How to Generate and Add QR Codes in WordPress: The Complete 2023 Guide

As a WordPress professional, I often get asked:

"Should I add QR codes to my website, landing pages or blog posts? And how do I actually create and embed customizable QR codes in WordPress?"

If you have similar questions, then this in-depth guide is for you!

I‘ll explain:

• Why QR codes should be part of your 2023 digital marketing strategy
• 5 creative ways to use QR codes to boost your WordPress site traffic, engagement and revenue
• 4 methods to easily generate customizable QR codes and embed them in WordPress

Plus you‘ll see exact step-by-step instructions, WordPress expert tips and supporting data for each recommendation.

So let‘s dive right in!

Why Adding QR Codes is a Smart Move in 2023

QR code scans reached 11 million per day in 2022. This is a 100% increase versus 2021 according to Statista.

And top uses like convenient access to websites and product information will only drive more adoption.

As a WordPress site owner this presents a huge opportunity to engage visitors in new and creative ways.

Here are powerful examples of results real sites have achieved:

• An ecommerce store placed product QR codes on printed catalogs and saw $6,500 extra sales revenue per month
• A restaurant embedded a QR code menu that drove a 33% increase in online takeaway orders after launch
• A SAAS startup offered discount QR codes at conferences resulting in 53 new paying customers

Clearly when leveraged effectively, QR codes can directly impact important business metrics for your website like leads, sales and subscriber conversion rates.

This potential only strengthens the case to add QR capabilities now.

5 Creative Ways to Use QR Codes on WordPress Sites

The most common ways businesses are using QR codes are:

1. Send traffic to important website pages like offers or contact forms
2. Give instant access to digital downloads like PDFs and videos
3. Embed in print marketing materials to bridge offline and online
4. Provide contact or location info to assist in-person engagement
5. Offer exclusive QR-triggered discounts/coupons as incentives

However here are 5 more innovative examples you can try on a WordPress website:

1. Virtual business cards – Add QR codes on cards to digitally share your contact/site details
2. User manuals – Enable instant downloads of product manuals rather than printing
3. Wikipedia links – Embed QR codes in blog posts/pages to link relevant reference articles
4. Satisfaction surveys – Get feedback quickly by adding QR code surveys to purchase receipts
5. Advertiser website links – Monetize traditional ads placed around content with QR code clicks

These expand beyond the typical approaches to open creative marketing possibilities.

Now let‘s see how to actually generate and embed functional QR codes in WordPress.

4 Ways to Add Custom QR Codes in WordPress

1. Shortcodes Ultimate Plugin

The Shortcodes Ultimate WordPress plugin is used on over 900,000 websites. A major reason for its huge popularity is the built-in customizable QR code generator.

Benefits:

• 100% free and open source plugin
• No coding required for implementation
• Custom sizing, colors, content, links etc.
• QR codes update if source link changes

Step-by-Step Instructions

Follow these steps to add a customized QR code using Shortcodes Ultimate:

1. Install and activate the Shortcodes Ultimate plugin
2. Navigate to the post/page where you want to add the QR code
3. Add a "Shortcode" block and click the Insert shortcode double brackets icon
4. Search for "QR code" and select the matching option
5. On the popup window customize the QR code content, design, size etc.
6. Click "Insert shortcode" once ready
7. Save your page or post for the changes

Here‘s an example QR code inserted with Shortcodes Ultimate:

Using this method you can add unlimited QR codes across your WordPress site with full customization capability.

Tip: You can also embed these shortcodes into widget areas like sidebars and footers using the "Shortcode" widget.

Overall Shortcodes Ultimate is by far the easiest way for beginners to add functional QR codes in WordPress.

Next let‘s explore a few more methods with unique benefits.

2. Dedicated WordPress QR Codes Plugin

For site owners planning to embed a high volume of QR codes, a dedicated plugin like WordPress QR Codes is worth considering.

Why it‘s recommended:

• Made specifically for WordPress QR code generation
• Supports 50+ input types including URLs, SMS, phone, emails, locations
• Bulk QR code creation and management
• Customizable using templates and design options

The plugin is also optimized for performance by avoiding external API requests during QR generation. This keeps load times fast.

Here are the key steps to use this plugin:

1. Install and activate WordPress QR Codes
2. Go to QR Codes » Add New in the WordPress dashboard
3. Select input type like URL or SMS and customize options
4. Copy the generated shortcode
5. Paste the shortcode into any page, post or text widget

While not quite as design flexible as Shortcodes Ultimate, this plugin simplifies adding larger volumes of QR codes to your site.

3. Contact Form 7 and QR Codes

Popular form builder plugin Contact Form 7 lets you generate QR code shortcodes with embedded form links.

When scanned these QR codes can instantly open submission-ready contact form popups.

Ideal uses for this approach include:

• Business cards
• Print ads
• Craigslist listings
• Conference booths
• YouTube end screens

Follow these instructions to create Contact Form 7 QR codes:

1. Install the Contact Form 7 plugin
2. Go to Contact » Contact Forms in your WordPress dashboard
3. Click Add New to create a contact form
4. Configure form fields and settings as needed
5. Select the "QR code" option under "Generate Tag"
6. Copy the generated QR code shortcode
7. Embed shortcode into any WordPress page or widget

When scanned this will open a mobile-ready contact form popup like this:

The benefit here is streamlining direct contact by removing friction of typing URLs.

Downsides are the lack of customization options and dependence on Contact Form 7. Still, it‘s a quick option worth considering that many miss.

4. Upload Custom Image QR Codes

For full design control from image to final placement, you can also upload custom QR codes into WordPress.

There are many free QR code generator tools online that let you customize every aspect and then download image files.

My favorite is QRCodeMonkey.com due to its huge range of templates, shapes, fonts and integrations.

But feel free to generate your tailored QR codes however you prefer.

Then simply:

1. Upload your QR code image files into your WordPress media library
2. Embed images into any page, post or widget using an image block
3. Set image size and placement settings as needed

This empowers you to use completely custom QR designs like this example:

Just be sure to test scan each unique QR code to guarantee successful functionality.

I suggest using QR scanner apps like SecureQRCodes that encrypt scans for safety.

Final Thoughts

Adding QR codes to your WordPress website is an impactful yet straightforward marketing tactic for 2023 growth.

As you saw, whether you want to…

• Drive more traffic to key site pages
• Boost digital downloads
• Bridge online/offline campaigns
• Streamline in-person contact
• Incentivize user actions

…you have several options to implement QR codes.

The plugins and tips in this guide give you full creative flexibility paired with the power of customizable QR code generation.

So be bold and experiment with QR codes across your WordPress content this year.

It takes just minutes using the steps above yet the business rewards can be massive.

Let me know if you have any other QR code questions!