Have you ever seen one of these?

This gaudy looking, ‘ink blot block’ of black & white is called a QR Code. They are actually quite an interesting invention, with the potential to be very handy under some circumstances.

These codes behave in a similar way to bar codes, except that you scan them with your smart phone.

You can go online to a webpage like this, and program a QR code to do many different things including, sending you to a website, putting information into your contacts program or just playing videos. It’s pretty cool, but should you go to the trouble of adding them to you business cards?

The short answer is no. I’ll tell you why.

People rarely scan QR codes

When was the last time you scanned a QR code?

For me, being someone who is rather tech-oriented, I haven’t scanned one in over a year. I actively look for cool techy-type things to get into and I have learned that a quick google search is much easier than scanning a QR code.

They look awful

QR codes are not attractive. Graphic designers think they look like computer puke and they are really difficult to incorporate into a classy design.

For business cards it’s worse, because in order to get the QR Codes to work they have to be printed large enough for a smart phone to scan. This means a large portion of the card is taken up by QR, and this is distracting. Yuck!

QRs don’t always work

Sometimes people set up QR codes that won’t work, or that don’t scan properly.

If it doesn’t work the first time, usually we won’t try again.

Who knows where the QR code will take you?

Finally, QR Codes have no way of indicating to you where they are ACTUALLY going to send you.

If you have a QR code on your business card, your target doesn’t know whether the code will take him to your company website, your LinkedIn profile, or whether it will load your contact information into their phone.

If people are unsure, then they’ll avoid it and they won’t scan it anyway.

Keep it Super Simple

Instead of QR Codes, consider asking your designer to put the standard information on your card. Include your name, email address, phone number, website URL and address. Sometimes, indicating  you are on social media is a good idea if those services are important to your business.

Are you looking for professionals to work on your business cards for you? We can set you up with a professional, clear and functional business card layout.

Contact us and let us help you!