A friend of mine runs a small restaurant and he asked me to help him set up QR codes on his table cards. The idea was simple customers scan the code and the menu opens on their phone.
I Googled “free QR code generator” and the first three results all did the same thing. Generate the QR, show it to me, then ask me to create an account before I could download it. One of them wanted $7.99/month just for a static QR code. For a PNG image. Seriously.
I told him I’d sort it out. Here’s how I did it, and how you can do it too takes about 5 seconds.
What you need
Nothing. No app to install, no account to create. Just open your browser and go to the QR code generator. That’s it.
Step by step
1. Open the tool
Go to convertkr.com/qr-generator. You’ll see a text box and a preview area. No popups, no “sign up first” wall.
2. Type or paste your content
This can be anything:
- A website URL (like a menu link, portfolio, or Instagram page)
- Plain text (a wifi password, a short message)
- A phone number
- An email address
I usually paste a URL. For my friend’s restaurant, it was a Google Drive link to the menu PDF.
3. The QR code appears instantly
As you type, the QR code generates in real time on the right side. No “Generate” button to click. It just updates live.
4. Download it
Click the download button. You get a clean PNG image — no watermark, no branding, no “powered by” text at the bottom. Just the QR code.
What I actually used this for
Helping my friend was the first time I used it. But since then I’ve used it for:
- Business cards — I put a QR code on the back that links to my portfolio. Took 10 seconds to generate.
- Event flyers — A friend was organizing a meetup and needed a QR code linking to the registration form. I generated it and sent it to him on WhatsApp in under a minute.
- Wifi sharing — I printed a small card with our office wifi QR code. Visitors scan it instead of asking me for the password every time. This one alone saved me a lot of annoyance.
- Product labels — A shopkeeper I know wanted QR codes on his packaging that link to his Facebook page. I generated 1 QR code and he printed it on all his boxes.
Things I learned
Keep the content short. The more text you put in a QR code, the denser the pattern gets, and the harder it is for phone cameras to scan from a distance. A short URL works much better than a paragraph of text.
Test it before printing. I made the mistake once of generating a QR code, printing 50 copies, and then realizing the URL had a typo. Now I always scan it with my own phone first.
White space matters. When you place the QR code in a design, leave some padding around it. If it’s right up against the edge of a card or a busy background, some scanners struggle to read it.
Size matters too. For a table card that people scan from 30cm away, the QR code can be small — 2-3cm is fine. For a poster that people scan from a meter away, make it at least 5-6cm.
Why I didn’t use other tools
I tried a few before building my own:
- QR Code Monkey — good but forces you to scroll past a ton of options before downloading. I just wanted a simple QR code.
- QR Code Generator (the .com one) — requires signup to download in high resolution. No thanks.
- Canva — has a QR code feature but you need a Canva account and it’s buried inside the editor.
The ConvertKr tool is just a text box and a QR code. Nothing else. That’s what I wanted.
FAQ
Does the QR code expire?
No. A QR code is just an image encoding your text or URL. It doesn’t expire. But if the URL you encoded stops working (like if you delete the page), then obviously scanning it won’t lead anywhere.
Can I customize the color or add a logo?
Right now the tool generates standard black-and-white QR codes. For most use cases — business cards, menus, labels — that’s all you need. I might add color options later if people ask.
Is it really free?
Yes. No account, no limit on how many you generate, no watermark. I built this tool because I got frustrated paying for something that takes 2 seconds to compute. It’ll stay free.
Does it work on my phone?
Yes. The whole tool runs in your browser — phone, tablet, laptop, doesn’t matter. I’ve generated QR codes from my phone while standing in a print shop. It works.
Need to generate a QR code right now? Open the QR code tool — takes about 5 seconds.