How do I format my phone number for a WhatsApp QR code?

Full international format with no plus, spaces or leading zero. A UK mobile 07700 900123 becomes 447700900123, and a US number 555 010 1234 becomes 15550101234. A leading zero is a national prefix and will make the link invalid.

Can I include a message that is already typed?

Yes. The message appears in the chat box ready to send, and the customer can edit it first. Short and specific works best — something that tells you which product or location the enquiry is about.

Do I need WhatsApp Business for this?

No, a personal number works. Business is worth it if scans arrive out of hours, because away messages and quick replies mean a late-night scan gets an answer instead of silence.

Can a WhatsApp QR code add someone to a group?

Not this kind. A wa.me code opens a one-to-one chat with your number. WhatsApp generates its own separate invite links for groups, and those are the ones to encode if a group is what you want.

Can I see how many people scanned it?

Not from a static code — it is just a link, with nobody counting. Point a dynamic code at the same wa.me address and you get scan counts, locations and devices while the customer still lands in the same chat.

WhatsApp QR code generator

A WhatsApp code opens a chat with your number, with an optional message already in the box. Scanning it skips the part where somebody has to save your number first, which is where most enquiries quietly die.

It is a link underneath: wa.me/ followed by your number in full international format. Because it is a link, the same code works on iOS, Android and desktop WhatsApp.

What should it do

Open a WhatsApp chat with a message ready to send.

Content

WhatsApp number (required)

Opening message

Design

Module shape

Eye frame

Eye centre

Error correction

Code colour

#111111

Background

#ffffff

Logo in the middle

The number format is unforgiving

Use the full international number with no plus sign, no spaces, no brackets and no leading zero: a UK mobile 07700 900123 becomes 447700900123. A leading zero is a national prefix and means nothing internationally, so wa.me will report that the number is invalid.

This is the single most common failure with WhatsApp codes, and it fails in a way that looks like your business does not exist. Scan your own code before it goes to print, from a phone that does not have your number saved, so you see exactly what a stranger sees.

A pre-filled message does most of the work

The optional text parameter puts a message in the box, ready to send. Used well it turns a vague enquiry into a routable one: "Table for 2 tonight" on a restaurant window, "Interested in 14 Mill Lane" on an estate agent board, "Reorder my usual" on a delivery box.

The customer can edit it before sending, so keep it short and useful rather than a script you want them to recite. A pre-filled message that reads like marketing copy gets deleted before sending, which loses you the context you were trying to capture.

Business accounts, and what the code cannot do

This works with a personal number or a WhatsApp Business account. Business adds away messages, quick replies and a catalogue, which is what you want if scans arrive outside opening hours — otherwise a scan at 11pm gets silence, and the customer concludes nobody is there.

A wa.me code cannot add you to a group, cannot start a chat from your side, and gives you no scan analytics by itself. If you want to know how many people scanned the window sticker, point a dynamic code at the wa.me link: you get the counts and the customer gets the same chat.

Where these earn their keep

Shop windows and A-boards, where somebody walking past is willing to ask a question but not to phone. Delivery packaging, where a reorder is one scan away. Trade stands, where the alternative is collecting business cards nobody follows up.

Print it with a line of text saying what happens — "Scan to message us on WhatsApp" — because a bare code asks people to gamble on what it does, and most will not.

Common questions

How do I format my phone number for a WhatsApp QR code?: Full international format with no plus, spaces or leading zero. A UK mobile 07700 900123 becomes 447700900123, and a US number 555 010 1234 becomes 15550101234. A leading zero is a national prefix and will make the link invalid.
Can I include a message that is already typed?: Yes. The message appears in the chat box ready to send, and the customer can edit it first. Short and specific works best — something that tells you which product or location the enquiry is about.
Do I need WhatsApp Business for this?: No, a personal number works. Business is worth it if scans arrive out of hours, because away messages and quick replies mean a late-night scan gets an answer instead of silence.
Can a WhatsApp QR code add someone to a group?: Not this kind. A wa.me code opens a one-to-one chat with your number. WhatsApp generates its own separate invite links for groups, and those are the ones to encode if a group is what you want.
Can I see how many people scanned it?: Not from a static code — it is just a link, with nobody counting. Point a dynamic code at the same wa.me address and you get scan counts, locations and devices while the customer still lands in the same chat.