QR codes are very practical for accessing a website, connecting to a Wi-Fi network or retrieving a contact card with a smartphone. You can create one easily and for free with an online service.

QR codes are very practical for accessing a website, connecting to a Wi-Fi network or retrieving a contact card with a smartphone. You can create one easily and for free with an online service.

QR codes – or QR codes for quick response codes, that is to say quick response codes in French – have invaded our daily lives in recent years. You can now find them almost everywhere, on administrative forms, transport tickets, labels of food or household products, instructions for use, etc.

In fact, the QR code is the successor of the famous barcode – or barcode. It is a matrix code composed of small black squares arranged on a white square and forming geometric patterns. As it is in two dimensions, it can encode much more information than the traditional barcode, limited to one dimension (more than 4000 alphanumeric characters for the QR code against about fifteen digits for the barcode…).

No need for a specialized optical sensor to read a QR code: it was indeed designed to be read with the photo module of a phone or tablet. In fact, all you have to do is open the Camera app on an iPhone or iPad – the function is integrated into iOS – or a QR code reader app like there are dozens on Android and point the camera at it. The QR code is immediately deciphered and triggers the action for which it was programmed.

And the range of QR code uses is particularly wide! In public transport, it can issue the timetables for a bus or tram. It can also be used to validate a train ticket to pass a turnstile or speed up its verification by a controller. The TousAntiCovid app uses it to certify vaccination or record data related to a derogatory travel certificate during the curfew. In some museums, the QR Code has also replaced the audio guide: all you have to do is scan the copy next to a work to display an explanatory text on the phone. There are also, recently, mobile payment systems by QR code. And of course, we use QR codes to exchange contact cards, give URLs (Internet addresses) to web pages, information sheets, videos, music, apps to download, etc. In short, the QR code has countless functions.

How to create a personal QR code ?

However, the creation of QR codes is not reserved for companies, administrations and professionals: you can easily generate them, easily and for free. It’s a simple and modern way to share your contact details (surname, first name, address, telephone, email, etc.), to give access to your Wi-Fi network to guests, or to indicate the address of a website, a Facebook page or an Instagram account, for example.

No need to use complex software for this: there are indeed many online services to create QR codes such as Unitag.io, QRCodeMonkey or QRStuff to name just a handful. For this practice sheet, we have used QR Code Generator, a free service for its main functions – you can even create an account for free to access additional options – and almost entirely translated into French – despite a few oversights here and there. Above all, it is very easy to use and allows you to quickly create usable QR codes without time limit.

An ordinary web browser on a computer or mobile is enough to use it and in a few seconds you get a QR code in the form of an image – in PNG format – to place wherever you want.

You want to give the address of a site or a web page? Create a QR code that will allow you to access it directly, without risk of error, especially if the URL is long…

• With your usual web browser, go to the site QR Code Generator.
• On the home page, click on the thumbnail URLs on the top corner left.

• In the input field that appears below, type or paste your URL.

• Immediately, a preview of your personal QR code is displayed on the right of the page. You can take care of its appearance by modifying the frame, for example. Make your choice among the first three proposals: the following ones require the creation of a free account with QR Code Generator. Your QR code is thus adorned with a frame with possibly a Scan me mention.

• If you wish, you can also change the color of the QR code – while ensuring that it remains legible, with a strong contrast. To do this, still in the right section of the page, click on Shape and colorthen on the color wheel. Choose the desired color, then validate by clicking on the button choose.

• When your QR code suits you, click on the green button To download. Close with one click the cross blue, at the top right, the window that opens to offer you free registration. In the dialog box that appears, click save file then on OK. Your QR code in image format is downloaded under the name of Frame (in Jpeg or PNG format). Now you can embed it in a document or share it as-is, like any image.

Do you want to communicate all your details to your contacts without asking them to manually create a new file? Again, the QR code will simplify their lives by referring to a VCard, a business card format compatible with all address books. All they have to do is scan the QR code with their mobile to save your details.

• From the QR Code Generator home page, click on the thumbnail VCARD at the top.
• Fill in the fields that appear: last name, first name, etc. When the form is complete, click the green button Create a QR code. It is displayed in the right frame of the window.

• If you wish, you can also change the color of the QR code – while ensuring that it remains legible, with a strong contrast. To do this, still in the right section of the page, click on Shape and colorthen on the color wheel. Choose the desired color, then validate by clicking on the button choose.

• If you wish, you can also change the color of the QR code – while ensuring that it remains legible, with a strong contrast. To do this, still in the right section of the page, click on Shape and colorthen on the color wheel. Choose the desired color, then validate by clicking on the button choose.

• When your QR code suits you, click on the green button To download. Close with one click the cross blue, at the top right, the window that opens to offer you free registration. In the dialog box that appears, click save file then on OK. Your QR code in image format is downloaded under the name of Frame (in Jpeg or PNG format).

Do you receive friends or relatives at home? Rather than giving them the password to your Wi-Fi network, which can be quite long and prone to typing errors, generate a QR code to make it easier for them. It will be enough to scan it from the mobile to automatically connect to your network without having to enter anything.

• From the QR Code Generator home page, click on the thumbnail WIRELESS e high on the first line.
• Fill in the two fields that appear. In SSID, indicate the exact name of your Wi-Fi network. If you have chosen to hide this network in the settings of your box, check the box Hidden network. In the field Password, type or paste the password (key) needed to access it.

• Once all the information is completed, click on the green button Create a QR code.
• If you wish, you can add a frame and modify the color of the code (see above).
• When your QR code suits you, click on the green button To download. Close with one click the cross blue, at the top right, the window that opens to offer you free registration. In the dialog box that appears, click save file then on OK. Your QR code in image format is downloaded under the name of Frame (in Jpeg or PNG format). You can now print it to present it to your friends. By scanning it with their mobile, they will be invited to connect to your Wi-Fi network.