QR Codes for Reviews: How to Collect Testimonials Offline
A QR code turns a receipt, a table card or a box insert into a review request. Where to put it, what it should open, card copy you can use, and the Google rules to follow.
Short answer: a QR code for reviews is a printed code that opens a review page on the customer’s phone. Put it where the experience ends and the customer has a free minute: on the receipt, the table, the box insert or the last slide of an event. Point it at one short page, either your Google review link or your own testimonial form, and print it big enough to scan on the first try. It is one of the channels in our complete guide to how to collect customer testimonials.
This guide covers which link the code should open, where to place it for shops, restaurants, events and packaged products, what the form should ask, how to print a code that scans, and how to measure which placement brings in reviews.
What should a review QR code open?
A QR code is only a shortcut to a web address, so the first decision is the address. There are two good choices, and many businesses use both in different places.
| Google review link | Your own testimonial form | |
|---|---|---|
| Where the review lives | On your Google Business Profile | In your own library, ready for your website |
| What customers can leave | Star rating and text, plus photos | Text or video, with name, photo and consent |
| Best for | Local search and your Maps rating | Proof on product, pricing and booking pages |
| Customer needs | A Google account | Nothing; it opens in the browser |
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To get your Google review QR code: Google’s help page says to go to your Business Profile on a computer, select Read Reviews, then Get more reviews, and save the QR code image. It notes that review QR codes “can only be generated on a computer browser, not on mobile devices” (Google Business Profile Help (opens in a new tab)). Our guide to embedding Google reviews on your website covers how to show those reviews on your site afterwards.
To get a testimonial QR code for your own form: in StoryProof, every collection form can be turned into a QR code you download and print. The same form link works in your emails and texts, and customers record a video or type a review in their browser, with no app and no account. Nothing goes public until you approve it.
Where to put QR codes for reviews
The best spot is where the customer has just finished and has a phone in hand. Google’s own help page suggests receipts, thank-you emails, the end of a chat, and a printed code displayed in your store (Google Business Profile Help (opens in a new tab)). Here is how that plays out by business type.
| Business | Placement | Why it works |
|---|---|---|
| Restaurants and cafes | Table card, the bill folder, the receipt | Guests wait for the bill with their phone out |
| Shops and salons | Counter stand, receipt, bag tag | Asked at the till, while the visit is fresh |
| Ecommerce | Insert card in the box, packing slip | Reaches buyers who never open review emails |
| Service businesses | Invoice, business card, closing gift | Arrives when the job is done and the result is visible |
| Events and webinars | Last slide, badge back, exit signage | The whole audience sees it at the same moment |
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For packaged products, time the code to the experience, not the delivery. A skincare buyer needs a few weeks before a review means anything, so the insert can say “after two weeks, tell us how it went.” Our post-purchase review request playbook covers that timing in detail, including when to follow up by email.
What the page behind the code should ask
Someone who scans a code is standing at a counter or sitting at a table. Every extra field loses people, so keep the page short and make it work on a phone first.
- 1One clear prompt. Ask about a specific result, such as “What changed after you started using it?”, rather than “Leave a review.” Specific prompts get specific answers.
- 2A rating, if you use one. One tap, then the text box.
- 3Text or video, their choice. Offer video, but never require it. Our list of video testimonial questions has prompts that work on camera.
- 4Name and consent. Ask how they want to be named and get permission to use the review in your marketing.
- 5A thank-you screen. Confirm it worked, so nobody submits twice.
Ask every customer the same way. Showing the code only to people who look happy, or screening for a good rating before revealing the Google link, is review gating, which Google and other platforms prohibit.
How to print a review QR code that scans
A code that fails once rarely gets a second try. These checks matter most:
- Leave a clear margin. QR Code’s inventor, Denso Wave, says the code “requires a four-module wide margin at all sides,” where a module is one of the small squares (Denso Wave: code area (opens in a new tab)). Do not let text, borders or artwork crowd it.
- Print it large enough. Denso Wave notes that larger modules are “more stable and easier to read” (Denso Wave: module size (opens in a new tab)). Use a short link so the code has fewer modules, and size it up for anything read from across a room, such as a counter stand or a slide.
