Size it for the scanning distance
The code’s width depends on how far away people are. The working rule is a width of about a tenth of the distance. For a sign, that distance is where people stand, not where you stood when you designed it:
| Where the reader is | Distance | Code width |
|---|---|---|
| At a window card or a sign on a fence | 0.5–1 m | 5–10 cm |
| On the sidewalk, in front of a yard sign on a post | 1.5–3 m | 15–30 cm |
| Across a quiet street | 4–5 m | 40–50 cm |
On a sign about 45 × 60 cm (18 × 24 in), a 20–25 cm (8–10 in) code still leaves room for “For sale”, the agent’s name and the phone number. Put the code at eye height on the sign, not along the bottom edge, and add a little to the size if most people see the sign at an angle from the sidewalk.
Nobody should scan while driving. If the sign has to work for people in cars, design for a passenger at 3–5 m, and print a short web address in large letters too.
Density is rarely the problem on a sign: a listing link of 35 characters makes a 29 × 29 or 33 × 33 code, and at 20 cm each module is over 5 mm wide.
What the code should open
Link to the listing for this property, not to your home page. The person scanning is standing outside the house and wants its price, photos, floor plan and a way to book a visit. Check the page on a phone:
- it loads quickly on mobile data, without a pop-up first;
- the price and the main photos are at the top;
- a call button or a way to book a visit is easy to find.
When the property sells: a case for a dynamic code
Listing pages are taken down or marked sold, while signs stay up for weeks and are then reused at another address. A static code straight to a listing that has gone leads to an error page. Three ways to handle it:
- A dynamic (editable) code. The printed code holds a short link you can repoint: to the listing, then to a “sold, here are similar homes” page, then to the next property when the sign moves. One code per sign, used again and again.
- A static code to a page on your own website, such as youragency.com/14-elm-road, which you redirect yourself when the property sells. No subscription, as long as someone remembers to do it.
- A static code straight to a listing site. The cheapest, but it breaks when the listing does.
A dynamic code also counts scans. Ours keeps daily totals only: no locations, devices or IP addresses, and bots and link previews aren’t counted. That is enough to compare signs, to see whether a price change brought more interest, or to tell a seller how many scans their sign had this week. A scan isn’t a person, though: one person may scan twice.
One code per listing, or one per agent?
- Per listing suits buyers: the code opens this house. Put it on a slip or sticker that changes with the property, or use a dynamic code on the sign.
- Per agent or agency, on the permanent part of the sign, opens your contact page or current listings. It never goes stale, but the buyer has to search again for the house in front of them, and many won’t.
- Both: a permanent agency code and a listing code, clearly labelled “This property” and “All our homes”.
With dynamic codes, number each sign on the back and keep a list of which sign stands where, so you repoint the right one.
Printing for outdoors
- Material: a rigid outdoor board (corrugated plastic or aluminium composite) or a vinyl sticker with a laminate. Paper in a plastic sleeve fogs and curls.
- Finish: matte. Gloss throws sunlight back at exactly the angles people view a sign from.
- Contrast: a dark code on a white panel, with a clear margin four modules wide on every side.
- Sun: inks fade over months outdoors, and a faded code loses the contrast it needs. Ask the printer for UV-resistant ink or laminate.
- Files: send the sign printer a vector file (SVG or PDF), so the code stays sharp at 25 cm.
QR codes carry spare data so they survive some damage: at level Q, about a quarter of the code can be restored. Rain, dirt and a scuffed corner are usually fine; a sticker over the middle is not.
Test it from the street
- Print a full-size proof, tiled across A4 or Letter sheets if you have to, and tape it where the sign will go.
- Scan it from the sidewalk and from across the street, with an iPhone and an Android phone, in daylight and at dusk.
- Check the listing loads on mobile data, and the call or booking button works.
- After the sale, scan the sign again and check it opens what you intended.
Make it in QR Island
In the studio, choose Link and paste the listing’s address. Get QR code shows the flat code; download the SVG for the sign printer, which stays sharp at any size, or a PNG. Free codes are made in your browser and never expire.
For signs that move from property to property, an Editable code (US$19 a year) prints a short qrisland.com link that you can point at the next listing from its manage link, with a 30-day chart of daily scan totals. It renews every year until you cancel, and includes the Island pack.
