Free WhatsApp QR Code

The WhatsApp QR code opens a chat with your number as soon as someone points their phone camera at it, with a pre-filled message if you want one. Use it to receive orders, quote requests and bookings without customers saving your contact or typing anything.

What is a WhatsApp QR code for?

For turning idle paper into a conversation. A few common uses:

• Delivery and orders: on the menu, a fridge magnet or the pizza box, with “I'd like to place an order 🍕”.
• Salon, barbershop, clinic and studio: a sign at the counter for booking appointments.
• Real estate: a for-sale sign with “I'm interested in the apartment on Maple Street”.
• Physical store: a tag or storefront sign with “Do you have this in my size?”.
• After-sales and support: on the packaging, the receipt or the manual.
• Freelancers: electricians, house cleaners, private tutors and photographers, on business cards and car stickers.

How to create a WhatsApp QR code with a pre-filled message

1. Enter the number with the country code, the way you'd write it every day: +1 212 555 1234. Start with +, then the country code and the number.
2. Write the pre-filled message (optional). Think of the first sentence a customer would send: short and specific.
3. Pick the emoji. Tap the smiley button next to the message and search by name: “smile”, “heart”, “pizza”, “gift”.
4. Customize it and check the scan test. Careful with green: the light green of the WhatsApp logo has little contrast against white. If you want green dots, pick a very dark shade.
5. Download as PNG or SVG and test. Use someone else's phone: on yours, the QR code opens a chat with yourself, which says little about the customer's experience.

Tips for a QR code that works the first time

• Keep the message short. Every letter goes into the QR code. A sentence or two is enough; a whole paragraph makes the code dense and harder to scan when printed small.
• Emoji in moderation. Inside the QR code, each emoji takes up the space of several letters. One or two set the tone without weighing it down.
• Use the message to learn where the customer came from. “Saw the poster at the Main Street store” and “Saw the ad in the newspaper” show which material brought in the most chats.
• Check the number before downloading. One wrong digit sends your customers to a stranger's chat.
• Size and contrast. At least about 0.8 × 0.8 in (2 × 2 cm) when printed, dark dots on a light background and a clear margin around it.

Things to watch out for

Your number is visible to anyone who scans the QR code. On material spread around town, use the business number instead of your personal one.

If you use WhatsApp Business, turn on the greeting message and the away message. People who arrive through the QR code outside business hours get an instant reply and aren't left hanging.

See also

• Business card QR code, for saving your full contact details to the address book.
• Phone QR code, when you take customer calls.