- Keep contrast high. Dark code on a light background. Avoid glossy laminate under bright lights and tight curves on bottles or cups.
- Test before printing in bulk. Scan a printed proof on an iPhone and an Android phone, in the lighting where it will live.
- Print the address too. A short web address under the code helps anyone whose camera will not cooperate.
Trust matters as well. The FTC warns consumers about QR codes that lead to scam sites and advises them to “inspect the URL before you open it” (FTC consumer alert, December 2023 (opens in a new tab)). Use your own branded domain or a well-known one, say on the card what the code opens, and check codes in public places now and then for stickers placed over them.
Card copy you can use
Short, specific and honest works best. Adapt these to your business:
Enjoyed your visit? Scan to tell us how it went. It takes about a minute, and every review helps a small team like ours. [QR code] Opens our review page at [your link]
How is it working for you? Give it a week or two, then scan to share how it went. Text or a short video, whichever you prefer. [QR code]
Thanks for coming. Scan now and tell us the one idea you will use this week. It takes under a minute. [QR code]
For the email and text versions of the same ask, see our testimonial request email templates.
Collecting reviews in more than one language
If your customers speak different languages, a review form in the wrong one quietly loses responses. StoryProof forms come in six languages, and the form and widgets read in the visitor’s own language. For a tourist area or an international store, print one code per language market, or a single code with a line in each language telling people what it opens.
How to tell which placement works
Give each placement its own link, so you can see where reviews come from. Two simple ways:
- One form per placement. Create a separate form for the table card, the receipt and the box insert, each with its own QR code. Starter and above include unlimited forms; the Free trial includes 1.
- One form, tagged links. Add a campaign parameter such as ?utm_source=table-card to the link before you make each code, and read the results in your web analytics.
Compare reviews received per placement over the same few weeks, not scans alone. A code that gets many scans and few reviews usually points at a form that asks too much. Most QR generators count scans only when the code goes through their own short link, so check that before relying on a scan count.
What not to do with review QR codes
- Do not pay for Google reviews. Google says offering “free or discounted goods or services” in exchange for reviews “is considered fake & misleading content and is strictly prohibited” (Google: tips to get more reviews (opens in a new tab)).
- Do not filter who sees the code. Hand it to every customer, not only the ones who smiled.
- Do not link to your homepage. The code should open the review page itself, never a page where people have to look for it.
- Do not hide it. A tiny code in a corner of the receipt gets ignored. Give it its own line and a reason to scan.
For the wider playbook on asking, including timing and wording, read how to ask for a review.
Frequently asked questions
How do I make a QR code for Google reviews?
Open your Google Business Profile in a computer browser, select Read Reviews, then Get more reviews, and save the QR code image. Google says review QR codes can only be generated on a computer, not on a phone.
Where is the best place to put a review QR code?
Where the experience ends and the customer has a free minute: the receipt or bill, a table or counter card, the insert in a shipped box, or the last slide of an event.
Can I offer a discount for scanning a review QR code?
Not for Google reviews. Google prohibits offering free or discounted goods or services in exchange for reviews. For testimonials you collect yourself, check the FTC and any platform rules first, and never make a reward depend on the review being positive.
How big should a review QR code be?
Big enough to scan on the first try from where people will hold their phone, with a clear margin four modules wide on every side. Use a short link so the code stays simple, and test a printed proof on more than one phone.
Turn every receipt and box into a review request
Create a form, download its QR code and put it on your next batch of receipts, table cards or inserts. Start a 7-day free trial of StoryProof (opens in a new tab), no credit card needed. Customers record a video or write a review in their browser, and you approve what goes on your site.
Sources
- Google Business Profile Help. Create a Google link or QR code to request reviews (opens in a new tab) and Tips to get more reviews (opens in a new tab). Checked 2026-11-12.
- Denso Wave, QRcode.com. Point for determining the code area (opens in a new tab) and Point for setting the module size (opens in a new tab). Checked 2026-11-12.
- US Federal Trade Commission. Scammers hide harmful links in QR codes to steal your information (opens in a new tab), 6 December 2023. Checked 2026-11-12.