Where do you put the QR code so guests actually see it?

A code nobody scans is not a technical problem, it is a placement problem. It is not about being visible, it is about the moment somebody already has their phone in their hand.

8 min readupdated June 25, 2026checked August 30, 2026

the short answer

One card on every table, standing up, at arm's length from somebody who is sitting down. That is where people already have their phone in their hand and nothing to do for a minute. Every other spot is an addition: the bar for the late hours, the coat check for on the way out, the toilet door because everybody ends up there once. One big sign at the entrance is the spot that returns the least, because everybody walks past it with a coat over their arm.

Laid tables in a room before the guests arrive — an hour before the first guest, while the cards were still straight

Why does a guest miss a code that is clearly there?

Because seeing and doing are two different things. On the way in your guest has a coat, a present and a conversation, and a sign with a code is something they register and forget in the same second. Two hours later they are sitting at a table waiting for the main course with their phone next to the plate. That is the moment, and that moment happens at the table and not at the door.

So the right question is not where the code stands out most, but where it is at the moment somebody has five seconds spare. That shifts through the night: during the welcome drinks it is the bar, at dinner the table, after twelve the bar again.

Why does one card per table beat one big sign?

An A2 sign at the entrance costs you one print and looks good in the photos. The problem is distance: to read a code your phone has to be close to it, and nobody walks out to the hall during dinner to scan a sign. What actually happens: one person stands in front of it, the rest do not wait and keep walking.

Ten cards on ten tables cost two sheets of A4, because eight fit on a page. They sit at arm's length, they work in ten places at once, and they are still there when somebody thinks of it at half past eleven. A sign is decoration that happens to contain a code. A card is the code in the place where it gets used.

Doing both is fine: the sign announces and the card gets used. Just do not put two different texts on them, because what the card actually says decides whether anybody carries it out.

Which spot works at which kind of evening?

spot	works at	does not work at
Sign at the entrance	guests who arrive one at a time	a group that walks in together with coats and bags
On the menu card	a dinner with a printed menu per guest	a buffet, because then nobody picks up a menu
Beer mat or card on the bar	standing drinks and the hours after midnight	a seated dinner where nobody walks to the bar
Toilet door	every evening, because everybody goes there alone once	an outdoor venue with portable loos, nothing stays dry there
One card per table, plus one on the bar	almost any evening with somewhere to sit	a reception without tables, where the bar is your main spot

Sign at the entrance

works at: guests who arrive one at a time
does not work at: a group that walks in together with coats and bags

On the menu card

works at: a dinner with a printed menu per guest
does not work at: a buffet, because then nobody picks up a menu

Beer mat or card on the bar

works at: standing drinks and the hours after midnight
does not work at: a seated dinner where nobody walks to the bar

Toilet door

works at: every evening, because everybody goes there alone once
does not work at: an outdoor venue with portable loos, nothing stays dry there

One card per table, plus one on the bar

works at: almost any evening with somewhere to sit
does not work at: a reception without tables, where the bar is your main spot

The spot weighs more than the size. A small card in the right place at the right hour gets used, a big sign in the wrong place does not.

Guests with a glass in hand during the welcome drinks — on the way in the sign is there and almost nobody looks

A long laid table with guests during dinner — at dinner the card is at arm's length and it starts to move

A dance floor late in the evening — after twelve only the beer mat on the bar still works

Which spots does almost everybody forget?

These five are on no checklist anywhere and together they return more than the welcome sign at the door.

The toilet door. Everybody goes once, alone, with nothing to do. It is the most looked-at surface in the building and it appears in no running order.
The back of the seating plan. People look at it anyway, and usually twice: on arrival, and again when they have lost somebody.
The coat check on the way out. Exactly the moment somebody remembers they took photos. One card by the coat rack brings in the first uploads of the night.
A beer mat under the glass. It gets wet, it gets pocketed and it turns up in a coat the next morning. That last part is a feature.
The slideshow screen. Put the code in a small corner of it and it is present without you having to put anything else down.

how we do this

Cards you print yourself, eight to an A4

You download the cards with your own colours and logo on them and print them at home or at a print shop. Ten tables takes two sheets, so run off three for the bar and the coat check.

Make your own page See how it works

And if there are no tables at all?

At a standing reception or an opening your best spot disappears. Then everything shifts to where people stand still: the bar, the high tables, the queue at the buffet and the coat check. On a high table a small sign on a foot works better than a loose card, because a loose card vanishes under the beer mats within ten minutes.

At office drinks the bar is also where the conversation is, and that is exactly what you need: somebody demonstrating it to the person next to them. For a Christmas do that is often the only spot you need. Do count on having to say it out loud once, because without an announcement the album stays empty, however well your cards are placed.

Questions about where the code goes

How big should the code on a table card be?

At least 3 centimetres, and 4 to 5 is more comfortable. The rule of thumb is that the code is a tenth of the reading distance, and at a table somebody holds their phone at about 30 centimetres. Below 2 by 2 centimetres it gets unreliable.

Does the code need white space around it?

Yes, and this is the thing most often forgotten. Denso Wave, who invented the QR code, prescribes a margin four modules wide on all four sides. So do not push a border, a line of text or a flower up against it, and do not trim the card tight along the code.

How many cards do you need?

One per table, plus the bar, the coat check and the toilets. Ten tables comes to roughly fifteen. Eight fit on an A4, so two sheets and a third in reserve.

Can the code go in a picture frame on the table?

Better not. Glass throws a reflection and your room is full of candles and spotlights. If you want it to look tidy, use a wooden or cardboard stand that holds the card upright with nothing in front of it.

Does a code work on a projector or a TV screen?

Yes, and on a slideshow it is handy because the code is then in view anyway. Two things to know: it only works while it is on screen, and at the back of the room it is too far away to read. So use it as a reminder and not as your only spot.

Can you have the code printed on the menu card?

That is one of the best spots there is, because the menu is the one thing every guest picks up. Do make sure the paper is matte and that the code does not land in the fold. At a buffet this does not apply, and then the menu drops out as a spot.

Should I show the code during the speeches?

Saying it once works better than a code on the screen with no words around it. The combination is strongest: somebody says it out loud, and at that moment the code is on the screen and on the table. You need nothing more, not even at a wedding with eighty guests.