Using a QR code to send people to your link page

By Sven Zwaaneveld · Updated 19 October 2026 · 5 min read

A link in bio works on screens. A QR code does the same job on paper: it turns a poster, business card, sticker or menu into a way to reach your link page with one scan. Done properly it takes minutes, and done carelessly it produces a code nobody can scan.

Where a QR code is useful

• Business cards and flyers.
• Posters, shop windows and event signs.
• Stickers, packaging and product inserts.
• Menus, price lists and table cards.
• Slides at a talk, and name badges at events.

Make it scan every time

1. Keep a quiet zone. Leave a clear blank border around the code, roughly the width of four of its small squares. Text or a photo touching the edge can stop a scan.
2. Use strong contrast. Dark code on a light background is the most reliable. Avoid light-on-dark and low-contrast colours.
3. Make it big enough. A rule of thumb is that a phone scans from about ten times the code’s width. For a card in someone’s hand, a couple of centimetres is plenty. For a poster seen from across a room, go much larger.
4. Use a short address. A shorter web address makes a simpler code that scans faster and from farther away.
5. Test before you print. Scan the finished design with at least two different phones, in normal light, from a realistic distance.

Tell people why to scan

A bare code gives people no reason to take out their phone. Put a short line beside it that says what they’ll get: “Scan for all my links”, “Scan to book” or “Scan for the menu”.

Count the scans

It helps to know whether anyone is scanning. If your tool can count visits that come from the code separately from the rest, you can see whether a poster or a sticker is worth printing again. In Klyka, the QR code opens your page in a way that’s counted as a scan, and your statistics show the number of QR opens next to your clicks.

Starting sizes for common uses

Exact needs vary with the code, the print quality and how far away people stand, so treat these as starting points and always test:

• Business card: about 2 to 2.5 cm wide.
• Flyer or menu: about 3 to 4 cm.
• Poster or shop window: from about 8 to 10 cm, larger if people read it from a distance.
• Slide at a talk: big enough to fill a good part of the slide, with plenty of blank space around it.

A code that never goes stale

A QR code is just a picture of a web address. If it points straight at a page you later delete or change, every printed copy becomes useless. Pointing it at your link page solves that: the code stays the same while the page behind it changes. Print it once, and keep the page up to date.

QR codes on screens

QR codes also work on screens, such as the end of a video, a slide or a stream overlay. Hold them on screen long enough for people to get their phone out, and keep them still: a code that moves is hard to scan.

Mistakes to avoid

• Printing the code too small to scan.
• Putting it on a glossy or curved surface that reflects light.
• Placing a logo over the middle so it covers too much of the code.
• Pointing it to an address that will change or expire.
• Never testing the printed result.

Making one in Klyka

In the app, open the settings, go to the Share tab and unlock your QR code with one short ad. You can save it as a large image to your photos, ready to put on a poster or print. Read what to put on your link in bio before you print, so the page it leads to is ready.