Generating the code is the easy part: it takes a minute and it’s free. What decides whether it earns its place is everything after — where you stick it, how big, on what material, and whether you know how many people scan it. That is what this guide is about.
What a WhatsApp QR code solves, and what it doesn’t
It solves the jump from the physical world into a chat. Someone is standing in front of your shop, your table or your product, points the camera, and lands in a conversation with you without typing a number or searching for you. That stretch — reading the number, writing it down, saving it, typing — is where most people drop off.
One common mix-up worth clearing up: this QR code has nothing to do with the one in WhatsApp Web. That one logs you into your own account from a computer and you scan it with your phone. The one in this guide is scanned by your customers to message you.
And it doesn’t fix what isn’t an access problem: if nobody messages you when your number is in plain sight, a QR code won’t change that. What it removes is friction.
Create it in a minute
You need your number with the country code and, optionally, the message the conversation starts with. You can generate the code free here and download it ready to print.
One detail that matters more than it looks: the shorter the address you encode, the fewer squares the QR has. A wa.me link with a long message produces a dense code that is hard to read from a distance or printed small. With a short link the same code comes out far cleaner — the difference is covered in wa.me vs a short link.
Where to put it
The rule is simple: wherever the person is already standing still, phone in hand, with a question in their head.
- Counter and till: orders, questions and complaints without queueing.
- The table, in restaurants: menu, order or the bill. A small stand works; under the glass, where the light reflects, doesn’t.
- Shop window: it works outside opening hours, which is exactly when there is nobody to ask.
- Packaging and labels: after-sales support, repeat orders, reviews.
- Vehicle livery and banners: size is critical here, see the next section.
- Cards and invoices: replaces the printed phone number nobody types.
- Trade shows: on the stand and on the badge.
One code per purpose, not the same one everywhere: use a different link in each spot and you will know which one works.
Size: the distance rule
The reference printers use is divide the reading distance by ten. At one metre the code should be around 10 cm across. At five metres, around 50 cm.
| Where | Distance | Minimum size |
|---|---|---|
| Table, card, packaging | 30 cm | 3 cm |
| Counter | 50 cm | 5 cm |
| Shop window | 1–2 m | 10–20 cm |
| Wall poster | 3 m | 30 cm |
| Banner or vehicle | 5 m or more | 50 cm or more |
That is a minimum, not a target. Going too small is the expensive mistake, because you never find out: people try once, it won’t focus, and they move on.
Printing and design
- Dark on light. Inverting it — light code on a dark background — fails on plenty of readers. If the design demands it, drop the code into a light panel.
- Keep the white margin around the code. Without that breathing room the camera can’t tell where it starts.
- No text or logos on top, except small and centred, and even then test before printing.
- Matte material whenever you can. Gloss and lamination reflect and ruin the read under direct light.
- Mind the fold: on leaflets and menus, keep the code off the crease.
Before printing a hundred, print one at home at full size and scan it with two different phones, one of them with an older camera. It is the cheapest quality control there is.
Tell people what they get for scanning
A black square with no explanation gets ignored. Next to the code there has to be a line saying what happens next: “Scan and order without queueing”, “Check availability on WhatsApp”, “Stuck with the assembly? Message us”.
And the pre-filled message should match that promise. If the sign talks about orders, the chat should open with “Hi, I’d like to place an order” already typed. There are templates in the pre-filled message guide.
Measure how many people scan
A printed QR code reports nothing by itself. What you can measure is the link behind it: give each location its own, and after a month you know whether the table beats the shop window, and whether that banner paid for itself.
That is the difference between a static code generated anywhere and one backed by your own link: the second counts clicks and, if your number changes, you change the destination without reprinting anything. Link analytics handles it.
Common mistakes
- Printing it small so it “doesn’t get in the way”. If it doesn’t scan, it gets in the way less and does nothing.
- Encoding an enormous link and ending up with a code nobody can read from two metres.
- Putting it where nobody stops, like the side of a corridor.
- Not testing it in print. On screen it always works.
- Using the same code everywhere and never learning which spot brings the messages.
- Forgetting the country code in the number: the QR opens WhatsApp and fails right there, in front of the customer.
Frequently asked questions
Does it expire?
The code itself doesn’t. What can stop working is the destination: if the link you encoded disappears, the code is dead. That is why it should point at an address you control.
Can I change the number without reprinting?
Only if the QR points at a short link whose destination you can edit. If you encoded the wa.me address directly, the number lives inside the code and everything has to be redone.
Do people need an app to scan it?
No. Any current phone camera recognises it on its own, on both Android and iPhone.
Does it work with WhatsApp Business?
Yes. The QR encodes a link to your number, and that number can belong to a Business account with no difference at all.
Summary
- Minimum size: reading distance divided by ten.
- Dark on light, with a margin, matte, nothing on top.
- A line beside it saying what the scanner gets.
- A different link per location, or you won’t know which works.
- Test the printed piece with two phones before running the whole batch.