WhatsApp's help centre asks for its Business QR code to be printed at exactly 8cm by 8cm when you use its sticker template, and its steps get there by taking a screenshot of the code, cropping it and printing it from the phone. The code lives in the WhatsApp Business app under Settings, next to your business name, and the help pages mention no logo or colour options. A code built on a wa.me link takes your logo and prints at whatever size the spot needs.
What goes in the code. WhatsApp's click-to-chat format is https://wa.me/ followed by a full phone number in international format, omitting any zeroes, brackets or dashes. WhatsApp's own example says to use https://wa.me/1XXXXXXXXXX, not https://wa.me/+001-(XXX)XXXXXXX. Add ?text= and URL-encoded text, and that message appears in the chat's text box. WhatsApp says the link opens a chat on a phone or on WhatsApp Web, without the person saving your number first, as long as the number has an active WhatsApp account.
How it differs from the Business app's code. The Business code shows your @username if you have one, fills in the message you set under Short link, and keeps working until you reset it or delete the account. A wa.me code points at the number instead, so resetting the Business code doesn't touch it, and it works for a personal WhatsApp number as well as a business one. The message is part of the link, so changing it means a new code.
What breaks a WhatsApp code:
- The leading zero. A mobile number written with a 0 at the start inside its own country drops that 0 in international format. Leave it in and the link points at a number that isn't yours. The click-to-chat link generator removes it and shows the number the link will open.
- A long message.
https://wa.me/61412345678is 25 bytes and a 25 by 25 grid. Add the message "Hi, I'd like to book a table" and it becomes 73 bytes and 37 by 37, which needs at least 18mm of print width. Keep the message to a few words on anything smaller than a table tent. - A missing https://. The address field only accepts a complete http or https address, so paste the whole link.
Tracking and UTM tags. A scan goes straight into WhatsApp, so UTM tags on a wa.me link never reach your analytics, and text is the one parameter WhatsApp's help describes for these links. The generator flags the code as static for the same reason. For tagging links you send inside chats, see WhatsApp UTM parameters.
Printing it. The Business card preset, 20mm, scans from about 20cm, and Table tent, 40mm, from about 40cm, which covers most counters. The print guide covers glare, finish and contrast, and reading the PNG back in the QR code reader shows the number the link will open.