QR codes for coffee shops and cafés
Coffee shops have two audiences: the regular in a hurry who wants to order ahead, and the guest who stays for two hours on a laptop and wants the Wi-Fi. A small café can serve both with a couple of well-placed codes rather than a wall of them.
Cups, sleeves and bags also leave the shop, which makes them the cheapest advertising a café has. A code on a sleeve that opens your order-ahead page brings people back from the office down the road.
QR code ideas for coffee shops
Wi-Fi on every table
A static Wi-Fi code on a small table card saves the barista from answering the same question all day. Change the password monthly? Reprint the cards, or link to a page that shows the current one.
Order ahead from the cup sleeve
Sleeves and takeaway bags travel. A code that opens your ordering app or page turns a passer-by's empty cup into the next order.
Loyalty and newsletter sign-ups
Replace paper stamp cards with a code at the till that opens your loyalty programme's sign-up page or a short feedback form.
The story behind the beans
On retail bags of beans, link to the farm, roast date and brewing guide. A hosted page lets you update it for every new lot.
Which QR code to use
Static codes are free and need no account, but can't be changed after printing. Dynamic codes and hosted pages can be edited at any time, count every scan, and keep working on every plan, even if you cancel.
Wi-Fi QR code
Joins the network without typing. Works offline and never expires, but needs a reprint whenever the password changes.
Open the Wi-Fi generatorApp download page
Shows the App Store button on iPhones and the Google Play button on Android.
If you have an ordering app, one code on the sleeve shows the App Store button on iPhones and Google Play on Android.
Build it in the dashboardLink list page
A mobile page of buttons: website, socials, booking, reviews and more.
One page for the menu, Instagram, opening hours and the loyalty sign-up, so the counter needs a single code.
Build it in the dashboardInstagram QR code
Latte art and new pastries are what cafés post. A profile code on the pastry case gets you followers who see every post.
Open the Instagram generatorHow big to print it
| Where people scan | Distance | Minimum code width |
|---|---|---|
| Cup sleeve or table card | 30 cm (12 in) | 3.5 cm (1.4 in) |
| Queue at the counter | 1.2 m (4 ft) | 13.9 cm (5.5 in) |
| Window, from the street | 2 m (7 ft) | 23.2 cm (9.1 in) |
For a dynamic short link such as https://qrdx.dev/q/aB3dE5f at error correction Q, without the blank margin. Static Wi-Fi, vCard or long URL codes hold more data and need to be larger. Check yours with the print size calculator and the scan checker.
Placement tips
- Cups and sleeves are curved. Keep the code small enough to sit on the flattest part, roughly a third of the sleeve's height, and test it on a filled cup.
- Kraft paper is brown and absorbent. Print the code in solid black, without a gradient, and check that the ink doesn't spread and fill the gaps.
- Put the ordering code where people queue, not behind the till where the barista stands.
- Steam and condensation fog acrylic stands near the machine; place codes away from it.
Call-to-action copy
A code with a reason to scan beside it gets more scans than a bare code. Lines to print next to yours:
- Skip the queue next time: scan to order ahead
- Free Wi-Fi: scan to connect
- Scan to join our loyalty club and get your 10th coffee free
- Meet the farm behind this roast
QR codes for coffee shops: FAQ
What should a coffee shop QR code link to?
Start with the question staff hear most. For most cafés that is the Wi-Fi password, then the menu or ordering page. A link list page can hold the menu, socials, hours and loyalty sign-up behind one counter code.
Will a QR code on a paper cup still scan?
Usually, if it is big enough and printed in a dark solid colour. Curvature distorts the code, so keep it on the flattest area and about 3 to 3.5 cm wide, and test on real cups before ordering a full print run.
How do I know if the cup codes bring people back?
Use a dynamic code for the sleeves, separate from the one at the counter. QRdx counts scans per code, so you can compare sleeve scans with in-store scans week by week.