QR Codes for Small Businesses

A QR code is the cheapest bridge you can build between something printed and something online. It costs nothing, it works with the camera app already on every modern phone, and used well it turns a shop window into a 24-hour shopfront.

One code, one job

The most common mistake is a single code that tries to do everything — website, menu, booking, socials — and ends up doing none of them well. Give each code a single destination and put it where that destination makes sense.

Label every code by where it lives — "window A-board", "till point", "van side" — before you print it. If you later switch to dynamic codes you will already have names that make your scan data readable.

Shop signage and window displays

Place a QR code on your sign or window and a passer-by can see your opening hours, today's offers, your menu or your online shop — at 11pm, when the lights are off and nobody is there to ask.

• Windows: 20-30 cm across, mounted on the inside of the glass so rain cannot reach it.
• A-board and pavement signs: at least 10 cm, positioned so it can be scanned from a normal standing distance.
• Add a one-line call to action next to the code ("Scan for today's menu") — codes without a reason to scan get ignored.

Brochures, flyers and packaging

Printed marketing is where QR codes pay for themselves fastest. A flyer can point to a booking page, a product video or a landing page with an offer you can measure.

Always print the short web address underneath the code. Some customers will type it, some will have the camera app blocked, and a few simply prefer not to scan — give them a second route to the same page.

Bookings, menus and guest WiFi

Three codes cover most of what a small business needs day to day: a URL QR code for your booking page or online shop, a WiFi QR code so customers join your network without asking for the password, and a vCard QR code so your number and email save to a phone in one tap.

Google reviews at the till

A Google review QR code on the till, the receipt or the counter takes a happy customer straight to your review form. Reviews are one of the few local ranking signals you can influence directly, and asking at the moment of a good experience converts far better than an email a week later.

Finding out what actually gets scanned

A static code carries the link inside the pattern itself, so nothing is recorded and the link can never change. That is fine for a business card and useless for learning which window brings the most traffic.

Dynamic QR codes point at a short address you control. You can change where it leads without reprinting the sign, and every code keeps a scan count — which is how you find out that your A-board outperforms the poster inside by ten to one. See static vs dynamic QR codes for the full comparison.

Sizing and placement

• A rough rule for print: 1 cm of code for every 10 cm of scanning distance. A code scanned from 30 cm should be at least 3 cm across.
• Keep dark patterns on a light background. Inverted colours (light on dark) fail on a surprising number of scanners.
• Leave a quiet zone — blank space — around the code, roughly the width of four modules.
• Never put a code behind reflective glass or under a glossy laminate that catches the light.

Accessibility: don't make the phone the only way

If something important is reachable only by scanning, you have excluded anyone without a smartphone, with a flat battery, or who simply cannot hold a phone steady. Print the address alongside the code, keep a paper copy of essential information, and treat the QR as a shortcut rather than the only door.

Test before you print a hundred

• Scan your code on at least one iPhone and one Android phone.
• Scan from the real distance and the real angle — not from 10 cm while holding the phone flat.
• Check the destination page loads quickly on mobile data, not just your office WiFi.
• Order one sample print before the full run. Our QR code printing guide covers material and finish choices.

Frequently asked questions