What is a QR Code and a QR Codes Generator?

February 13, 2015 by Mike

While being dragged round the shops pre-christmas and with my mind wandering (as it does when doing such things) I couldn't help but notice the number of QR codes that have started to crop up in shop windows.

In fact you can see QR codes almost anywhere now - from magazines, leaflets and brochures, business cards through to QR codes on websites themselves. In South Korea, supermarkets and retail outlets advertise in tube stations - and next to the adverts they have QR codes so that the special offers can be ordered there and then. QR codes are going to be such a powerful tool that it would be foolish to not, at the very least, have an understanding of what it is all about.

QR codes were originally developed for use in Toyota car factories as a way of tracking vehicles during the manufacturing process but have now found their way in to the mainstream particularly through the use of mobile tagging using modern mobile phones. To use them you simply download a QR code reader to your phone (there are a number of free apps available that you can use) and, using the app, you can take a 'picture' of the QR code and it gets translated for your use.

Typically QR codes are used to enable customers to store or easily access websites or webpages in which case when you scan the code you get an easy to retrieve link to a company website. This is quite useful and a really quick way to gather information about a company if you want it as a reminder or to go back to the site later without having to find the URL.

For example the QR code at the top of this page contains the URL (website address) of this page. So if you scan it using your new QR reader app on your phone it will create a 'pointer' to this page so that you can easily view and retrieve this page within your mobile phone web browser.

This is all pretty cool stuff but there is a bit of a warning attached to all this technology. A QR code can hold a surprisingly large amount of data and does not necessarily just contain a URL website address. QR codes may be able to add contacts or send texts or emails on your phone so it is always best to use common sense when scanning. Always make sure that you scan legitimate QR codes - this means that a QR code in a shop window would be ok to scan but if somebody gives you a leaflet in a street with a QR code on it then make sure you think twice before scanning. Probably the best way to think about it is how you treat your emails, ignoring and filtering out all those paypal warnings and problems with your bank account.