A QR code for business cards that people actually remember

A QR code for business cards saves the person you just met from typing your web address with one thumb. With QRPetal the code can carry your brand pattern, your colours or even your headshot, so it looks designed rather than bolted on.

What to link to

• Your website or portfolio. The most common choice.
• A booking page if you sell appointments, like a salon, a coach or a photographer.
• A contact page that lets people save your details. (A dedicated contact-card QR tool is on our roadmap.)

Cards are printed in hundreds and kept for years, so an editable code is a sensible choice here. If you change jobs, domain or booking system, point the code somewhere new and your old cards keep working. You also see how many people scanned your card after an event.

Design tips for a small space

Business cards are small, so the QR code has to be both pretty and robust.

• Size: at least 2 to 2.5 cm (about 0.8 to 1 inch) wide. A card is held close to the phone, so this is enough for most short links, but test it.
• Keep the link short. A long address makes a denser pattern with smaller dots, which is harder to print and to scan at this size. An editable code is automatically short.
• Use a pattern, not a detailed photo. Brand patterns, textures and logos with bold shapes work better than a detailed photo at 2 cm. The Black & white style is a safe choice for single-colour printing.
• Check the print method. Letterpress, foil and spot UV look great but can blur fine dots. Print the QR in flat ink and put the effects elsewhere on the card.

Before you order 500 cards

1. Download the largest size your plan allows and give your printer that file (a print PDF on paid plans).
2. Ask for a printed proof.
3. Scan the proof with two different phones, in normal room light, from the distance people will hold it.

If the score in QRPetal says “Scans OK” rather than “Scans great”, slide the style towards “Easier to scan” before you print. A card that scans the first time says more about you than a card that looks clever but fails.