QR codes

What are QR codes?

There are many kinds of QR code (and other bar codes), however the most popular usage is to provide a URL directly to mobile devices.

In these cases, a QR code is just a web site address (URL) in a graphical format that an App on a smartphone or tablet can understand and redirect a user to.

To use a QR code, you need a smartphone or tablet with an App which can scan barcodes. If you have an Android device, use this Barcode Scanner, or if you have an iOS (Apple) device there are many different choices; search Barcode Scanner in the iTunes store.

Why are they useful?

There are two main cases where QR codes are useful, these are:

• Printed or other offline material: scanning a QR code is often quicker than typing a web address and the end user can then access your online material immediately.
• Linking to an App: It may increase the usability of getting your app if, on a web page you provide a QR code to the App's download link -this allows the user to directly hit the appropriate App Store and install the App directly. Note that this is likely NOT useful if you are specifically linking to an Android App on the Google Play Store; Google provide remote installation such that if the user visits the store on their Desktop they can (in 2 clicks) have the app installed to their Android device automatically.

Where are they NOT useful?

QR codes are redundant in any place where the end user either doesn't need to access the content on a mobile device, or where the link you are publishing may already be on their mobile device.

For example, it is pretty much never useful to include a QR code in an email.