A WhatsApp QR code holds a wa.me link to your number, with an optional message already typed. Scan it and WhatsApp opens a chat with you, message in the box, without the person saving your number first. They read the message, change it if they like, and tap send.

This tool builds that code in your browser. The number and message go into the image you download and nowhere else. Nothing is sent to a server, and the page keeps no record of it.

What the code contains

The string is https://wa.me/ followed by your number in international form, digits only. If you add a message, ?text= and the percent-encoded message follow, so Hi, I saw your poster becomes text=Hi%2C%20I%20saw%20your%20poster. WhatsApp decodes it back into the chat box.

Because this is an ordinary web link, the phone treats it like any other. WhatsApp claims wa.me links and opens the chat directly. A phone without WhatsApp installed opens the wa.me page in its browser instead of showing an error. The panel under the preview shows the exact string, so you can check it before you print.

Which numbers are accepted

The number field takes 4 to 15 digits, optionally starting with a plus sign. The plus sign, spaces, brackets, dots and dashes are all removed, since wa.me wants bare digits: +91 98765 43210 is encoded as wa.me/919876543210. Letters or anything shorter are rejected with the message: A WhatsApp number should be digits, optionally starting with +.

Write the number as you would dial it from abroad: country code first, without the leading zero used for domestic calls. A number that starts with 0 is rejected with a message asking for the country code, because a wa.me link built from a national number opens a chat with nobody. The link works for a WhatsApp Business account as well as a personal one, since both live on a phone number.

Using the pre-filled message

The message is where a WhatsApp code pays for itself. Hi, I would like to order from the menu on table 4 saves the person from typing and tells you what they want before you reply. A different message per placement, such as one naming the shop window and another naming the packaging insert, tells you which sign is working without any scan-tracking service.

Keep it to a sentence or two. Percent-encoding makes the string grow fast, three characters per space and around twelve per emoji, and a long message produces a dense code that is harder to scan at small sizes. The person can edit the message before sending, so it is a prompt, not a form.

Printing and using it

WhatsApp codes suit any place where the next step is a conversation: product packaging with an order-again prompt, a table card, a shop counter, a delivery note, a vehicle door, a market stall banner, a landlord's notice in a stairwell. Say WhatsApp next to the code so people know what will open.

Download the SVG for print; it scales to a sticker or a banner without blurring. Keep the quiet zone at two modules or more and keep dark modules on a light background. A WhatsApp-green foreground on white scans fine; white modules on green usually do not.

Frequently asked questions