In short: PAYATE QR turns your content into a standard payload (URL, WIFI:, vCard, VEVENT…), encodes it as a static QR code following ISO/IEC 18004 with the open-source qrcode-generator library, and draws it in your browser as PNG, SVG or PDF. Nothing is sent to our servers.
1. Building the payload
Each QR type uses the format that phones understand natively:
| Type | Encoded format |
|---|---|
| URL | https://example.com (https:// added if missing) |
| Wi-Fi | WIFI:T:WPA;S:network;P:password;; with special characters escaped |
https://wa.me/201001234567?text=... | |
| vCard | vCard 3.0 (BEGIN:VCARD … END:VCARD) |
mailto:name@example.com?subject=...&body=... | |
| Phone / SMS | tel:+20... / SMSTO:+20...:message |
| Telegram | https://t.me/username |
| Location | Google Maps link with coordinates or a search query |
| Event | iCalendar VEVENT with UTC start and end times |
| Zoom / Skype | Zoom join link / skype:name?chat |
| PayPal | https://paypal.me/name/amount or a PayPal payment link for an email |
| Bitcoin | BIP 21 URI bitcoin:address?amount=... |
2. Encoding the QR code
Text is converted to UTF-8 bytes (so Arabic and other languages work) and encoded in byte mode. The smallest QR version that fits the content is chosen automatically. You choose the error-correction level (L 7%, M 15%, Q 25%, H 30%); it is forced to High when you add a logo.
3. Drawing and design
- Square modules are drawn on a pixel-aligned grid for perfectly crisp edges.
- Rounded style rounds only the outer corners of connected modules, keeping the solid shapes scanners rely on.
- Dots style keeps the three finder patterns and all alignment patterns solid so phones can still locate and align the code.
- Logos are placed on a cleared area covering about 6% of the code — well within High error correction’s 30% capacity.
- A contrast check warns you when colors are too similar or inverted.
4. Exports
PNG is rendered at 512, 1024 or 2048 pixels. SVG is a true vector file built from the same geometry, so it stays sharp at any size. PDF places the code on an A4 page using the open-source jsPDF library.
5. Testing
Before release, every QR type and style is generated and decoded automatically with an independent decoder (jsQR) across all error-correction levels and border sizes. We still recommend scanning your final code with your own phone before printing.
6. Scanner
The QR Code Scanner uses your browser’s built-in BarcodeDetector when available, and the open-source jsQR library otherwise. Images and camera frames are decoded locally and never uploaded.
Questions about how the tool works? Contact us.