WhatsApp QR code with a ready message for your shop

Many customers would rather send a quick WhatsApp message than call. But first they have to save your number, find it in their contacts and work out what to write. Plenty of them give up halfway.

A WhatsApp QR code skips all of that. The customer scans it with their phone camera, WhatsApp opens a chat with your number, and a message you wrote is already in the box. They just press send. You can make one for free on QR Hub in about a minute, with no sign-up.

How a WhatsApp QR code works

WhatsApp has a feature called click to chat. A link in the form https://wa.me/<number> opens a chat with that number, and adding ?text= with your message fills in the first message (WhatsApp Help Center). The customer doesn't need to save your number first.

A WhatsApp QR code is simply that link inside a QR code. Our tool builds the link for you: you type your number and your message, and it does the rest.

What you need

• Your WhatsApp number with the country code, for example +966 for Saudi Arabia, +55 for Brazil or +62 for Indonesia.
• A short ready message that tells you what the customer wants (optional, but it helps a lot).
• A phone to test the code before you print it.

Step 1: Write your number the right way

This is where most WhatsApp codes go wrong. WhatsApp asks for the full number in international format, without zeros, brackets or dashes in front (WhatsApp Help Center).

1. Start with the country code: 966, 55, 62, 91 and so on.
2. Drop the leading 0 of your local number. A Saudi mobile written locally as 050 123 4567 becomes 966 50 123 4567.
3. Don't add "00" in front. Our tool removes spaces, dashes, brackets, "+" and a leading "00" for you, but it can't guess a missing country code.

Step 2: Add a ready message

The ready message is the first thing you read in the chat, so make it useful for you and easy for the customer. Keep it short — one line is enough.

Ideas by business:

• Shop or online store: "Hi! I'd like to order. Is this item available?"
• Restaurant or café: "Hi! I'd like to order for pickup."
• Salon or clinic: "Hello, I'd like to book an appointment."
• Delivery bag or receipt: "Hi, I have a question about my order."
• Flyer for an offer: "Hi! I saw your flyer and I'd like the offer."

Tip: make a different code for each place, with its own message. When a chat starts with "I saw your flyer", you know the flyer works.

Step 3: Make the code

1. Open the free WhatsApp QR code tool on QR Hub.
2. Type your number with the country code.
3. Type your ready message.
4. Add a frame text such as "Chat with us on WhatsApp" or "Scan to order".

Make this QR now

Pick colours that fit your shop, but keep the code dark on a light background so every phone can read it. Download PNG for printing at home or sharing, or SVG for a print shop: it stays sharp at any size.

Step 4: Test it before you print

Scan the code with your own phone, ideally with one iPhone and one Android. Check three things:

1. The chat opens with your number (not someone else's because of a typo).
2. The ready message appears in full.
3. A message sent from the test phone arrives on the phone or WhatsApp Business account you use for the shop.

Where to put it

• On the counter and by the cash register.
• On delivery bags, boxes and receipts, so customers can order again.
• On flyers, posters and shop windows, so people can message you even when you're closed.
• On your business card and price lists.
• On product labels, with a message like "I'd like to reorder this".

For a counter card, 3–4 cm wide is comfortable. For a window poster that people scan from a few steps away, go bigger. Leave a clear white border around the code.

If your number changes later

A normal WhatsApp code is a static code: your number and message are written into the pattern itself. It never expires, but if you change your number, the printed code keeps opening the old one, and you'll need to print a new code.

If you think your number or message might change, use a dynamic code instead. It points to a short link that you can edit at any time, so the printed code stays the same. A free QR Hub account includes two dynamic codes to try.

Common mistakes

• Missing country code, or keeping the leading 0 of a local number.
• A long message. Customers may delete it. One clear line works best.
• Not testing before printing hundreds of bags or flyers.
• A code that's too small or too light, or printed on shiny paper under bright lights.
• Using a personal number you might change. A dedicated shop number is easier to keep for years.

Ready? Type your number, write one friendly line, and put your WhatsApp code where your customers already are.