This overview will explain QR Codes and what you can do with them, how to read them, how to create your own and much more.
What is a QR Code?
A QR Code is a 2 dimensional image (see example below) that contains data.
You’ve probably seen them “in the wild” – they’re showing up in North America more and more often in ads, on products, even tee-shirts.
What can I do with QR Codes?
This is where it gets fun. Since a QR code contains data, you can create images that when scanned with a phone or other device (we’ll get to that in the next section) – that data can be used by your device. For example, if you scan the QR code above, it will prompt you to visit http://www.simplehelp.net on your devices Web Browser. See the more detailed section below on the other things you can do with QR Codes.
How to I scan a QR Code?
If you have a mobile phone, you can probably scan QR codes. Here’s a list of tutorials for scanning QR codes using free software on various smartphones:
How to Create Your Own QR Code
The easiest way is to use an online QR Code Generator. There are lots of them – a few of my favorites are:
- kaywa – for very simple QR Codes
- QR Stuff – for much more advanced QR Codes
- QR Code Generator – a Google Chrome Plugin that allows you to quickly generate QR codes of a web site address or even web page content
The Longer List of Cool Stuff You Can Do With QR Codes
If you visited a few of the sites listed above (particularly QR Stuff), you’ll have already seen that you can do very cool things with QR codes. If you have a web site, you can integrate it with QR Codes in some very neat ways. You can create cool landing pages for your website (scan the QR Code below for mine!) or automatically add QR Codes to printed versions of your site.
If you print with QR Codes you need to know the difference between a static code and a dynamic QR Code! Even though a dynamic code is not free you will get a load of added benefits like not having to change your print material! Just login to your code and change your info. : )