Wi-Fi QR Code, vCard QR Code and PDF QR Code: Which One, When?
A QR code doesn't have to hold a web address. Picking the right content type removes the scanner's next step entirely: no password to type, no number to save, no file to hunt for. Here are six types and where each belongs.
Link (URL)
The common one. A website, a campaign page or a biolink. When: posters, packaging, social images. Tip: always use a dynamic code so the destination can change later.
Wi-Fi QR code
Network name, password and encryption live inside the code; the phone asks join this network? and nobody types a password. When: cafés, hotel rooms, office guest networks, clinic waiting rooms. Tip: a small card on the table or at reception is enough; Wi-Fi codes are static, so reprint when you change the password.
Business card (vCard) QR code
Name, title, phone, email and website land in the contacts app with one scan. When: trade-fair stands, the back of a business card, email signatures, the closing slide of a talk. Tip: on Linkspot the vCard code is dynamic — change your number and the printed card stays valid.
PDF / file QR code
Brochures, manuals, price lists, spec sheets. Upload the file, the code opens it. When: product labels, shop windows, property listings, allergen lists in restaurants. Tip: update the file and the code stays the same; customers always open the current version.
Image and audio QR codes
A single photo, poster or recording. When: museum labels (audio guide), wedding invitations (photo album), art prints (high-resolution image).
Menu QR code
A separate type for restaurants and cafés: the code opens a QR menu that can also take orders. Prices and stock change; the code doesn't.
Three rules for all of them
- Test. Scan with two different phones.
- Write a call to action. A line under the code — "Scan for Wi-Fi", "Save contact" — lifts scan rates noticeably.
- Measure. Dynamic codes show scans, times and devices; that's how you learn which placement works.