# How to add a QR code to a LinkedIn banner

> Build the 1584×396 banner with a QR code around 300 pixels square in the right third, clear of the profile photo overlay, encoding your short profile URL rather than a dense vCard. Desktop viewers can scan it with a phone; viewers already on mobile cannot, so it complements rather than replaces the profile link.

Source: https://useqr.app/docs/how-to/how-to-add-a-qr-code-to-a-linkedin-banner · Last reviewed 2026-08-21 · UseQR is free forever, MIT licensed, no signup.

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## Who actually scans a banner code

Be clear-eyed about the audience before designing. Someone viewing your profile **on
their phone** cannot scan a code on the screen they are holding. The banner code works
for the other case, which happens to be a valuable one: a recruiter or contact viewing
your profile **on a desktop**, phone in hand, who can scan your code and walk away with
your details — the standard [screen-scanning mechanics](/docs/scanning/scanning-a-qr-code-off-a-monitor)
apply, and they are forgiving at desk distances.

So the banner code is a complement to your profile URL, not a replacement. It is also a
signal in itself in some fields — it reads as "this person ships details properly".

## The layout numbers

- Banner canvas: **1584 × 396 px** (4:1).
- Your **profile photo overlaps the lower-left** of the banner on both desktop and
  mobile, and different screen widths crop the banner differently.
- Safe placement: the **right third**, with the code roughly **300 × 300 px** including
  its [quiet zone](/glossary/quiet-zone), inset at least 60 px from the top and right
  edges so responsive cropping never clips it.
- Solid light background behind the code. If your banner is a photo, put the code on a
  white card; a code composited straight onto imagery fails the contrast rules.

At ~300 px in a 396 px-tall banner the code displays at readable size on typical
desktop layouts — small enough to be polite, big enough to scan from a phone at
20–30 cm.

## What to encode: profile URL, not vCard

The tempting choice is a [vCard](/vcard-qr-code) so a scan saves your contact card. The
problem is density: a full vCard easily runs 200–400 bytes, pushing the code to a high
version whose modules are too small at banner display sizes. A short profile URL
(`linkedin.com/in/yourname` — claim your custom URL first, it drops the numeric suffix)
keeps the code at a low version with fat, scannable modules.

If you genuinely want scan-to-save-contact, that belongs on surfaces with room and
guaranteed print quality: your [business card](/docs/how-to/how-to-add-a-qr-code-to-a-business-card)
or [CV](/docs/how-to/how-to-add-a-qr-code-to-a-resume). The broader strategy — what a
LinkedIn code should point at in different contexts — is covered in
[QR codes for a LinkedIn profile](/docs/marketing/qr-code-for-a-linkedin-profile).

## Build and upload

1. Generate the code with the [URL generator](/url), black on white, no logo — banner
   display sizes have no margin for styling losses.
2. Compose the 1584 × 396 banner in any editor and export **PNG** (LinkedIn re-encodes
   uploads; PNG gives the compressor the cleanest starting point).
3. Upload via profile → edit banner, then **verify on a real desktop profile view**, not
   the upload preview: scan it with your phone from arm's length.
4. Confirm the payload with the [validator](/validate) — a banner with a typo'd URL is
   a slow way to find out.

Check it again after any profile-photo change; the overlap area shifts and can crowd a
code placed too far left.

## FAQ

### What size is a LinkedIn banner and how big should the code be?
The banner is 1584 × 396 pixels. A code around 300 pixels square in the right third, inset from the edges, displays at a scannable size on desktop without dominating the design.

### Should the LinkedIn banner code be a vCard or my profile URL?
Profile URL. A vCard payload is dense, and at banner display sizes its small modules scan poorly. The short profile URL keeps the code low-version and reliable; save the vCard for business cards.

### Can people scan my banner from the LinkedIn mobile app?
Not with the phone they are viewing it on. The banner code serves desktop viewers who have a phone available — which includes most recruiters at work — while mobile viewers use the normal tap-through.

### Why is my banner QR code blurry after upload?
LinkedIn re-encodes banner images. Upload a PNG composed at exactly 1584 × 396 with the code as sharp full-resolution artwork, not a stretched screenshot, and it survives the re-encode comfortably.

## Try it

- https://useqr.app/url
- https://useqr.app/vcard
- https://useqr.app/validate