Custom QR code design
This custom QR code generator lets you start from a ready-made style or set your own colors, dot shapes and a frame with a call to action, while the live preview checks that phones can still read the result. You can change the link any time, so a code you designed for a poster, a menu or a wedding invitation can point to a new website address without a reprint.
Your code will appear here
Ready-made styles for a custom QR code
The Style tab holds 14 ready-made styles. Each one changes the colors and shapes of the code, while your logo and frame stay put. Rounded ink comes first in the grid and is where every new code starts. On this page the creator opens with Highlighter: navy on yellow.
| Style | Look | Good for |
|---|---|---|
| Rounded ink | Near-black rounded dots on white | Anything (it's the default) |
| Classic | Black squares on white | Documents and black-and-white print |
| Highlighter | Navy code on yellow | Posters and storefronts seen from across the street |
| Elegant | Classy dots, golden-brown corner frames, cream background | Invitations and menus |
| Candy | Hearts in a pink-to-purple gradient | Weddings, birthdays, beauty brands |
| Night dots | Yellow dots on navy, inverted on purpose | Dark designs, after a test on a few phones |
The other eight are Terracotta, Midnight, Sunset, Ocean, Mono dots, Bold stars, Mint lines and Grape bars. Every color and shape can be changed afterwards.
Colors and gradients
In the Colours tab you set Code colour and Background. The code color has three fills: Solid, Linear with a Gradient angle slider, and Radial, which spreads out from the center. Turn on Different corner colour to give the three corner squares their own colors, like navy frames with a bright blue center.
One rule covers it: dark code on a light background. A gradient, burgundy or forest-green code works as long as every shade in it is clearly darker than the background. Numbers and good combinations are in the guide can QR codes be any color.
Dot and corner shapes
The Shapes tab has three rows of tiles with a live preview. Dots come in 12 shapes, from squares and rounded dots through diamonds and lines to stars, hearts and crosses. Corner frames have 6 options, from square to leaf and dotted, and Corner centres have 6 more, including a diamond and a star.
A truly round or heart-shaped QR code doesn't exist, because phones look for a square with three corner markers. You can get the look, though: Dots with Circle corners reads as round, and Hearts suit a wedding. For a round sticker, print the square code inside the circle with an empty margin around it.
Frames with a call to action
A frame with a few words tells people what they get before they scan: “MENU” on a table tent, “LEAVE A REVIEW” by the register, “WEDDING PHOTOS” on the welcome sign.
Open the Frame tab
It sits next to the Logo tab. The tabs work once there's a link in the creator.
Pick a Frame style
Choose Label below, Label above, Bubble, Ticket or Outline. No frame turns it off.
Type your Frame text
The default is “SCAN ME”. You get up to 24 characters, always shown in capitals.
Set the colors
Frame colour starts from your code color and Text colour from white. With Outline, the text takes the frame color.
A frame doesn't eat the margin: an empty band of at least 2 modules stays inside it.
Background or transparent
The Background picker in Colours has seven quick shades, from white to lavender, plus Transparent. A transparent QR code sits on a light flyer design without a white box around it. PNG and SVG keep the transparency; JPG doesn't, so its background comes out white.
With a transparent background, contrast depends on whatever is underneath. The scan check judges the code as if it sat on white paper, so on a dark or busy background, print a test copy yourself.
We watch the contrast for you
A custom QR code still has to scan. When the code and background colors are too close, the Colours tab shows Not enough contrast with a Fix button that darkens the code or lightens the background. On top of that, the reader under the preview checks the code after every change and shows Scans correctly or This code may be hard to scan, with a one-click fix:
- Fix contrast when the colors are too close
- Swap colours when the code is lighter than the background
- Make logo smaller when the logo covers too much
- Add more margin or Raise error correction when the reader can't read the preview
Margin and error correction
The More tab is for fine-tuning. Error correction offers Auto, L, M, Q and H. Auto picks medium without a logo and the highest level with one, so most people should leave it there. A higher level helps codes that will get scuffed, like a sticker on a door, but makes the code denser.
