Creating Your First QR Code: Supported URLs and Validation Rules

Create your first QR code

1. Go to the PXLA QR homepage — there's no sign-up or account step.
2. Paste or type the URL you want the code to open, into the input field.
3. Click Generate QR Code.
4. Your code appears instantly, generated entirely in your browser.
5. Click Download PNG to save it, or Generate Another to start over with a new URL.

That's the entire flow — no configuration, no optional settings to get right first. The rest of this article covers exactly what counts as a valid URL, for the cases where the tool shows a validation message instead of a code.

Supported URLs

PXLA QR accepts standard web URLs — anything that starts with, or can be reasonably assumed to start with, http:// or https://. You don't need to type the protocol yourself: if you enter example.com, PXLA QR automatically treats it as https://example.com before generating the code. This includes URLs with paths, query parameters, and fragments — https://example.com/products/item-42?ref=flyer&size=large is just as valid as a bare domain.

The exact validation rules

Before generating a code, PXLA QR checks your input against a short, specific set of rules, and shows a plain-language message if any of them fail:

• Not empty — you have to enter something before clicking Generate QR Code.
• Under 2000 characters — long enough for virtually any real-world URL, including ones with lengthy tracking parameters, while avoiding creating a QR code so dense it's unreliable to print at normal sizes.
• Only http:// or https:// — protocols like javascript:, data:, or mailto: are rejected outright, both because they're not appropriate content for a scannable link and to avoid generating a code around unsafe URI schemes.
• A real-looking hostname — the domain portion must contain at least one dot (example.com, not just example), which filters out obviously incomplete input like a bare word typed by mistake.

Everything here runs locally in your browser the instant you click Generate QR Code — there's no server round-trip involved in validation any more than there is in generation itself (see Is Generation Client-Side?).

What doesn't work, and why

• Plain text or phone numbers — PXLA QR is built specifically for URLs; see What Is a QR Code? for the other data types QR codes can technically hold, which need a different kind of tool.
• Non-web protocols (javascript:, data:, ftp:, etc.) — rejected for both safety and relevance; PXLA QR generates codes meant to be opened in a standard mobile browser.
• URLs over 2000 characters — extremely rare in practice, but if you hit this, the underlying URL likely has more tracking parameters than necessary for its purpose.