How to create a barcode
- Pick the barcode type. Not sure? Use Code 128 for internal codes and EAN-13 / UPC-A for retail products.
- Type the value. For EAN and UPC you can leave off the last (check) digit — it’s added for you.
- Adjust bar width and height if your labels are small or large.
- Download a PNG or SVG. For many codes at once, switch to Bulk, paste one value per line, then print the sheet or download it as a single SVG.
Barcode types at a glance
| Type | Data | Typical use |
|---|---|---|
| EAN-13 | 13 digits | Retail products worldwide, books (ISBN) |
| UPC-A | 12 digits | Retail products in the US and Canada |
| EAN-8 / UPC-E | 8 / 6–8 digits | Small packages with little label space |
| ITF-14 | 14 digits | Outer cartons and cases (GTIN-14) |
| Code 128 | Any ASCII text | SKUs, shipping labels, inventory, assets |
| Code 39 | Upper-case letters, digits, a few symbols | Industrial, ID badges, older systems |
| Codabar | Digits and a few symbols | Libraries, blood banks, labs |
Printing tips
- Keep the quiet zone. Leave blank space on both sides of the bars; scanners need it.
- Dark bars on a light background. Black on white scans best. Red bars don’t scan with most red-light scanners.
- Don’t squash it. Scale width and height together. For retail EAN/UPC, GS1 recommends a nominal size around 37 × 26 mm, and a minimum of about 80%.
- Test before a big print run with a phone scanner app and the scanner you’ll really use.
Barcodes for a WooCommerce store
WooCommerce has a GTIN/UPC/EAN/ISBN field on products (under Inventory), used for Google product listings. Store the number there and generate the label here. Before you upload a list of GTINs, run it through the GTIN checker — one wrong check digit is enough to get a product rejected by Google Merchant Center. Need SKUs first? Use the SKU generator.