Your daughter offers to make a QR code for the village club's noticeboard, so members can scan it and go straight to the newsletter. She remembers that the code you printed for the church fete two summers ago stopped working, and nobody knew why. This time she wants to get it right.
What is a QR code, in plain words?
A QR code is the small black and white square pattern you now see on menus, posters and price lists. Point a phone's camera at it and, with no typing, the phone opens a web page, a phone number or Wi-Fi details straight away. There are two kinds, and this is the part that trips people up. A plain code has the web address built directly into the pattern, so it works forever. A tracked code sends the phone through another company's website first, which lets that company count scans, but it also means the code stops working the moment that company's free trial ends, often after the posters are printed.
Which free tool is easiest?
| What you want | What Jobbit does |
|---|---|
| A code for a noticeboard or club newsletter | Paste the link, choose "poster or flyer" |
| A code for a business card | Choose "business card", add a logo if you like |
| A code that must never stop working | Every code Jobbit makes is the plain, permanent kind |
| A code with the club's own colours | Pick a brand colour on the form |
How to do it together in one afternoon
Sit together with the web address you want the code to open, perhaps the newsletter page or the booking form. On Jobbit's QR code tool, paste the address, choose where the code will be printed, such as a poster or a card, and pick black and white or a colour. Sign up once with an email address, no bank card needed, and the finished code appears in a chat a minute later, ready to save and send to the printer. If it needs to be bigger, just ask in plain words and it is redone.
What it costs (nothing) and what to watch out for
Making the code costs nothing, using part of the free plan's daily credits. The one thing to watch is size: a code on a poster needs to be bigger than one on a business card, roughly a tenth of the distance people will stand from it, and Jobbit tells you the right size for where it is going. Test the printed code with two phones before the whole batch goes to the printer. The guide this page is based on, with more detail on printing sizes, is here: the full free QR code guide, from Jobbit.
