How to Make a QR Code (for Wi-Fi, URL, or Plain Text)

QR codes used to feel like a 2011 marketing gimmick that nobody used. Then COVID happened, restaurant menus all went digital, and every phone camera grew QR scanning into the standard photo app. Now they’re everywhere, and there are a thousand legitimate reasons to make one.

Here’s how to do it in 30 seconds without installing anything.

The fastest way: make one in your browser

Use the QR Code Generator. Type or paste your content, click generate, download the resulting PNG. Done.

The flow:

Open the QR Code Generator
Type the content (URL, text, Wi-Fi credentials, etc.)
Click generate
Adjust size or error-correction level if needed
Download the PNG (or copy it directly into another doc)

The QR code is rendered in your browser — no upload, no server processing, no tracking. Whatever URL or text you encode stays between you and your generator.

What can you put in a QR code?

Surprisingly varied:

URLs are the most common use. Paste any website link, get a QR code that opens that link when scanned. Useful for:

Printed business cards or flyers linking to your website
Restaurant menus
Event check-ins
Wi-Fi setup instructions (paired with a Wi-Fi QR — see below)
Marketing materials where you want to track scans (use a URL shortener with analytics)

Plain text — anything. A message, a code, a phone number, a hashtag. When someone scans the QR code, their phone shows the text. They can copy it, share it, or just read it.

Wi-Fi credentials. A special QR format that encodes the network name and password. When someone scans it, their phone offers to join that Wi-Fi network — no typing required. We’ll cover this format below.

vCard / contact info. Encodes your name, phone, email, address in a format that becomes a contact card when scanned. Great for business cards.

Email addresses. Scanning opens a draft email to that address (with optional pre-filled subject).

Phone numbers. Scanning offers to dial that number.

Geolocation. Latitude/longitude that opens in maps when scanned.

For the most common cases (URL, text, Wi-Fi), the QR Code Generator handles the formatting automatically — you just type what you want in.

How to make a Wi-Fi QR code

This is one of the most genuinely useful features. The QR code encodes your network name and password in a format every phone understands. Scan it and the phone offers to connect — no typing the password, no spelling out “capital P, lowercase a, the symbol that looks like an at-sign…”

In the generator, pick “Wi-Fi” as the content type, then fill in:

SSID (the network name as it appears in Wi-Fi settings)
Password (case-sensitive)
Encryption type — usually WPA2 (works for WPA3 too). Use “None” for an open network.
Hidden network — check this if your network’s SSID is set to not broadcast

Generate the QR code, print it out, stick it on the fridge or by the front door. Houseguests can connect in one scan.

Security note: the QR code contains your Wi-Fi password in plain text. Anyone who sees the printed QR can decode it (just by scanning). For a home Wi-Fi this is usually fine — you’re sharing the password anyway. For business or sensitive networks, don’t print it where casual visitors can scan.

Error correction — what those settings mean

QR codes have built-in error correction so they can be partially obscured or damaged and still scan correctly. The generator usually lets you pick from four levels:

L (Low) — recovers up to ~7% damage. Smallest QR code.
M (Medium) — recovers up to ~15%. Balanced default.
Q (Quartile) — recovers up to ~25%. Bigger QR code, more robust.
H (High) — recovers up to ~30%. Big and robust.

When to pick which:

Default (M) for digital use (paste into a doc, display on screen). Works fine.
High (H) for outdoor signage, business cards that get bent, anywhere the QR might be scuffed, photographed at angles, or partially covered.
Low (L) when the content is short and you want the smallest possible QR code.

Higher error correction means a more complex (denser) QR code, but it’s more forgiving when scanned in real-world conditions.

How big should the QR code be?

The bigger, the easier to scan. Rule of thumb:

Business card / sticker (close-range scanning): 1 inch × 1 inch (25mm × 25mm) is the minimum.
Poster on a wall (scanned from 3-6 feet): 4 inches × 4 inches (100mm × 100mm).
Billboard or large display (scanned from 10+ feet): 1 inch of QR for every 10 feet of viewing distance.
Digital screen (laptop, TV, kiosk): at least 300×300 pixels on the actual screen, with high contrast.

A QR code that’s too small for the viewing distance just won’t scan reliably. Err on the larger side.

Why isn’t my QR code scanning?

Common issues:

Too small. Most common cause. Make it bigger.

Low contrast. QR codes need a dark “data” color on a light background. Black on white is ideal. Avoid color combinations that look similar in grayscale (red on green, dark blue on dark gray).

Reflective surface. Glossy paper, plastic protectors, glass — all can create glare that confuses the scanner. Use matte materials when possible.

Bent or damaged. A folded business card or torn poster may have damage in the corners or center where the QR markers live. High error-correction helps but isn’t magic.

Color inversion. Some designers invert QR codes (light pattern on dark background) for style. Most scanners handle this fine, but a few older ones don’t. Stick with dark-on-light if you want maximum compatibility.

Logo in the middle. Some QR codes have a logo embedded in the center. This works because of the error correction — but only up to a point. If the logo covers more than ~20% of the QR, it won’t scan. Use high error-correction when adding logos.

Reading a QR code from an image

Sometimes you have a QR code in a file (a screenshot, an image you received) and you can’t easily scan it — maybe you’re on a desktop without a webcam, or you want to extract the URL without launching the camera app.

Use the QR Code Reader. Drop in the image, and the encoded content appears as text you can copy.

Use cases:

Decoding a QR code from an email attachment without printing it
Pulling the URL out of a QR for analytics, archiving, or sharing as a link
Verifying what’s actually in a QR code before scanning with a real device (security check — make sure the link goes where it claims)

The reader works on screenshots, photographs of physical QR codes, and digital QR images. All processing happens in your browser.

Generating in bulk

For one-off QR codes, the browser generator is perfect. For bulk needs (e.g., one QR per table at a 500-table restaurant), the workflow gets harder — there’s no batch mode in the generator (the use case is too niche to bake in).

For bulk generation, command-line tools like qrencode (free, available on Mac/Linux/Windows) handle thousands of codes from a CSV input. If you ever need that, search for “qrencode batch CSV” — the workflow is well-documented.

Privacy

The Generator and Reader both run entirely in your browser:

URLs and text you encode never leave your machine
Wi-Fi passwords encoded never leave your machine
Images you upload to the reader never leave your machine

This matters because QR codes often contain sensitive info — Wi-Fi credentials, internal URLs, contact data. Other “free” QR generators online may log what you encoded, especially anything monetized through analytics. With a browser-based generator there’s nothing to log.

TL;DR

Make a QR code from any URL, text, or Wi-Fi credentials → QR Code Generator
Decode an existing QR code from an image → QR Code Reader
Use high error-correction for printed/outdoor use
Use Wi-Fi QR codes for guest networks (huge time-saver)
Privacy: everything runs in your browser, including Wi-Fi passwords