Create A QR Code In 21 Seconds

Do you have lots of burning questions surrounding QR codes? Ever wondered how your business could use them? Is the answer is yes, this is the article for you! QR codes have been around since the mid 90s. QR stands for ‘Quick Response Code’ and is a type of 2D bar code – just like the codes you scan during the checkout at a supermarket. QR codes consist of numerous black and white squares which can store locators, data or most commonly, a tracker which points to a website URL. 

In this 21st birthday edition blog from iocea, we'll talk you through the steps of how to use a QR code and how to create one in under 21 seconds using QR Code Generator.

How do you use a QR code?

In recent years, QR codes have seen yet another surge in popularity to help direct consumers to videos, websites, social media accounts or even to quickly email someone. And, if you've used the Track and Trace app, you'll be pretty familiar with them by now.

Using a smartphone camera, you can easily and effortlessly scan a QR code. Taking the scenario of scanning a QR code that leads you to a website, when you scan the code using your smartphone camera, your default browser will open and load the web page – it’s as simple and as easy as that!

Now let's think back to your business and how you could use them….  Consumers are increasingly looking for the easiest and most importantly, the fastest way to complete tasks – especially online. If you are selling your product or services online and have an ad campaign running, why not implement a QR code for users to scan and go straight to your product?

Here is a great example from Waitrose advertising their 2020 Christmas app: 

Instead of relying on the consumer going to the app store and searching for their app, they have implemented a QR code which takes you directly to the app store for you to click ‘download’. 

How do I create a QR code?

So, you now know what a QR code is, and how you could use one but how do you create one?

The great news is it's VERY simple. The best bit about it? It’s also free! There are lots of different tools and generators available. An easy generator to use is: QR Code Generator. QR Code Generator will let you create a variety of codes - for emails, SMS and website URLs. For this article we are going to focus on sending the user to a website URL. Within the generator, simply enter the URL you would like the user to visit and the QR code will generator automatically. 

There are many different styles and colours you can use. Here are some examples:

Once you’ve chosen your style, it's now time to export it.

To export your code, you simple click one of the two options display based on the format you would like.

It’s now time to use your code on your marketing!

You can sign up for different account types to receiving tracking capabilities to see how many times your QR code has been used. Another great way to track your code usage is using Googles URL campaign builder to track more metrics within Google Analytics: Campaign URL Builder — Google Analytics Demos & Tools (ga-dev-tools.appspot.com)

Lincoln Website Specialists: Where to find help

At our Lincoln eCommerce agency, we know everything there is to know about QR codes or any other confusing online trends! We are specialists in online shopping and eCommerce websites, which is why we like to share our knowledge and expertise to help businesses to grow.

If you would like to learn more about QR codes or how to implement them into your marketing strategy, please feel free to get in touch with our Lincolnshire digital marketing experts on 01522 706085 or scan the below QR code to email us!