QR codes that work: menus, wifi, payments and signs
How to make a code that scans from across a room, what to put behind it, and the mistakes that leave a customer staring at a broken page.
A QR code is a link that someone has to point a camera at. Everything that makes one work well follows from that: it has to be big enough to see, sharp enough to read, and it has to lead somewhere that makes sense on a phone held in one hand.
Sizes that scan
- Table tent or menu, scanned from about 30 cm: at least 2.5 cm square.
- Poster at eye level, scanned from 1 to 2 metres: at least 8 cm square.
- Shop window, scanned from the pavement: at least 15 cm square.
- Business card: 1.5 cm is the practical minimum, and it must be printed sharply.
What to put behind it
A page that loads quickly on a phone on mobile data, with the one thing the customer wants at the top. A menu should be the menu, not a PDF that opens in a viewer and needs pinching. A payment code should open the payment, not your homepage.
- Menu: a web page, not a PDF.
- Wifi: the network name and password, which a code can carry directly so nobody types it.
- Payment: the payment link itself, tested on both a new phone and an old one.
- Reviews: the direct review form, not the business listing.
The mistakes that break codes
- Stretching the code so it is no longer square.
- Putting a logo over the middle without checking it still scans.
- Using a shortener that expires, which turns your printed sign into a dead link.
- Never testing on an older phone, where the camera is slower and less forgiving.
Tracking scans without annoying anybody
You can tell how many people scanned by putting campaign parameters on the link, which your analytics will report as a source. That does not track individuals and does not need a third party service in the middle.
Common questions
Do QR codes expire?
The code itself never expires. What expires is whatever it points at, which is why a shortener you do not control is a risk on anything printed.
Can I change where a printed code points?
Only if it points at a URL you control, such as your own domain, which you can redirect later. Print your own link, not a third party one.
Why does my code fail on some phones?
Usually size or contrast, sometimes a logo covering too much of the middle. Test at the real printed size, not on screen.
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