QR Codes (short for Quick Response Codes) really are the next ‘big thing’ when it comes to new technical solutions that can really help us. Waiting for a bus? Walking down the street? Watching TV? Wherever you see a QR code, you can get your phone out, choose the camera option and scan the code.
It was tried in marketing in the past and failed because people needed to download apps to read and use them. Then Apple and Google included it in the camera apps, and a pandemic saw QR codes used at scale. Suddenly everyone knew what they were for and how to use them.
Scanning the QR code gives you the ability almost immediately to visit that destination – whether it be a website, competition form, your train ticket, join a Wi-fi network or open an app to order your food.
Although they seem relatively modern, QR codes were created in 1994 by Japanese automotive company Denso Wave. They were initially used to track parts in vehicle manufacturing. They’re now used for almost everything due to its fast readability and greater storage capacity compared to standard UPC barcodes.
On different websites, you’re able to generate these codes for free. You can use different colours, set a destination URL, use your logo in the design or customise the design, using different patterns, borders or shapes. We use this site https://www.qrcode-monkey.com/
QR Codes can last forever. If the destination URL stays the same, the QR code, once scanned, will take you to the same place. The only way a QR code wouldn’t work is if it had been drawn on or ripped apart so that the phone couldn’t read it.
Here's the Green Stripe Media QR Code!
