URL to QR Code Generator
Turn any website address into a QR code. Shows how dense your link makes the code and how big to print it. Static, never expires.
Built by Toolsque Team · last updated September 17, 2026 · checked against our testing process
Other types: all types in one generator · WiFi · PDF · contact card · a batch of links at once
How to make a QR code for a website
- Paste the address: the full link to the page you want people to land on. You can leave off https:// and it gets added.
- Check the character count: it sits under the box. Under about 60 characters gives you an open, forgiving code. Over 200 and you should shorten the link.
- Set the printed size: the readout tells you roughly how far away it will still scan, and warns you if a long address is squeezed into a small print.
- Download: SVG for print, PNG for screens.
- Test the proof: print one at the real size and scan it with a phone that is not yours, on mobile data rather than your own WiFi.
The code points directly at your URL. There is no account and no redirect service in the middle, so nothing can switch it off later.
Turn a website address into a QR code
Paste the address, set how big it will be printed, and download. The code points straight at your URL, so there is no account, no redirect service in the middle and nothing that can expire. This is the whole job for a link, and everything below is about the things that make a link code fail once it is printed.
Length is the thing that decides whether it scans
A QR code grows with the amount of text inside it. More characters means more modules packed into the same square, and smaller modules are harder for a camera to resolve. That is why a code made from a short address scans instantly and a code made from a 250 character tracking URL sometimes will not scan at all at the same printed size.
The counter under the address box shows how many characters you are encoding and what that means in practice. Rough guide:
| URL length | What it means in print |
|---|---|
| Up to about 60 characters | Open, forgiving code. Fine at 20 mm and up. |
| 60 to 120 | Noticeably denser. Comfortable from about 25 mm. |
| 120 to 200 | Dense. Print at 35 mm or more and test it. |
| Over 200 | Shorten it. At small sizes the dots get too fine to read reliably. |
If your address is long because of campaign parameters, that is worth fixing rather than printing around. Which brings us to the next part.
Tracking parameters, and how to keep them short
A URL with utm_source, utm_medium and utm_campaign on the end can easily double in length. The parameters still work inside a QR code, and they are the standard way to see in your analytics that a visit came from a printed code rather than from search.
Two things keep them manageable. Use short values, so utm_source=poster rather than utm_source=summer_storefront_poster_v2. And label the placement, not the person: a tag like window or table-4 tells you which print earned the scan, which is all you actually need. There is more on this in tracking QR code scans without an app.
Should you use a link shortener?
A shortener makes the code much less dense, which is a real benefit. It also puts a third party between your printed code and your website, and that is the trade. If the shortener changes its terms, starts charging, or shuts down, every printed code pointing through it stops working. Free shorteners have done all three.
The safer version of the same idea is a short path on your own domain. Something like yoursite.com/menu that redirects to the long URL gives you a short, low-density code, and because you own the domain you can change the destination later or move it whenever you like. That is set out in how to create dynamic QR links yourself, and it is the reason most people do not need a paid dynamic QR subscription.
Get the address exactly right before you print
A printed code cannot be corrected, so these are worth thirty seconds each:
- Include https://, which this page adds for you. Without a scheme, some phones treat the content as a search term rather than a link.
- Check the path's capitals. Domain names ignore case, but the part after the slash often does not.
/Menuand/menucan be two different pages, or one page and one 404. - Use the final address, not one that redirects. Every hop adds load time, and an old redirect that gets removed later takes your printed code down with it.
- Open the link on mobile data, not your own WiFi. Staging sites and internal pages often work on the office network and nowhere else.
- Confirm the page is mobile friendly. Nearly every scan is on a phone, and a desktop-only page is a wasted scan.
Then print one proof at the real size and scan it with a second phone. How to test a QR code before printing is the full checklist.
How big to print it
Use the 10 to 1 rule: a code reads from roughly ten times its own width. A 30 mm code is comfortable at arm's length, and a code read from across a room at 3 m wants to be about 300 mm. The box under the size slider applies this as you type, and it warns you when a long address and a small print size are going to fight each other. The QR code size chart has sizes for specific placements.
Download the SVG for print, because it scales without the dots going soft, and the PNG for screens, email and slides.
Link rot is the real long-term risk
The code will outlive the page. A QR code on a sign, a vehicle or a plaque can be read years from now, and the thing most likely to break it is not the printing, it is the destination quietly disappearing in a site redesign. Point codes at addresses you intend to keep, keep a note of which printed items carry which URL, and if a page has to move, leave a redirect behind rather than deleting it.
For a code that has to carry more than a link, such as a name, phone number and email together, use the vCard QR code generator. For several links at once, one per product or per table, the bulk generator takes a spreadsheet column.