Five codes worth making first
- Reviews. Link to the page where customers write a review, not your general listing. Google, for one, gives you a direct review link inside your Business Profile.
- Booking. If you take appointments, a code that opens your booking page saves a phone call on both ends.
- Guest WiFi. A WiFi QR code on the wall of the waiting area, on a guest network separate from your point-of-sale system.
- Your contact card. A contact card QR code saves your name, number, email and website straight into a customer's phone. Put it on business cards, invoices and the van.
- Social follow. One code to the account you actually keep up, not five icons to accounts you post on twice a year.
After closing time
Someone walks past at 8 p.m. and wants to know when you open tomorrow. A code on the door that opens a page with your hours, services and a booking link answers them when nobody's there to.
Keep the hours printed on the door too. A code should add to the basics, never hide them.
If you run a service business from a van or a home office, the same idea works on a yard sign or the gate: a code that opens your services page with a booking link, for the neighbor who walks past and wonders who did that fence.
Where to place them
- The counter, for reviews and loyalty sign-ups while people pay
- The front door or window, about 8 to 10 cm (3 to 4 in) wide at chest height
- Receipts and invoices, for reviews and booking the next visit
- Business cards, with your contact card on the back
- Your vehicle, printed large: about 30 cm (12 in) square if people will scan from 3 m (10 ft) away
Put a van code where people see it parked, on the back doors or the side panel by the curb. Nobody scans a moving vehicle.
What to avoid
One code trying to do three jobs. If a code opens a page with every link you have, people tap around and leave. Give each code one action and label it: Scan to book, Scan to review.
Printing before testing. Five hundred receipts or a vehicle wrap is an expensive place to find a typo. Scan a printed proof with an iPhone and an Android phone, at the distance customers will stand, before the full run.
Links you don't control. When you can, point codes at pages on your own website. You can update a page. You can't update a printed code.
Make the first one today
Start with reviews. Find your direct review link, make a website QR code from it, download it, and tape a test print by the register this afternoon. If customers use it this week, print a proper sign.
Frequently asked questions
Can I use a QR code to get more Google reviews?
Yes. Copy the review link from your Google Business Profile, make a website QR code from it, and put it where customers finish paying. Asking in person alongside the code works better than the code on its own.
What's the best QR code to put on a work van?
A contact card or a website code, printed large: about 30 cm (12 in) square for scanning from 3 m away. Test it from across the parking lot before the wrap goes on.
Can I use these QR codes for my business?
Yes. Codes made here are free for any use, including signs, packaging, ads and anything else you sell or print.
Do I need to pay monthly to keep my QR code working?
Not for codes made here. They're static, so the content lives in the pattern itself and no subscription is needed. See do QR codes expire for how that differs from paid services.