How to Scan, Create and Use WeChat QR Codes

A WeChat QR code is a 2D barcode that opens something in WeChat: a contact, a group, an Official Account, a Mini Program or a payment. To scan one, tap Discover, then Scan, and point your camera at the code. For a code in an image, long press the image and choose Scan QR Code in Image.

Key takeaways

• Scan a WeChat QR code from the + menu of the Chats screen or from Discover, then Scan; long press a code in an image to scan it from the picture.
• Your own code is in Me: tap your profile photo, then My QR Code, where you can also change its style.
• A group QR code is valid for 7 days; Official Accounts, Mini Programs and WeChat Pay have their own codes.
• A Service Account can generate QR codes with a parameter, so a brand knows which poster or channel brought each follower.
• QPSoftware ran a QR code campaign for Air France KLM in 6 airports in China and Taiwan.

What Is a WeChat QR Code?

A QR code is a 2D barcode that smartphones can read. It contains information that becomes available as soon as a device scans it. QR codes were created to offer a quick and easy way to connect the offline world with the online world.

In the Western world, QR codes long had limited success, and people were not in the habit of scanning them. In China, QR codes are on a different level. You find them everywhere: on web pages, products, ad materials, packaging, and billboards where they sometimes take up most of the space.

On WeChat, QR codes have become a feature people cannot do without. If your company has a presence in China, people expect to find a QR code for it, and they can also look your account up with WeChat Search, as the banner above suggests.

Why Are WeChat QR Codes So Popular?

QR codes have countless uses. In China, users are accustomed to them and love their convenience: on WeChat, adding a friend to your contacts or paying online with a QR code takes seconds. The sections below show what you can do with them, starting with how to scan one.

How to Scan a WeChat QR Code

WeChat has its own QR code scanner, called Scan. You do not need another app.

With Your Phone Camera

1. Open WeChat. On the Chats screen, tap + at the top right, then Scan, as the WeChat Help Center explains. You can also tap Discover, then Scan.
2. Point your camera at the QR code.
3. WeChat detects the code and opens what it leads to: a profile, a group, an Official Account, a Mini Program or a payment.

From an Image or a Screenshot

When someone sends you a QR code as an image, you can scan it without a second phone:

1. Open the image in the WeChat chat.
2. Press and hold the picture until a menu appears.
3. Tap Scan QR Code in Image.

Online, on a Computer or on the Same Phone

A WeChat QR code is read by the WeChat app on your phone: that is where the action it triggers happens, whether adding a contact, joining a group, following an account, paying or logging in.

• To log in to WeChat on a computer: open WeChat for Windows or Mac, then on your phone tap +, then Scan, scan the QR code displayed on the computer and confirm the login, according to the WeChat Help Center guide for Windows and Mac.
• To log in on a new phone: WeChat may ask you to scan the QR code shown on the new device with your previous one. Without it, the other options are your password, a verification code sent to your mobile number or linked email, or two frequent contacts who send a verification code to your account.
• When the code is on the phone you scan with: save it or take a screenshot, send the image to a chat, for example File Transfer, then scan it from the image as shown above.

What Can You Do with a WeChat QR Code?

Add Friends (QR Contacts)

On WeChat, you can add a friend by scanning their QR code and, unlike on WhatsApp, you do not need their phone number. Scan the code and you are ready to connect. You can scan it directly on your friend’s phone, or from an image of the code.

To add a new friend with a QR code:

1. Tap Scan, from the + menu or from Discover.
2. Point your camera at the QR code on your friend’s phone, or on an image they shared with you.
3. Add them to your contacts from the profile that opens, then start chatting.

Join WeChat Groups (Group QR Codes)

A group QR code lets people join a group chat by scanning it. This is handy when you create a group and want members quickly: share the code with your community, with a message that gives them a reason to join.

To share a group QR code:

1. Open the group chat and tap the three dots at the top right.
2. Tap Group QR Code.
3. Tap the three dots again, then Send to Chat or Save Image.
4. Share the image with the people you want in the group.

When you receive a group QR code as an image, press and hold it and tap Scan QR Code in Image to open the group and join it. A group QR code is valid for 7 days from the moment it is generated, and its expiry time is shown below the code. It stops working at once if the person who shared it leaves the group.

