Overview
A Telephone QR code is a simple but highly effective QR code type. When scanned, it opens the phone's dialer with your number already entered, ready for the user to tap "Call." This removes the friction of manually dialing a number, which is especially helpful for long or international phone numbers.
Telephone QR codes use the standard tel: protocol, which is universally supported on smartphones. The dialer opens instantly with no additional apps required.
How to Create a Telephone QR Code
Follow these steps to create your telephone QR code:
- Start a new QR code -- From your QR Dex dashboard, click the Create a QR Code button.
- Select the Telephone type -- Choose "Telephone" from the list of available QR code types.
- Enter the phone number with country code -- Type the full phone number including the international country code. For example, a US number would be entered as
+14155551234. Including the country code ensures the code works correctly regardless of where the person scanning is located.
- Customize the design -- Adjust colors, shapes, and optionally add a logo to align with your branding.
- Save and download -- Give your QR code a descriptive name, click Save QR Code, and download it in the format best suited for your use case.
Use Cases for Telephone QR Codes
- Business cards -- Add a telephone QR code to your business card so contacts can call you with a single scan instead of manually entering your number. This is especially useful for international contacts who may be unfamiliar with your country's dialing format.
- Storefronts and signage -- Place a telephone QR code on your shop window or "After Hours" sign so potential customers can call you directly. This is particularly useful for service-based businesses like locksmiths, plumbers, or medical offices.
- Print advertisements -- Include a telephone QR code in newspaper ads, magazine placements, or direct mail campaigns. Making it effortless to call increases the response rate compared to simply printing the phone number.
- Vehicle wraps and fleet graphics -- Businesses with branded vehicles can add a QR code that allows anyone who spots the vehicle to call immediately, turning your mobile advertising into a direct lead generator.
- Product packaging -- Place a telephone QR code on product packaging next to a "Call for support" message, giving customers an instant way to reach your help line.
Best Practices
- Always include the country code -- A phone number formatted as
+14155551234 will work from any country in the world. Without the country code, the number may fail to dial correctly for anyone outside your region.
- Display the number alongside the QR code -- While the QR code makes dialing convenient, also print the phone number in text next to it. This serves as a fallback for people who cannot or prefer not to scan, and it sets expectations about what will happen when they scan.
- Use a dedicated business line -- Route calls to a business phone number or virtual phone system rather than a personal cell phone. This ensures professional handling of calls and allows for voicemail, call routing, and business hours management.
- Test the code thoroughly -- Scan the QR code on different devices to verify the correct number appears in the dialer. Pay attention to formatting -- the country code, area code, and number should all be correct.
- Consider call tracking -- If you are distributing QR codes across multiple campaigns, consider using different tracked phone numbers for each campaign to measure which placements generate the most calls.
How It Works Technically
Telephone QR codes encode a tel: URI containing the full phone number. When a smartphone scans the code, the operating system recognizes the tel: protocol and opens the native phone dialer with the number pre-filled. The user then confirms the call by tapping the call button.
Most smartphones will show a confirmation prompt before initiating the call for security reasons. This prevents QR codes from triggering calls to premium-rate numbers without the user's knowledge.
Because the phone number is encoded directly in the QR code pattern, telephone QR codes are inherently static. However, you can still create them as dynamic codes through QR Dex if you want to track how many people scan the code, even though the phone number itself cannot be changed after printing.