How to put a contact on a QR code
A vCard QR code stores a contact card — name, organisation, job title, mobile, email and website — directly in the image. One scan opens an Add Contact screen with everything filled in, which beats dictating a number across a noisy conference hall every time.
What the template encodes
The generator's Contact vCard template assembles a vCard 3.0 record from six fields: name, organisation, job title, mobile, email and website. The finished payload lands in the QR Content box, where you can still edit it by hand — for example to add a second number — before generating.
Because the contact travels inside the image, there is no link to expire and no profile page to maintain. The trade is density: six filled fields run to several hundred characters, and the matrix grows with every one of them.
Keep it to what a stranger needs. Every extra field makes the code denser and harder to scan at badge size. Name, one phone number, one email and an organisation cover nearly every first meeting; the rest of your biography belongs on the website the code can also carry.
How to make one in under a minute
- Open the generator and pick the Contact vCard template. Six fields appear: name, organisation, job title, mobile, email and website.
- Fill in what a new contact needs, nothing more. Include the country code on the mobile number so the saved contact dials correctly abroad.
- Read the QR Content box. It shows the exact vCard text that will be encoded. Check the spelling of the name and the digits of the number there.
- Leave error correction at High. Badges get bent, rained on and photographed from screens; High tolerates roughly 30% damage before a scan fails.
- Export for the medium and test on a real phone. Vector SVG when a designer places the code on a card layout, or Ultra Print at 1024 pixels for a straight print. Scan the result at the size you will actually use.
Where it works, and where it does not
| Situation | What happens | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| iPhone camera | Opens an Add Contact preview. | Core vCard 3.0 fields recognised from the camera app. |
| Android camera | Opens an Add Contact preview. | Same core fields; exact wording varies by maker. |
| Long contact, small print | May struggle. | Dense codes need a bigger print; test at final size. |
| Desktop scanner | Varies. | Phones read these well; desktop software is inconsistent. |
| Details change later | Old prints go stale. | A new number needs a fresh code and a reprint. |
| Logo in the middle | Scans if kept small. | Use 20 percent size with error correction at High, then test. |
Limits worth knowing
- Payload size is the whole game. Longer payloads need denser codes, so print contact codes bigger than link codes — a business-card corner needs a clean, high-contrast print.
- Only the six template fields are one-click. Name, organisation, job title, mobile, email and website are built in; anything else means hand-editing vCard lines in the QR Content box.
- Non-Latin scripts need testing. Names outside basic Latin encode fine but render differently across phone makers, so scan the proof on more than one brand.
- A printed code cannot be edited. Treat the payload text as a master copy: keep it in your notes and regenerating after a job change takes a minute.
Frequently asked questions
What happens when someone scans my vCard QR code?
Their phone reads a vCard 3.0 contact from the image and opens an Add Contact screen with the fields already filled in. They confirm once and the contact is saved.
No app install and no account are involved on either side.
Which contact fields does the template encode?
Name, organisation, job title, mobile number, email address and website. Those six fields cover what a badge or business card needs.
Anything beyond them has to go into the QR Content box by hand as extra vCard lines.
Why does my vCard code look denser than a link code?
Because it carries far more characters. A contact with six filled fields is several hundred characters long, and every character becomes modules in the matrix.
The fix is size: print contact codes bigger than you would print a short link.
Do vCard QR codes work on both iPhone and Android?
Yes for the core fields. Both platforms recognise vCard 3.0 from the camera app and offer to save the contact.
Desktop scanners vary more, so a code meant for conference badges should still be tested on the phones your audience carries.
How do I update the details after printing business cards?
You cannot update a printed code. The contact details are baked into the image, so a new phone number means a fresh code and a fresh print run.
Keep the payload in your own notes so regenerating takes a minute.