From a QR code to something people can use
A usable code needs more than a pattern: the right destination, enough clear space, and a design that survives printing. This guide walks through three sample payloads, explains the export choices in this generator, and gives you a checklist for the finished artwork.
Dasigba makes static QR codes. Your text is encoded directly into the image, with no Dasigba redirect or scan-reporting service in between. The generator does not host menus, files, or destination pages.
Three examples you can adapt
These downloadable samples contain only fictional details. They use black on white, Medium error correction, a four-module margin, and no logo. Paste a payload into the generator above to customize it; downloading a sample does not replace its contents with your details.
Restaurant menu or business website
Replace this demonstration address with your own public menu page. Open it on a phone first and check that it needs no account or special permission. Keeping the same URL lets you update the menu without reprinting the code.
https://example.com/menuWhat to check: The scan should open your intended page. This sample uses a placeholder address, not a real menu.
Guest Wi-Fi access
This fictional example uses DemoGuest as the network name and SampleOnly123 as the password. Replace both with your guest-network details. The WIFI format is a scanner convention; support depends on the phone and network security type.
WIFI:T:WPA;S:DemoGuest;P:SampleOnly123;;What to check: A compatible scanner should offer to join DemoGuest. It will not connect unless that network and password actually exist. Anyone with the code can read its password.
A contact card
Paste this multiline vCard into the text box, then replace the fictional name and email with the contact details you want to share. Keep the line breaks. For a simpler alternative, encode a link to your public contact page.
BEGIN:VCARD
VERSION:3.0
N:Example;Alex;;;
FN:Alex Example
EMAIL:[email protected]
END:VCARDWhat to check: A compatible scanner should offer a contact preview. Confirm the name and email before saving; behavior varies between scanner apps.
For Wi-Fi names or passwords containing special characters such as semicolons or backslashes, follow the escaping rules in the ZXing Wi-Fi format reference. The text box encodes exactly what you enter; it does not build or validate those fields for you.
Choose settings for the finished design
Start with a dark foreground, a white background, no logo, and a quiet-zone margin of at least four modules. A module is one little square in the pattern; four modules is not the same as four pixels. DENSO WAVE specifies this clear border on all four sides of a regular QR code.
| Setting | Practical choice |
|---|---|
| PNG | Use for documents and apps that expect an image. Export large enough for the final placement; enlarging a small PNG can soften the squares. |
| SVG | Use for print layouts and resizing. Vector edges stay sharp, but a physically tiny code can still be difficult to scan. |
| Error correction | Medium is a starting point for a clean, unmodified code. Higher correction adds redundancy and can make the pattern denser. Test again after changing it. |
| Center logo | Try High correction and a small logo. High correction is not a guarantee that an overlay will scan; remove the logo if it causes failures. |
| Transparent background | Use only when the final surface provides a plain light area behind the entire code and its margin. A photo or dark background can make it unreadable. |
| Frame and caption | Use a specific instruction such as “View the menu.” Keep the frame, lettering, and nearby artwork outside the quiet zone. |
For example, a 600-pixel PNG placed at two inches wide has 300 pixels per inch (600 ÷ 2). That describes image resolution, not a universal minimum QR size. Payload length, pattern density, viewing distance, print quality, and the camera all affect the result.
For a business card, test a print at the actual card size. For a poster, test from the distance where a visitor will stand. An on-screen scan of the original download cannot confirm that the final print will work.
Before printing a batch
- Open the destination yourself. Check the exact page, mobile layout, and access permissions.
- Scan the exported file and confirm the decoded address or contact details, not just that the camera recognizes a code.
- Place it in your final artwork without cropping its blank border or stretching it out of proportion.
- Print one sample at the intended size and test it in the intended lighting and at a realistic distance.
- Try more than one phone or scanner where possible, especially after adding colors, a logo, or a transparent background.
- Include a readable destination or alternative contact method for people who cannot scan.