For sharing contact info
Encode your full contact card so anyone can save it in one scan.
Copy a starter, then tweak it for your campaign.
Minimal vCard
BEGIN:VCARD VERSION:3.0 FN:Jane Doe EMAIL:jane@example.com END:VCARD
Full contact
BEGIN:VCARD VERSION:3.0 FN:Jane Doe ORG:Acme TITLE:Head of Growth TEL:+15555550123 EMAIL:jane@example.com URL:https://example.com END:VCARD
With LinkedIn
BEGIN:VCARD VERSION:3.0 FN:Jane Doe EMAIL:jane@example.com URL:https://www.linkedin.com/in/example END:VCARD
International number
BEGIN:VCARD VERSION:3.0 FN:Jane Doe TEL:+442079460123 EMAIL:jane@example.co.uk END:VCARD
vCard + hosted profile
BEGIN:VCARD VERSION:3.0 FN:Jane Doe TEL:+15555550123 EMAIL:jane@example.com URL:https://example.com/contact/jane END:VCARD
A vCard QR encodes the full contact payload directly — it works offline and doesn't depend on any hosted page staying online.
The trade-off is that updates require regenerating the QR. For a frequently-changing role or phone number, encode a short link to a hosted contact page instead.
The vCard format itself is old, stable plumbing: BEGIN:VCARD / VERSION / a handful of typed fields / END:VCARD. Version 3.0 remains the interoperability sweet spot — iOS, Android, Outlook, and Google Contacts all parse it cleanly, while 4.0's improvements aren't worth the patchier device support for a QR use case. Field order doesn't matter, but FN (formatted name) is required; omit it and some parsers discard the whole card.
Every field you add grows the QR's module density, and density is the enemy of reliable scanning at small sizes. A name-phone-email vCard produces a comfortable, forgiving pattern; add organization, title, two URLs, and a street address and the same physical size becomes a fragile mess of tiny squares. Decide the QR's printed size first, then budget the payload to match — not the other way around.
Phone numbers deserve international formatting: TEL:+15555550123 with country code, not a local format. The person scanning your badge at a conference may be dialing from another country next week, and the + form works from everywhere.
Special characters need care: commas, semicolons, and backslashes inside field values must be backslash-escaped per the vCard spec, and non-ASCII names should be tested on both platforms — encoding handling varies subtly between camera apps. The universal advice applies double here: scan your exact payload with an iPhone and an Android before committing it to print.
Where the vCard QR shines over a hosted page is resilience and privacy: nothing is fetched, nothing is logged, no server needs to stay alive for your card to work in 2030. Where it loses is freshness and richness. Plenty of people run both — a vCard QR on the printed card for instant saves, with a URL field inside the vCard pointing at their hosted profile for everything else.
Add a small vCard QR to your email signature so recipients can save you in seconds — especially useful for people who meet you on video calls, phone camera pointed at the screen.
Print the vCard QR on lanyards so contacts swap with a single tap — no app, no NFC hardware, no typing.
Help colleagues add you to their phone without typing — scan once from the desktop screen and your details are in their pocket.
Standardize one vCard template (fields, formatting, country-coded numbers) across the whole team so every printed card and signature behaves identically.
Proposals, leave-behinds, and brochure back covers all benefit from a scan-to-save contact QR — the reader saves the person, not just the paper.
Pre-configured variants tuned to specific platforms and use cases.
For guest networks
Let guests join your WiFi by scanning — no typing required.
Open variantFor restaurants and cafés
Replace laminated menus with a QR that always shows the latest version.
Open variantFor networking and events
Add a QR to your business card that drops your contact info into any phone.
Open variantFor tickets, signage, and check-in
Print one QR for tickets, agenda, and live updates.
Open variantFor driving follows from offline
Print a QR that opens your Instagram profile in one scan.
Open variantFor starting WhatsApp conversations
Print a QR that opens a WhatsApp chat with you pre-filled.
Open variantFor linking to documents
Encode a hosted PDF so anyone can open it instantly on mobile.
Open variantFor artists, podcasters, and playlists
Turn any Spotify link into a scannable QR for posters and merch.
Open variantFor creators and educators
Send fans straight to a video, channel, or playlist with one scan.
Open variantFor lead capture and support
Pre-fill a text message recipient and body with one scan.
Open variantFor lead capture and outreach
Open a pre-filled email draft with one scan.
Open variant