QR codes (quick response) codes are quite the hype these days. QR codes are like bar codes (they are also known as 2D bar codes) but unlike their line-y little brothers they can store a lot more information. A very popular application is to use it for a URL- which is the most relevant to this website and what I will continue to discuss.

To create a QR code, you can use this web-based generator: qrcode.kaywa.com. You can jump right in and create a QR code for your website (for example: http://ralphvandenberg.com) and I encourage you to do some testing to get familiar.

There are 2 tips I want to share. First of all, as a kind of basic guideline, you should understand that 99.9% of the time people will be scanning these codes with mobile devices, so it's common courtesy to point the link to a mobile friendly website, right? Secondly, I have a double-benefit tip: use a URL shortener such as goo.gl. The reason it's a double-benefit tip is that the shorter URL will make the final QR code image less complicated and you get a little bit of reporting for scans!

You can also use your shortened goo.gl and simply add ".qr" (without the quotes) to create a QR code but it doesn't give you any options the way the website I've mentioned earlier does.

So go on- create some QR codes! If you've got some tips, please share them in the comments below!