QR code on a business card: what to put in it and how to print it
Decide whether a business card QR code should save a contact or open a page, keep it editable when details change, and print it at a size phones can read.
A QR code on a business card can hold your contact details for a phone to save, or a link to a web page that has them. Details written into the code can’t change after printing. A short link’s destination can, so a link suits details that might change. Print the code about 2.5 cm wide with a white border, and test a proof before ordering.
This guide follows a made-up freelance illustrator who orders 250 cards for a trade fair. Links makes the short link and its QR code. It doesn’t host pages or contact files, or put contact details in a code.
Choose a vCard code or a link
A “vCard QR code” holds the details themselves, written in the vCard format. A link code holds only a web address.
| The code holds | Editable after printing | Watch for |
|---|---|---|
| Your details as a vCard | No | A denser code with smaller squares |
| A short link to a contact page | Yes | The page has to stay online |
| A short link to a profile or portfolio | Yes | Saving your details takes an extra step |
A vCard code works without a connection and suits details that won’t change; fewer details give larger squares. The illustrator’s email address changes next year, so she links to a contact page.
Prepare a contact page that works on a phone
Put these at the top of the page: name, role, phone, email and a “Save my contact” link to a contact file (.vcf). Many contacts apps can export an entry as a .vcf file; upload yours to your website. Make the phone number and email address links too. The page is public, so list only details you’re happy for anyone to see.
If you have a Reunified identity, its public profile at reunified.com/@handle can stand in for that page: pin a “Save my contact” link to your contact file, and it shows at the top. The link in bio guide explains pinned links.
Test it on a phone in a private window: it should load, open the contact file and need no sign-in.
Create an editable short link and QR code
In the Links app, press New link. Title it “Business card · trade fair” and enter the contact page as the destination. Destinations must be web addresses, so the link can’t dial a number.
On the link’s page, press QR code and choose Download SVG, which stays sharp at any size. The PNG (592 × 592 pixels, about 600 dpi at 2.5 cm) works where SVG isn’t accepted. The code holds the reunified.link address, not the page’s, so the destination can change without reprinting.
Size and place the code on the card
A card is scanned from about 25 cm, so the one-tenth rule in the QR code size guide gives a starting width of about 2.5 cm, border included.
Every Links code holds a short reunified.link address and has 29 × 29 squares, 37 with the border: about 0.7 mm each at 2.5 cm. At the same error correction level, the illustrator’s vCard (name, role, phone, email and website, about 170 characters) needs 53 × 53 squares (61 with the border), about 0.4 mm each. DENSO WAVE says larger squares read more reliably.
On the card:
- Keep the white border, four squares wide on every side, clear of text and the card’s edge; DENSO WAVE’s code-area page says a QR code requires it.
- Print dark on a plain, light background.
- Print the short address under the code for anyone who can’t scan, in a font that tells 0 from o and 1 from l.
- Add a label that says what happens: “Scan for my contact details”.
Test a printed proof
Print a proof at final size on the real card stock, in matte and glossy if you’re still choosing: gloss can reflect light into the camera.
- Scan with at least three phones, including an older one.
- On an iPhone and an Android phone, open the page, save the contact file and check the saved entry. Phones and browsers handle contact files differently.
- Type the printed address into a phone’s browser, in lowercase and capitals.
The illustrator orders only when every phone passes.
Keep the card working after printing
When her email changes, the illustrator edits the page and contact file at their current addresses, so nothing in Links changes. People who already saved her contact keep the old details.
If the page moves, open the link, choose Edit main destination, enter the new address and save, then scan an old card. The QR destination guide covers what to check after a change.
Creating links is free, each counted click costs 0.05 credits (current pricing), and new accounts start with 100 credits. When credits run out, the link pauses and visitors see a page saying it’s unavailable. Don’t delete a link on cards people still have: deleting can’t be undone, and the address stops working for good. Do QR codes expire? covers other reasons a printed code stops working.
A counted click isn’t a person you met: one person scanning twice counts twice. Links gives the card an address you can redirect; your printed proof shows that it scans.