QR code generator for invitations

Turn an invitation link into a QR code you can print on a card, poster or seating chart.

A QR code is the shortest path from a printed card to a live invitation. Guests point a phone camera at it and land on the page where they can read the details and reply, instead of typing a long link from a card.

This generator encodes any text or URL and renders it in your browser — nothing is uploaded, so a private invitation link stays private. Download an SVG for print or a PNG for social posts and messaging apps.

Runs in your browser · free · no sign-up

What should it open?

Link or text

Paste your invitation link, or plain text for a table card.42/1200

Error correction

More recovery survives smudges but makes the code denser.

Download size

The preview always stays small; this only changes the exported file.

Colours

Keep dark modules on a light background. Scanners read contrast, not colour, so inverted codes fail on many phones.

Code colour

Background

Your QR code

Encoded content

https://inviteviaapp.com/demo-olivia-henry

Grid: 29 × 29
Recovery: M

SVG scales to any print size without softening; PNG is the safe choice for social posts and slide decks. Your link never leaves this browser tab.

How to use it

1Paste the invitation link. If you are sharing a private link, remember that anyone who scans the code can open it.
2Choose the error-correction level. Higher levels survive scratches and bad lighting but make the pattern denser and easier to misread at small sizes.
3Pick foreground and background colours, then check the contrast warning. A pretty pastel code that does not scan is worse than a plain black one.
4Set the export size. For print, 1024 px or larger at the final printed size keeps the modules sharp.
5Download the SVG for a designer or print shop, or the PNG for social posts and messaging apps.

How the maths works

Text is encoded into the QR standard's module matrix, a square grid of dark and light cells with position markers in three corners so a camera can find it at any angle. The library used here produces only that matrix; the SVG and PNG rendering happens locally in your browser.

Error correction controls how much of the pattern can be damaged before a scanner gives up: L recovers about 7% of the code, M 15%, Q 25% and H 30%. More recovery means more redundancy, which means a denser code for the same text — so use H for a code printed small on a textured surface, and M for a screen or a clean print.

Contrast is the other thing that breaks codes in the real world. The tool measures the WCAG contrast ratio between your two colours and warns below 4.5:1. A dark pattern on a light background is the safest choice; light-on-dark also scans on most phones, but it fails more often in low light and on cheap printers.

Error correction: L ≈ 7%, M ≈ 15%, Q ≈ 25%, H ≈ 30% of the code recoverable
Quiet zone: four modules of background on every side, as the standard requires
Contrast: warn below a 4.5:1 ratio between foreground and background
Input limit: 1,200 characters, far above any invitation link

A worked example

A typical invitation link, encoded at the default settings:

Input: https://inviteviaapp.com/e/example
Error correction: M (about 15% recoverable)
Foreground / background: #1c1917 on #ffffff (about 17.5:1)
Quiet zone: 4 modules
SVG export: Vector, scales to any print size
PNG export: 1024 × 1024 px default

Shorten the link before you encode it and the pattern gets visibly coarser, which scans faster from further away. A 60-character URL needs far fewer modules than a 300-character one with tracking parameters attached.

Frequently asked questions

Do these QR codes expire?

No. The code contains the URL itself, not a redirect through a shortener, so it works for as long as the link works. Nothing is registered on a server, which also means there is no dashboard to come back to and no subscription attached to the code.

What size should a printed QR code be?

A rough rule is 1 cm of code for every 1 m of scanning distance, so a code read from 30 cm should be about 2 cm wide. For a table card, 2–3 cm is comfortable; for a poster read across a room, 10 cm or more. Print the SVG rather than a scaled-up PNG.

Why does the tool warn about my colours?

Because scanners need luminance contrast, not hue contrast. Two colours can look very different to you and almost identical in grayscale to a camera. Keep the foreground much darker than the background; the warning appears below a 4.5:1 contrast ratio, which is roughly where real-world scanning starts to fail.

Should I use a short link?

If you can, yes. Fewer characters produce a coarser pattern that scans from further away and survives smaller print. Just check the shortener will not expire the link, because a dead redirect leaves a printed code that leads nowhere.

Is my link uploaded anywhere?

No. The encoding and the image rendering both run in your browser, and there is no request to InviteVia or to a third party. That is why the tool keeps working offline once the page has loaded.

Ready to send the invitation itself?

InviteVia turns your plan into a digital invitation with RSVP collection, guest messaging and a link you can share or print as a QR code.