vCard QR Codes for Business Cards: What to Include
Published: 2026-08-31 · Updated: 2026-08-31
A business card with a QR code saves the other person from typing your details — one scan and you are in their address book. The catch is that a vCard holds a lot of text, and the more text you encode, the harder the code is to scan from a small card. This guide is about getting that balance right.
What a vCard QR code contains
The code holds a small text file in the vCard 3.0 format: name, phone numbers, email, organization, title, web address and so on. Phones recognize it and open the “new contact” screen pre-filled. There is no app to install and no server involved — the data is inside the image.
Include only what people will use
- Always: name, mobile number, email.
- Usually: company and job title — they help the contact remember who you are.
- Sometimes: website. A LinkedIn URL is fine here.
- Rarely: full postal address, fax, notes. Each adds dozens of characters and clutters the code.
A lean vCard is around 150–250 characters and produces a code that scans reliably at 2 cm. A “complete” vCard with address and notes can pass 500 characters and needs 3 cm or more.
Settings for print
- Error correction M (or Q if the card will be handled a lot).
- Keep the default quiet zone of 4 modules; do not let the designer trim it.
- Download SVG and place it in the layout at its final size — never scale a small PNG up.
- Black on white, or a very dark brand color on a light background. No inversion.
Common mistakes
- Encoding a link to a contact page instead of a real vCard — it works, but adds a step and needs internet.
- Putting the code on a dark or textured area of the card.
- Forgetting to test-scan the printed proof with both an iPhone and an Android phone.
Privacy note
Anyone who scans the card can read all of the details in it, just as they could read the printed card. Do not include information you would not print.