Follow Official Accounts

QR codes are central to promoting your company’s WeChat Official Account. Add your Official Account QR code to your ads, products, packaging and more. Official Accounts are key to your marketing strategy, so using a QR code to invite users to your company’s WeChat Official Account will help your operations in China.

Open Mini Programs

WeChat Mini Programs are apps that you use inside WeChat, without installing them on your device. Companies use them for customer support, selling products, delivering news and more. Mini Programs have their own codes, which open the Mini Program directly, and developers can generate them in very large numbers, each carrying custom data for the page it opens.

Given the scope of Mini Programs in China and the revenue they bring, use QR codes to invite more people to your company’s Mini Program.

Receive Special Promotions

QR codes can lead to special promotions. For instance, you can offer discounts or giveaways to people who scan your code to follow your Official Account or open your Mini Program.

Pay with WeChat Pay

WeChat is also a popular way to send and receive money with WeChat Pay, one of the most popular payment gateways in China, and QR codes work in both directions. WeChat Pay offers two methods:

• QR Code Payment: the merchant displays a code, and the customer opens WeChat, scans it, confirms the amount and pays.
• Quick Pay: the customer shows the WeChat Pay payment code, found under Money in WeChat, and the merchant scans it.

If you are selling in China, both methods make paying easy for your customers and help your sales.

How to Find and Create a WeChat QR Code

Find Your Personal QR Code

1. Tap Me at the bottom right of WeChat.
2. Tap your profile photo at the top of the page.
3. Tap My QR Code.

Your code appears with the line “Scan the QR code to add me as a friend”, and buttons to scan, change the style of the code or save the image.

Customize Your QR Code

Some basic customizations are available directly in WeChat. To change the style of your personal QR code:

1. Open My QR Code, as above.
2. Tap Change Style at the bottom of the page.
3. Repeat until you find the design you like best.

To add your logo to your company’s QR code, hire a professional or use a free tool that customizes codes. QPSoftware’s own Official Account code, shown at the top of this article, carries the QPS logo in its center. Your QR code will be constantly visible to your customers, so a good design reflects well on your brand.

Create a QR Code for an Official Account

Without any development, you can turn the link of your Official Account into a QR code:

1. Open the Official Account.
2. Tap the person icon at the top right.
3. Tap All Articles (or All Messages).
4. Tap the three dots at the top right.
5. Tap Copy Link to copy the link of the Official Account.
6. Open a free QR code generator.
7. Paste the link and generate the code.
8. Download your QR code and start using it.

With development, a Service Account can generate its own QR codes with a parameter, as described in the WeChat Service Account documentation. Temporary codes expire after 30 days at most but can be created in large numbers; permanent codes never expire but are limited to 100,000. When someone scans one, they can follow the account, or open its chat if they already follow it, and WeChat sends the account an event with the parameter of the code.

How Brands Use WeChat QR Codes in Marketing Campaigns

A QR code turns a poster, a package or an event into an entry point to your WeChat account. Place codes where customers meet your brand, give people a reason to scan, such as a discount or a game, and use a different code for each placement to see which one brings followers.

QPSoftware, a WeChat agency that builds for foreign brands, applied this for Air France KLM. The team designed a QR code game and an HTML5 campaign, with posters and flyers, adding dynamic elements to static media. The campaign ran in 6 airports in China and Taiwan, with analytics and a QR code tracking system, and gained over 14,040 new followers for the airline on Weixin, Weibo, RenRen and Facebook.

What Should You Do Next?

QR codes are a simple way to build marketing and brand awareness in China, but they are only one of the WeChat features you can use. If you are serious about the Chinese market, open a WeChat Official Account for your company and learn how to manage a WeChat account. Then consider H5 pages and WeChat web apps or WeChat Mini Program development to benefit fully from the most popular social network in China.

QPSoftware is a WeChat agency in Shanghai: we can assist you in every phase of your WeChat strategy and advise you on the best channels to promote your company in China. Contact us today and our experts will explain all the secrets of marketing with WeChat in China.

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