What is a custom QR code?
QR stands for quick response. It's a square made up of black and white modules that stores data, usually a url. A phone reads that data in under a second and opens the page.
A custom QR code works in exactly the same way. You change how it looks: colours, background, module shapes, and you can drop a logo in the middle. The encoded content doesn't shift by a single pixel.
What customisation actually buys you
A plain code looks like every other code in the world. A code in your venue's colours ties straight back to your brand, and the customer can see it belongs to you rather than to an ad network.
The difference is measurable. In tests published by companies in the sector, a code carrying a logo and a recognisable colour gets scanned 20 to 30% more often than an anonymous black and white one. Treat that as a ballpark: it depends mostly on where the code sits and what's written next to it.
On a restaurant table, the customer isn't scanning a square. They're scanning something they've recognised as the house menu.
Creating a custom QR code: the four steps
It takes a few minutes with any decent generator. The order matters, because each step constrains the next.
- Pick the content type: a url to your web pages, plain text, a phone number, a contact card, a link to your social media.
- Paste the exact link, https included. A short link produces a less dense code, so it reads more easily from a distance.
- Apply your design: colours, shapes, background, then the logo.
- Test it, then generate the final file to download.
For a free custom QR code, most tools will do. Just check what the offer covers: a generator is free to create the code, but usually charges for scan tracking or for the right to change the link later.
Which format to download
Always take SVG or vector PDF if you plan to print. Those files scale up without losing sharpness. High-resolution PNG (1000 px minimum) is fine for a screen or a small label.
Adding a logo without breaking the scan
Every QR code carries error correction. Some of the modules exist to rebuild the data if the code is damaged, dirty or partly covered. That's the mechanism that makes a logo possible.
There are four levels: L (7%), M (15%), Q (25%) and H (30%). To add a logo, switch to level H. You can then cover up to 30% of the surface, but aim for 15 to 20% to keep some headroom.
- Put the logo in the centre, never over the three large corner squares.
- Keep a solid white background behind the logo if the image has light areas.
- A transparent version of the logo sits badly on a coloured background: use a solid fill instead.
- Test on three different phones, including an old Android.
If your venue displays regulatory notices or a homemade food logo, don't build it into the code: it would become unreadable. Put it alongside.
Colours and shapes: the rules to follow
A phone camera doesn't see colours, it sees contrast. So you need a clear gap between the modules and the background.
The contrast rule
Aim for a contrast ratio of at least 4:1, and keep the modules darker than the background. Inverting it (light modules on a dark background) causes some readers to fail, older devices in particular. Avoid pure red and yellow too, which some sensors pick up badly.
Module shapes
Generators offer round modules, teardrops, diamonds. These options are safe as long as the shapes stay separate and the three corner markers keep their square structure. A gradient works, provided it stays dark from end to end.
Static or dynamic: whether you can change it later
This is the most consequential choice, and it has nothing to do with design. A static code has the url hard-coded into it. A dynamic code holds a redirect link that you keep control of and can change.
| Criterion | Static QR code | Dynamic QR code |
|---|---|---|
| Changing the destination | Impossible, you have to reprint | Yes, at any time |
| Scan statistics | None | Count, date, device |
| Code density | High if the url is long | Low, short link |
| Cost | Free | Subscription, often £5 to £15 a month |
| Validity | Unlimited | Tied to the subscription |
For a menu that changes with the seasons, dynamic is the obvious answer. You print once, then update the content. That's the principle behind a contactless menu: the holder stays, the menu moves.
Printing: plaques, stickers, table stands
Size is the number one cause of failure. Simple rule: the width of the code should be one tenth of the reading distance. Scanned at 30 cm, make it 3 cm. Scanned at 2 m, make it 20 cm.
The most common formats
- Custom QR code plaque: acrylic or dibond, 8 to 10 cm a side, for the counter and the entrance.
- Custom QR code stickers: 4 to 6 cm, matt vinyl. Gloss bounces light back from your spots and blocks the scan.
- Table tent or stand: the most scanned format in the dining room, angled towards a seated customer.
- Business cards, t-shirts, wristbands: event uses, handy for trade shows and marketing campaigns.
Always leave a white margin four modules wide around the code. That's the quiet zone, and it's the first thing designers delete by mistake.
Why isn't my QR code scanning?
When a code fails, the cause is almost always on this list: contrast too weak, logo too big, code too small for the distance, white margin removed, glossy surface, or a url so long it makes the code very dense.
Work through those points one by one before redesigning everything. Nine times out of ten, enlarging the code and putting the margin back is enough to fix the scan.
A word on security: the code itself can't be hacked, it only holds fixed data. The risk is a fraudulent sticker pasted over yours. Check your holders every week, especially outside on the terrace.
Finally, think about what happens after the scan. A customer who has to install something gives up: go for a no-app menu that opens straight in the browser. In our generator, the code points to a ready-made mobile page, and you share the same link on your social media and your printed material.