Margin (quiet zone) is the empty band around the code, 0 to 8 modules. Four is recommended; go lower only if the code will sit on a plain, light area anyway. Reset to default design puts colors, shapes, logo and frame back where they started. Logos have their own page, the QR code generator with logo, and print files are covered by the SVG QR code generator.
Questions
Can a QR code be any color?
Almost. A phone needs a clear difference in lightness between the dots and the background, so navy, burgundy, dark green or plum on a light background all work. Pale yellow on white or gray on gray won't. linqr warns you when contrast drops below 3:1, and every ready-made style is built for at least 3.5:1.
Can I make a round or heart-shaped QR code?
The code itself stays square, because phones look for three square corner markers. In the Shapes tab you can still pick round Dots with Circle corners, or Hearts, and the Candy style pairs hearts with a pink-to-purple gradient. For a round or heart-shaped sticker, place the square code inside the shape with an empty margin around it.
How do I add “Scan me” under the code?
Open the Frame tab and pick Label below. “SCAN ME” appears right away because it's the default text. Change it in Frame text to anything up to 24 characters, like “MENU” or “LEAVE A REVIEW”. Frame and text colors are set in the same tab.
Will a light code on a dark background scan?
Often, but some scanner apps can't read it. That's why linqr flags inverted colors with “Light code on a dark background: some apps won't read it” and offers a Swap colours button. In a dark design, the safer move is a dark code on a light panel, such as a white label or a frame.
Can I download a QR code with a transparent background?
Yes. In Colours, set Background to Transparent, then download PNG or SVG; both keep the transparency. JPG doesn't, so the background comes out white. Put a transparent code on a plain, light surface, such as white paper or a pale label, so the contrast stays high.
Are these options free?
Yes, all of them: ready-made styles, colors and gradients, shapes, frames with text, logos and the scan check. Free gives you 3 active codes, unlimited link changes and PNG, JPG, WEBP and SVG files up to 2048 px. Pro adds unlimited codes, PDF and EPS print files, 4096 px downloads and full stats.
How many ready-made QR code styles does linqr have?
Fourteen, all in the Style tab: Rounded ink, Classic, Highlighter, Elegant, Candy, Night dots, Terracotta, Midnight, Sunset, Ocean, Mono dots, Bold stars, Mint lines and Grape bars. A style sets the colors and shapes in one click and leaves your logo and frame alone. You can fine-tune every color and shape afterwards.
Can the corner squares of a QR code be a different color?
Yes. In the Colours tab, turn on Different corner colour and pick colors for the corner frames and their centers, such as navy frames with a bright blue center. Keep the corners clearly darker than the background, because phones use these three squares to find the code.
Can I change the design of a QR code I already saved?
Yes. Open the code in My codes and go to its Design tab, change colors, shapes, logo or frame, then click Save changes. The new look applies to future downloads. Copies you already printed keep working, because the design never changes the short link inside the code.
Does a custom design make a QR code harder to scan?
It can if the contrast drops or the shapes get too busy, which is why linqr checks every change. A real decoder reads the preview and shows Scans correctly or a warning with a fix like Fix contrast or Swap colours. Stars, hearts and gradients are fine as long as the dots stay clearly darker than the background.
Which frame styles can I put around a QR code?
Five, in the Frame tab: Label below, Label above, Bubble, Ticket and Outline, plus No frame. Each takes up to 24 characters of text in capitals, such as “SCAN ME” or “MENU”, with its own frame and text colors. Frames keep an empty margin of at least 2 modules around the code.
Keep reading
- Can QR codes be any color?Yes, QR codes can be colored, rounded or framed, but some choices break scanning. Contrast, inverted colors, gradients, shapes and transparent backgrounds.
- QR code with logoPut your logo in the middle of a QR code. Set size, padding and background shape; a live scan check makes sure it still reads. Change the link any time.
- Editable QR code in CanvaWant a QR code in Canva that you can change after printing? Make an editable code, upload the SVG or PNG to Canva, and keep full control of the link.