QR codes on business cards: what to link, how big, and the vCard trick
The best thing a business card can do is get itself saved into a phone before it's lost. A QR code does that in one scan, if you make the right kind and place it well.
vCard or link?
A vCard code stores your name, title, company, phone, email and website in the pattern. The phone offers 'Add contact' with everything filled in, and it works with no internet. The downside: the pattern is dense, so it needs about 2.5 cm, and you can't update it after printing.
A digital business card page does the opposite: the code holds a short link to a page we host with your details, photo and a save-contact button. The pattern is small, you can update the page any time, and you see how many people opened it. It needs a connection when scanned.
Size and placement
- Print the code at least 1.5 cm wide; 2 cm is comfortable, 2.5 cm for a vCard.
- Keep a blank margin of 3 mm around it and don't let the logo or text touch it.
- Put it on the back, or in a corner of the front, never across a fold or a rounded corner.
- Matte or uncoated stock scans better than high gloss. Avoid foil and spot UV over the code.
Make it part of the design
Match the module colour to your brand, put a small logo in the middle, and add a caption such as 'Save my contact'. Round or dotted modules look softer on a card; our scan check tells you if you've gone too far.
What not to do
- Don't link to a home page that isn't built for phones.
- Don't use a code that opens a PDF of the card: people can't tap a PDF to call you.
- Don't print a dynamic code's short link as text next to it; print your real website instead.
- Choose vCard (offline, no updates) or digital card page (updatable, tracked). Both are free.
- Fill in the details you'd give in person. Leave the rest out: fewer fields, smaller pattern.
- Style it and add a caption. Then test-scan with an iPhone and an Android phone.
- Export SVG or PDF for the printer. PNG at 1024 px is fine for digital proofs.