Seems that lately, everybody is talking about QR codes or using them. We have used them in this blog to link to a tourism mobile android app as well as a few other things. The aim of this blog post is to educate you on how to use QR codes properly.

What is a QR code

In short, a QR code is a two-dimensional barcode that enables text to be stored inside them. They are fast and reliable. Often times a url is stored in them that opens a web page on a mobile device like a phone.

How to use them

There are a few guidelines to follow in using QR codes.

Mobile Ready

If want a QR to open your site, ideally your site should be mobile ready. We have talk about Responsive Design and mobile sites before, if you want more information on that. Having a QR code that opens to a page that looks awful on a mobile device is really of little benefit.

Make sure mobile phones are present and working

May sound obvious, since people always have their phones, but I have scanned QR codes where I had no signal to get the link. This is something to keep in mind when QR codes may end up in steel buildings or other places with little signal. Also make sure that the image is able to be scanned. One time at an event, I was trying to scan a QR code on the back of somebody’s t-shirt. The QR code was huge and wrapped around the side of the person’s torso a bit. That wrapping around was enough that I could not scan the code.

Examples

Picture is worth a thousand words.

The above code opens a mobile optimised property listing. Pretty slick.

The above image is the cover of the Northwoods Sporting Journal for this month. The QR code is in the lower left. Loads a non-mobile optimised subscription form that is very difficult to use on a phone. Not par for the course here.

The above image is an ad from a paper magazine. The QR code is the upper right. When scanned it plays a video that is a continuation of the ad with more information. Well done here.