What should the QR code on my van open?

What should the scan open?

Think about who scans a code on a van or a shop window: somebody nearby, on a phone, with a moment to spare, who already half wants what you do. What they need first is a way to reach you, not a tour of your business.

So the code should open a page made for a phone that shows, near the top:

• your name and what you do
• a button to call you, and a way to message you
• whether you are open now, or when you next are
• where you are, or which areas you cover
• a way to ask for a booking or a quote

A full website's homepage can work if it puts those first. One that opens with a large picture, a cookie banner and a menu asks a lot of somebody standing in the street.

The same code should work for a customer at nine in the evening as well as at nine in the morning, so the page should say clearly when you are open and offer a way to get in touch that does not need you to pick up: a message, an enquiry form or a booking request.

The QR code Google gives you for your Business Profile is for something else: it takes customers to leave you a review.¹ That is useful at the till, after a job, and less use on the side of a van.

Where should the code go?

Wherever people see your business and might want to reach you later:

• the back doors and sides of a van, where somebody on the pavement can reach it with a phone
• your shop window, at eye level and facing the street
• the counter or the till
• business cards, invoices, receipts and quotes
• leaflets, and anything you leave behind after a job

Put a few words beside every code saying what it does, such as “Scan to call or book”. A code with nothing round it is easy to ignore, and people are rightly wary of scanning a code when they cannot tell where it goes.

Think about where people can safely stop. A code on the back of a van is read by somebody parked behind it or walking past, not by a driver in traffic, so put it where a person on foot can get close. On paper, the code can be smaller, because people hold a card or an invoice in their hand.

How big should it be, and how do I test it?

There is no single right size: it depends on how far away people will stand, the light and the phone in their hand. So rather than trusting a number, test it before you pay for printing:

1. Print a test copy at the size you plan to use.
2. Stand where your customers will stand: on the pavement behind the van, across the shop, at the counter.
3. Scan it with two or three different phones, an older one among them.
4. Try it in daylight, and again at night or under the lights it will hang under.
5. If any phone struggles, make it bigger, or move it closer to where people stand.

Leave a plain margin round the code, keep it dark on a light background, and do not stretch, crop or decorate it. Then check that the page it opens works on those same phones, because a code that scans perfectly and opens a slow or broken page has still let the customer down.

Check it again after a few months outside. Dirt, scratches, fading and a vinyl edge starting to lift can all stop a code that worked on the first day, and a quick scan when you wash the van tells you.

What if my details change?

Use a code that opens a web address, not one that holds your details itself. A code that stores your phone number goes out of date the day the number changes. A code that opens your page keeps working, because you change the page and the code stays the same.

Before a code goes on a van, check whose address it opens. If it runs through somebody else's short link, it keeps working for as long as that link stays in place, so prefer a code that opens your page's own address.

And keep the page itself current. A code that opens last year's hours is worse than no code at all, because the customer believes it.

The same holds if you change your business's name or your look: a code that opens your page can stay where it is, and just the words printed beside it need changing.

Can I count the scans?

Yes, if the code opens a page that can tell a scan from an ordinary visit. The usual way is a small mark on the end of the address the code opens, so the page knows that visitor came from the code.

Give it a few weeks before you judge it. A code on a van is scanned when somebody needs you, which is not every day, and the scans that matter are the ones followed by a call or a message.

Scans tell you a code is being seen; calls, messages and booking requests tell you the page is doing its job. If people scan and then leave, look at the page they land on: is the call button near the top, are the hours right, and does it load quickly away from wifi?

One code or two?

Two codes do two jobs. A page code is for getting in touch: put it on the van, the window and your cards. A review code is for after the job: put it at the till, on the receipt or on a poster where customers wait. Our Review QR poster makes the second kind. Paste your Google review link and print a poster your customers can scan.

Do not put both side by side on a van: somebody walking past has time for one, and it should be the one that lets them reach you. Label each code with what it does, such as “Scan to call or book” and “Scan to review us on Google”.

If most customers message you, a code that opens a WhatsApp chat is a third choice: WhatsApp Business can make one,² and so can our WhatsApp link maker.