phones, addresses, title, photo, notes | Basic: name, phone, email, address, URL, note |
| Code size | Larger — more verbose syntax | Smaller — compact syntax |
| iPhone support | Excellent | Good |
| Android support | Excellent | Excellent |
| Best for | Full business details | Small prints where a compact code matters |
For most business cards, vCard is the safe default: it is what the phone's own “share contact” produces and every device imports it fully. Switch to MeCard if the vCard version comes out too dense to scan at the size you need.
What is inside the code
vCard:
BEGIN:VCARD
VERSION:3.0
N:Doe;John
FN:John Doe
ORG:Example Ltd
TEL:+14155551234
EMAIL:john@example.com
URL:https://example.com
END:VCARD
MeCard:
MECARD:N:Doe,John;TEL:+14155551234;EMAIL:john@example.com;URL:https://example.com;;Keeping the code scannable
Every field you add makes the code denser. A vCard with name, one phone, one email and a company is around 150 characters and scans easily at 2 cm. Adding a postal address, a second phone, a job title and a note can push it past 400 characters, which needs 3 cm or more and a steady hand. Rules of thumb:
- Include only what the person will actually use — name, one phone, one email, website.
- Leave the postal address off unless people visit; it is the longest field.
- Use the international phone format (
+44…) so the contact works abroad. - Use error correction M, not H, for long contacts — H adds a lot of modules.
- Print the code at least 2.5 cm on a card and test from a normal reading distance.
Where to use it
- Business cards — on the back, with a short “Scan to save” caption.
- Conference badges and lanyards — swapped in seconds without fumbling for cards.
- Email signatures — recipients reading on a laptop scan with their phone.
- Slide decks — a closing slide that the audience photographs.
- Shop counters and reception desks — the business's main contact as a card-sized print.
- Phone lock screen — your own contact code as wallpaper, for handing over details quickly.
Contact QR vs link-in-bio page
A contact QR saves details offline and instantly, and never changes. A link to a profile page (Linktree-style, or your own site) can be updated after printing and can carry a photo, booking link and social profiles — but needs a connection and one more tap. Many people print the contact QR on the card and put the profile URL in the vCard's website field to get both.