Getting started

Test a QR code before you commit to it

Test the exported file rather than the preview, on at least two phone models, in the lighting the code will actually live in, and follow the destination all the way to the end of its redirect chain.

Reviewed August 20, 2026

Steps

1. Export the final file at the size it will be used.
2. Scan it with two different phone models — camera quality and scanner behaviour differ more than people expect.
3. Scan it on mobile data, so a cached page or an internal DNS entry cannot flatter the result.
4. Follow the destination to the end. A chain that finishes on plain HTTP will be refused by some scanners.
5. For print, do the same again with a physical proof at final size.

How to check it worked

Both phones land on the same page, in under a second or two, from a normal reading distance and at an angle rather than straight on.

What usually goes wrong

• Testing only on the phone that created the code.
• Testing on office Wi-Fi where the destination is already cached.
• Checking the screen preview and never the export.