vCard / Contact QR
A contact card people scan and save — built locally, in the format phones import.
What to encode
How this processes your file
The fields are assembled into a vCard — the plain-text format phone contact apps import — and encoded as a QR code on a canvas in this page. Version 3.0 is used deliberately: 4.0 is the current standard and the one a specification-first implementation would reach for, but iOS and several Android contact apps handle it inconsistently from a QR scan, and a contact card that does not import is worth nothing. Each field is escaped for the commas, semicolons and newlines that structure the format, and the encoded payload is shown in full so you can check what a scanner will receive.
What the results mean
- Payload bytes
- How much data the code carries. A name and a phone number is tiny; a full card with address and note can be five times that.
- Density
- The practical limit is not the encoder but the camera. Past "dense", a code on a business card needs good light and a steady hand.
- Code size in modules
- The number of squares per side. More modules in the same printed area means smaller squares, and small squares are what print quality and camera focus struggle with.
- Error correction
- Redundancy that lets a damaged or partly covered code still read. Higher correction means a denser code for the same data.
Common problems and fixes
- The code is huge and hard to scan
- Cut fields. Name, one phone number and one email is a comfortable code; adding an address, a title and a note can double it. Anything else can live on a web page behind a short URL.
- The contact imports with fields in the wrong place
- Check the payload shown below the code. Addresses in particular have seven components, and putting a whole address in one line is the usual cause.
- Accented characters break the import
- They encode as multiple bytes and some older contact apps mishandle them. Test on the phones your customers actually carry before printing a run.
Frequently asked questions
What is a vCard QR code?
A QR code containing a contact card rather than a link. Scanning it offers to save the name, phone, email and company straight into the phone's contacts, with no app, no website and no service in between. It is the reason a QR code on a business card is worth the space it takes.
Should I use vCard or a link to my contact page?
A vCard saves the contact instantly and works with no internet connection, but the details are frozen the moment you print it. A link stays current and can be tracked, at the cost of a round trip and a page that has to still exist in three years. For a printed business card, the vCard is usually the better bet — a card is a snapshot anyway.
Are my contact details uploaded?
No. The card is assembled and encoded by your browser. The details never leave the page, and they are deliberately excluded from anything this tool exports.