QR Codes Tutorial

So if you've stopped by my Goodies page, I'm sure you've wondered where the heck I got the colored QR Codes from?? Well I'm fin to tell you, plus I'll even get you another treat!! I found a website that gives you QR Code for your Facebook Page (those of you that have them and if not that's ok!) so you can either print it and post it somewhere (ask permission first!) or you can post it on your site or wherever you want!


But first things first! For the sake of things, we're going to use the Facebook Page as a main topic. Plus you can't blame me for doing a little bit of advertising lol.

So, to get an awesome code like this one to the left with the Facebook logo you have to visit Unitag Live. Now before you go off running, I want to make one thing clear that Facebook QR Code is a pre-designed template that cannot be re-design. However you can create your own with the way you want it to look and even fancy it up. Go ahead and scan it works, I checked lol.

I will say I like this website a lot better than many of the others I've come across that only offers, the plan black and white. That can be sort of boring and everybody has that! We want to be original and show not all QR codes aren't the same.


Just like how I reinvented the Facebook QR Code.

How fancy is that???

Ok so you can fancy it up and even change the colors if you want. I used the Facebook color (Hex #3B5998; RGB of 59, 89, 152), used my social media icon as the logo image, and changed the eye color (the light blue square). Let's see what other color combo we can come up with this time around.

Now I've played around with the colors and came up with a new QR Code, I left the logo in it so we aren't lost lol. But I'm happy with this one but not because of the color, here check it out and I'll continue:

Even though this one is colorful and full of pizazz, it's sort of faulty. Unfortunately with some QR Codes they won't always scan and it's possible you'll end up with a dud. The one above wouldn't scan well for me no matter how many times I tried. I've also learned that the lighter the color the harder it is to scan. So that pretty light pink, lemon chiffon and lilac are out of the question and would just be for pretty purposes only. I got one with a yellow section and it wouldn't scan at all. Out of the 7 I made, only 3 maybe 4 at the most actually work and work well. Bummer, but it happens so be careful of that kids.

Also another thing I wanted to point out is that QR Codes are meant to have a white back ground. You can if you want cut or get rid of the surrounding border, however doing a black background and white or light colored code, that thing will never scan!! Trust me I already tried quite a few times. The only one that comes close to something like that is using a Microsoft Tag code, which we'll talk about later. Maybe hopefully in the near future that'll change one day.

The other awesome thing about Unitag is that you can use a picture instead of the colors. Don't believe me??

Check this out! This time I'm removing the Facebook logo...

The image I used for this QR Code was from the Meal Time Post .

So as you can see with Unitag, there are endless possibilities. Even if you want to spring for more options you can pay a subscription fee. However you can do it the Free way also and never be afraid to be Creative!!

Now for the second treat. While I was looking for ways to promote the Facebook Fan Page for the website and blog without having to bribe people. I came across this article on QR Codes by Squidoo.com. Not only do they go into full detail on what a QR Code is and how it works, but it gives a little insight on how they not only help you market whatever you're selling be it your blog, your clothing store or a brand name--you'll be able to reach more people oppose to the old fashioned way of marketing. For example maybe only a select few thousands of people still listen to the radio, if you place you ad on there and miss your target market, then that hurts your sales and commissions. Same goes for running a burger ad during a football game, if only a select majority will watch a specific football game it still hurts your sales. Same goes for your facebook page, if the people you are reaching via your blog are not your friends on Facebook, its not going to help you gain more followers in any way or form.

After the economic lesson we can move on lol, anyway Squidoo article also talked about another awesome website called SpotLike which gives you this PDF poster of a QR Code and a cute border saying how you should like the Facebook Fan Page. I actually like the idea of it and it is nice to post around to different places, and for those of you who are just starting a business or marketing something this would be great to post in your window or next flier you pass out or even stuff a few mailboxes if you want!!

Here's what it looks like and this one definitely works lol

So there's your tutorial on QR Codes, they're really quite simple and give that extra little bit of push you need when it comes to marketing oneself in this big old world of ours :D. So get out there and paint the world in colorful QR Codes!!