How to create certificates with a QR code
A QR code turns a certificate from a picture into something anyone can check. Here is how to add one properly, and what makes it worth scanning.
Short answer
Give every certificate its own QR code that opens a public page showing who issued it, who received it and whether it is still valid. Certifyd does this automatically for each credential you issue; you design the certificate once and the code and credential ID are added per person.
What a QR code adds to a certificate
A PDF or a printout can be edited, copied or invented. A QR code does not change that by itself: it is only a link. What makes it useful is where the link goes. If it opens a page kept by the issuer, the reader sees the issuer's own record instead of trusting the document in their hand.
That is why the code should lead to a page for that one certificate, not to your home page and not to a file in a shared folder.
What the page behind the code should show
- The recipient's name and what the credential is for.
- Who issued it and on what date.
- A status that can change: valid, expired or revoked.
- No login, so an employer or client can check it from a phone.
Certifyd's verification page shows exactly this, taken from the issuer's live record. Editing the PDF cannot change what the page says.
Create certificates with a QR code, step by step
- Pick a design from the template library or start from a blank page, then add your logo and the course or event name.
- Add your recipients one at a time or import them from a CSV file.
- Issue. Each recipient gets an email with the certificate as a PDF; every one carries its own credential ID and QR code.
- Scan one with your phone before sending the rest, and open the page it leads to.
Printing and placing the code
Keep the code on a plain light background with some empty space around it, and do not stretch or recolor it until it stops scanning. Print one sample at the final size and scan it with two different phones.
Put the credential ID in text beside the code. If a scanner is not at hand, the reader can type the ID at certifyd.cloud/verify instead.
Mistakes that make a QR code worthless
Most failures are not technical. They come from pointing the code at the wrong thing, or from forgetting that a certificate lives longer than the project that produced it. Before you send a batch, check these four.
- A code that opens a PDF in a shared folder: anyone with the link can swap the file, and the link breaks the day someone tidies the folder.
- A code that opens your website's home page: it proves nothing about this person or this certificate.
- A code printed too small or on a dark, patterned background, which many phones cannot read.
- No way to withdraw a certificate: if one was issued by mistake, the page behind the code should be able to say so.
A verification page kept by the issuer avoids all four, because the page, not the file, is the proof. That is the idea behind every credential Certifyd issues.
Checklist before you send
- The code opens a page for this one certificate.
- The page shows the recipient, issuer, date and status.
- The code scans from a printed sample at final size.
- The credential ID is printed in text beside the code.
- You know how to revoke a certificate if one goes out wrong.
Questions
Do I need to generate the QR codes myself?
No. Certifyd creates a unique verification page, credential ID and QR code for each certificate when you issue it.
Can I try this without an account?
The free certificate maker produces a sample PDF with a QR code that leads back to the maker page. It is a sample, not a verifiable credential. To issue certificates people can verify, you need a Certifyd account, and the free plan includes 12 credentials a month.
What if a recipient's QR code will not scan?
They can type the credential ID, which looks like CFD-7X4K-92QM, into the verify page. The ID is not case sensitive.
