How to make a WhatsApp QR code
Type your WhatsApp number with its country code. Add a message if you want one ready in the chat box, and a line of text to print under the code. Then download the PNG or SVG.
The code holds a WhatsApp link of the form https://wa.me/<number>. Scanning it with a phone camera opens a chat with you in WhatsApp. Nobody has to save your number first, and the message, if you added one, is waiting for them to send.
Printing it so every phone can scan it
Use the SVG for print. It stays sharp at any size, from a business card to a shop-window poster. Use the PNG for screens, social posts and documents.
Size it to the distance. A code is easy to scan from about ten times its own width, so a 3 cm code on a table menu works from 30 cm, and a 10 cm code on a wall works from a metre. Never print it smaller than 2 cm.
Keep the white border around the code, don't place it over a photo or a busy pattern, and test the printed proof with two different phones before you print a batch. A long message makes the code denser, so keep it short for small prints.
WhatsApp's own QR code, or this one?
The WhatsApp app has a QR code of its own, under your profile. It's tied to your account and stops working if you reset it, and it can't carry a message. A wa.me code depends only on your number, so it keeps working, it can carry a message, and you choose its size and the text under it.
Where to put it
On the shop counter, the menu, the delivery box and the invoice. On a business card, a flyer, an event badge or a window sticker. Anywhere a customer might want to ask a question, a QR code turns "find their number" into one scan.
When a QR code isn't enough
A QR code starts a chat. It doesn't answer the hundredth one, or send the order update, the reminder or the receipt from your own system. For that you need an API. ChatRail sends and receives WhatsApp messages over HTTP from the number you already have, with no Meta approval and no per-message fees. The free Sandbox includes 500 messages a month.
Questions
Is this WhatsApp QR code generator free?
Yes. There's no sign-up, no watermark and no limit. The code never expires, because it holds a wa.me link, which keeps working for as long as the number is on WhatsApp.
Do you store the number I type?
No. The QR code is built in your browser with JavaScript. The number, message and caption never leave your device.
Does it work with WhatsApp Business?
Yes. A wa.me link works the same way for personal and WhatsApp Business numbers.
Can I change the message after printing?
No. The message is part of the code, so a new message needs a new code. If you expect to change it, leave the message out, or point the code at a page on your own site that you can update.
Can I make it a different colour, or add a logo?
Not here, on purpose. Black on white is what every phone camera reads first time, in any light. A coloured or logo code that fails on one customer's phone costs you that chat.