QR Codes for Real Estate Signs
A board code is scanned from four metres away by someone who has stopped on the pavement. Almost every failure here is a code printed at brochure size.
Size it for the pavement, not the desk
Apply the 10:1 rule to the real distance. Four metres means a 40 cm code. From a slow-moving car, five to six metres, which is 50–60 cm. A 10 cm code on a board is decorative, not functional.
If the board is not big enough for the code the distance demands, move the code to the bottom of the board where people can walk up to it, and size it for one metre instead.
Send them to the property, not the agency
The scan should land on that specific listing — photos, floor plan, price, and a way to book a viewing. Dropping someone on the agency homepage to search for the address they are standing in front of loses them immediately.
Outdoors is its own problem
- Matte laminate or anti-glare film. A glossy board in low sun is unreadable.
- UV-stable ink. A code faded to grey over a summer has lost the contrast it needs.
- Error correction Q or H — boards get splashed, scratched and stickered.
- Keep the code away from the bottom edge where mud and rain-splash collect.
Add a line of text
Scan for photos, floor plan and viewings next to the code converts far better than a bare square, and it works on people walking past who were not going to stop.
Check it from where people actually stand: on the pavement, at the real distance, in daylight and at dusk.