A simple guide to creating a QR code for sharing an internet link
Creating a QR Code is a simple way to share links in a visual format. From posters to billboards and even restaurants during the pandemic, we’ve seen them all over the place.
But how do you make one? We’ll take you through the simple steps to generate a QR code using a web tool, and explain why they’re so useful.
While there are a few ways to make a QR code, the end result is always the same – a digital text string represented as a matrix of black and white squares that can be read by a camera and used to access the web address it represents.
You can create QR codes using web tools that offer a bit of customisation, though some services require payment or include a watermark. If you want to make truly free QR codes, there are other tools that are more suitable. We’ll cover some of these options later.
Free QR code generators
You can generate a QR code using Google Chrome for desktop by navigating to the desired webpage and clicking the share button. A drop-down menu will appear, click “More”, and then select “QR code”.
There’s also a built-in QR code generator in Microsoft Edge, based on Chromium. You can access this by right-clicking on a non-image part of the page.
You can also generate QR codes on Android or iOS using third-party tools or Google Chrome.
On iOS, open the website you want to share, tap the share button, select “Create a QR Code”, and choose a destination to share the QR code to.
On Android, open the website in Chrome, tap the three-dot menu button, select “Share”, and then select “QR code” to download it.
QR code generators
If you don’t want to use the built-in QR code generators in Google Chrome, there are a few external services that offer the functionality.
Beaconstac is one of the most popular QR code generator services. You can create custom QR codes with a logo and a message, and download them as a PNG or JPEG file.
Another service is Bitly, which focuses on creating short links. After you sign up for a Bitly account, you can create QR codes to share your links with others.
There are lots of other QR code generators out there, such as QR-Code-Generator, QR-Generator, and QR-Code. We recommend doing some due diligence and checking their reliability, as well as ensuring you don’t grant any unnecessary permissions when you download and install their respective apps.
How to create QR codes on Android and iOS
You can also generate QR codes on Android or iOS using third-party tools or Google Chrome.
On Android, you can open the website in Chrome, tap the three-dot menu button, select “Share”, and then select “QR code” to download it.
On iOS, you can do the same thing, but instead of selecting “QR code”, you should tap the “Camera” icon instead.
And that’s all there is to it. Creating QR codes is a simple way to share links in a visual format, and a great alternative to long URLs that can be hard to remember.
If you want to learn more about QR codes and the latest trends, we have a guide to all the different types of QR code you can create. We also have a list of all the best QR code reader apps if you want to try something new.
