A WhatsApp QR code worth putting on the counter.
A card, a table standee or a sticker with your name, logo and colour, and a code that opens a chat with you. Download a PDF sized for print, a 300 dpi PNG or an SVG — free, with no sign-up and no watermark.
QR code designer
Before you print
Five things between the file and a code that scans.
- Print at actual size. In the print window choose “actual size” or 100%, not “fit to page”, so an A6 card comes out at A6 and the code at the size it was checked at.
- Expect colours to print a little darker. A screen makes colour from light and a printer from ink, so the same colour rarely matches exactly. Print one copy and look at it before ordering a hundred.
- Matte, not gloss. A glossy card throws the shop lights back into the camera, and a code under a reflection does not scan. Matte paper or a matte laminate avoids it.
- Scan the printed copy. The designer checks the drawing; only the print shows how it came out. Try two different phones, from where a customer will stand.
- Keep the white around the code. It is part of the code, and the design leaves room for it. Do not crop it or print over it.
What it checks
It reads its own code before you print it.
Every change you make is drawn again and read back the way a phone would read it. The files unlock only when what it reads is exactly your link — your number and your message, nothing missing.
That matters most with a logo in the middle. A QR code carries spare information so that a scratched or creased one still reads; a logo uses some of it up, and rounded squares or a coloured code use a little more. Each is fine on its own. Together they can tip a code over, and the place to find that out is here, not at the printer’s.
Want only the code, to place in your own design? The plain QR code generator makes it without a card around it, and the link generator gives you the link for a website or a bio.
Questions
Asked about designing a WhatsApp QR code.
Something else? Write to us — a person answers.
Is it free?
Yes. We charge nothing for the designer and WhatsApp charges nothing for the code. There is no account to make and no watermark on the files.
Which file should I download?
The PDF to print, at home or at a print shop: it is the exact size of the paper you chose, so print it at actual size rather than “fit to page”. The PNG for Canva, Word or a WhatsApp status; it is 300 dots per inch. The SVG for a designer, or to print larger than A4, because it stays sharp at any size.
Can I put my logo in the middle of the code?
Yes. Add your logo, then tick “put it in the middle of the code”. The code switches to the highest level of error correction, which lets it lose part of itself and still read, and clears a small square for the logo. The designer then decodes its own drawing before letting you download, so a combination that does not scan is caught before you print it.
Why does the code stay black when I choose a colour?
A phone reads a QR code by the contrast between its dark and light squares. Black on white reads everywhere. You can draw the code in your colour when that colour is dark enough against white to scan; a light colour, such as yellow or a pale pink, is used for the card and kept off the code.
Why can’t I download before I type my number?
Without a number, a WhatsApp link opens the share screen, where the person scanning chooses who to send the message to. On a printed card that sends your customers to their own contacts instead of to you. The example design shows that link, and the files wait for yours.
Does the code expire?
No. It holds your wa.me link itself, not a link to a service that forwards it, so it works for as long as your number is on WhatsApp, whether or not this site exists. The other side of that is that a printed code cannot be edited: a new number or message means a new code.
Is my logo uploaded anywhere?
No. The logo is opened by your browser and drawn into the design there, and the files are made on your computer or phone. Nothing you type or add is sent to talkv, and nothing is kept: close the page and it is gone, so keep the file you download.
What is bleed, and do I need it?
A print shop that prints colour to the very edge prints on a larger sheet and trims it, and the trim is never perfectly placed. Bleed is extra colour past the edge so a slightly-off cut never shows a white line. Tick it if your printer asks for 3 mm bleed; leave it off to print at home.
When the chats arrive
A code brings the chats. talkv answers them.
A shared inbox so your whole team can reply, an away message for when you are closed, and keyword answers for “price” and “timings”. When somebody agrees to hear from you, record it — a person writing to you is not, on its own, a yes to broadcasts. What counts as opt-in.
