Everything we learned building a standards-compliant QR generator, written down so you do not have to reprint. Each guide is checked against ISO/IEC 18004 and real phones, carries a published and updated date, and links its sources.
The guide to read before printing anything. It explains what is physically encoded in a static symbol versus the redirect URL inside a dynamic one, why dynamic codes expire when subscriptions lapse, what each approach costs over five years, and, honestly, the four situations where a dynamic code is the better tool.
Read the comparison →Why a QR code still scans with a coffee stain or a logo on it. Reed-Solomon codes in GF(256), what the 7%, 15%, 25% and 30% recovery levels really mean, how the eight mask patterns are scored, and how much of a symbol a logo can safely cover. Written by the team that implemented the encoder in this site's generator.
Understand error correction →The numbers a print shop will ask for. The 10:1 scan-distance rule, minimum sizes by medium from business cards to billboards, why vector SVG is the only safe format for commercial print, how to calculate a 300 DPI raster when SVG is not accepted, the four-module quiet zone and the contrast mistakes that cause most field failures.
Get the print specs →For venue owners and IT staff. How iOS and Android join a network from a camera scan, the exact WIFI: payload format, guest-network and WPA2/WPA3 security practice, when a captive portal is still necessary, display ideas that survive a busy service, bandwidth management and multi-access-point roaming with 802.11k/v/r.
Set up guest WiFi →Why vCard 3.0, not 4.0, is what phones actually parse from a QR code; the anatomy of a clean payload; which fields to leave out so the symbol stays scannable on a 9 cm card; iOS versus Android contact-app behaviour; static vCard codes compared with NFC cards; and a prepress workflow for Figma, Canva and InDesign.
Design a vCard code →The five-minute answer to the question behind most "my QR code stopped working" stories: static codes cannot expire, dynamic codes die with their redirect service, and here is how to tell which one you are holding.
Read the answer →Seven free QR code generators compared, ours included: which codes are static, which are trials, where your data goes, what scanners see, and a clear pick for each use case.
Read the comparison →A diagnostic checklist that starts with the phone, moves to the print and ends with the code: contrast, inverted colours, quiet zone, size, logo cover, blurry exports, curved surfaces, long payloads and expired dynamic codes, each with its fix.
Read the checklist →What you gain and give up by switching from QRCode Monkey to a browser-only static generator, with an honest side-by-side table and a note on who should stay.
Read the comparison →The generator implements everything these guides describe: selectable error-correction levels, a logo exclusion zone, an enforced quiet zone and lossless SVG export.
Open the GeneratorMost QR code articles online are written by companies selling dynamic-code subscriptions, so the advice bends toward a paid product. These guides are written by the engineers who maintain qr-code.love, a generator that has no subscription to sell. That does not make them neutral about everything, but it does mean the technical claims can be checked: every guide cites the ISO/IEC 18004 specification, the relevant IETF RFCs or the ZXing payload documentation, and the encoder behaviour described is the same open code that runs in your browser on this site.
Each guide opens with three key takeaways for readers in a hurry, shows a published date and an updated date under its title, and ends with a sources list. When a phone operating system changes how it parses a payload, when a standard is revised, or when a reader reports a mistake through the contact page, the affected guide is corrected and its updated date moves. If you are printing at scale, read the static-versus-dynamic comparison and the print specifications guide first; if you are embedding a logo, read the error-correction guide before choosing a level.
If you are about to print, start with the print specifications guide. It covers size, quiet zone and file format, which is where most failed codes come from. If you are deciding whether to pay for a dynamic service, the static versus dynamic guide answers that in one sitting. The error correction guide explains the level selector and is worth reading before you add a logo. The WiFi and vCard guides are for those two specific jobs and assume you have read the print guide.
Each guide shows a published date and an updated date under its title. When a guide changes, the updated date moves, and the page's structured data carries the same date.
The three numbers and formats readers look up most often.
L recovers about 7% of codewords, M 15%, Q 25%, H 30%. Use M for plain codes, Q or H when a logo is embedded.
Roughly scan distance divided by ten, and never smaller than about 2 × 2 cm. Keep a quiet zone of four modules on every side.
WiFi uses WIFI:T:WPA;S:ssid;P:password;;, contacts use vCard 3.0, phone numbers use tel:, messages use smsto: and email uses mailto:.