QR codes on business cards
What to link to, how small the code can go, where to put it — and an honest look at whether vCard codes are worth it.
Short answerPrint a business card QR code at about 2 cm square, using a vector file and a short URL, placed on the back of the card with its white margin intact. Link to a page you control rather than embedding contact details, so you can correct them without reprinting.
What to link to
A card has room for one code, so it has room for one destination. The best choice is whichever page continues the conversation you just had.
| If you are a… | Link to | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Designer or photographer | Your portfolio | The work argues better than the job title. |
| Consultant | A booking page | Turns a card in a pocket into a meeting. |
| Trade or home service | A quote request form | Captures the job while the problem is fresh. |
| Salesperson | A contact page | Holds email, phone, and calendar in one place you can edit. |
| Musician or performer | A listening or video link | Immediate, and shareable from the phone that scanned it. |
| Job seeker | A CV page or LinkedIn profile | Always current, unlike a printed CV. |
Whatever you choose, keep the URL short. Character count drives module count, module count drives the minimum printable size, and you have about two centimetres to work with.
How small can it go?
About 2 cm square is the practical floor, and that assumes a short URL and decent printing. The constraint is not the overall size but the size of each individual module, which wants to be at least roughly 0.4 mm.
- A short URL producing a version 1–3 code (21–29 modules) fits comfortably at 2 cm.
- A version 7 code (45 modules) at 2 cm gives each module about 0.44 mm — workable, but with no margin for error.
- Anything denser than that needs either a bigger code or a shorter link. The link is usually easier.
Uncoated and textured stocks make this worse: ink spreads into the fibres and closes the gaps between modules. On heavily textured card, add a couple of millimetres or drop a version. The full sizing logic is in QR code size for printing.
Use the SVG. A PNG resampled down to 2 cm softens exactly the module edges a scanner is looking for, and at card size there is nothing to spare.
Placement and design
- Back of the card. The front is for your name. A code competing with it makes both harder to read.
- A corner, not the centre. Centred codes make the card look like a parcel label.
- Keep the quiet zone clear. The white margin built into the file must stay free of text, rules, and the trim edge.
- Away from the fold or trim. A code clipped in finishing is a code that does not scan.
- Black on white. Every step away from maximum contrast costs read rate, and a card-sized code has none to give.
- No gloss over the code. Laminate and spot UV reflect overhead light straight into the camera.
- Caption it. Three words — “Scan for portfolio” — measurably beats a bare square.
vCard codes: the honest version
A vCard QR code embeds your contact details in the pattern itself, so scanning it offers to save you to the phone’s address book without loading a page. It sounds strictly better. On a printed card it usually is not.
| vCard code | Link to a page | |
|---|---|---|
| Works offline | Yes | No |
| Saves contact in one tap | Yes | Needs a download step |
| Can be corrected after printing | No | Yes |
| Pattern density | High — often version 10+ | Low |
| Minimum print size | Often 3 cm or more | About 2 cm |
| Behaviour across phones | Varies by scanner | Consistent |
| Can show your work | No | Yes |
The deciding factor is usually correctability. Phone numbers, job titles, and even companies change; a vCard code printed on five hundred cards freezes all of them. A URL under your control lets you fix any of it in a minute.
The case for vCard is genuinely strong in one place: trade shows and conferences with poor connectivity, where a page may not load at all. If that is your situation, print the vCard code larger than you think you need to.
This site does not produce vCard or MeCard codes. It can make a phone number code or an email code if one direct action is enough. A contact page can offer a downloadable .vcf file, which gets you most of the benefit and keeps the code coarse.
Make a card-sized code and download it as vector:Business card QR code generator
Related questions
About 2 cm square, assuming a short URL and a clean print. The real requirement is that each module is at least roughly 0.4 mm, so a longer link needs a larger code. Always print a proof at final size and scan it before ordering.
On the back, in a corner, with its white margin clear of text and well inside the trim edge. Keeping it off the front leaves your name as the first thing anyone reads, which is what a card is for.
Usually not. vCard codes are much denser, so they need a bigger square, and the details are frozen the moment you print. A link to a contact page you control can be corrected at any time and can also show your work. The exception is events with unreliable connectivity, where offline contact data genuinely wins.
A dark brand colour on a light background can work, but at 2 cm there is very little tolerance. Contrast is the main thing keeping a small code readable, so black is almost always the better trade.
No. One code, one destination. Two codes make people choose before they know what either does, and a card with a code on each side reads as a leaflet rather than an introduction.