# QR codes for locations: map links, directions and geo coordinates > A QR code can send someone straight to a place on a map. This guide explains the two ways to do it, how to get accurate coordinates, and how to use location codes on posters, signs and delivery notes. A QR code can point people to a physical place in two ways: with a geo coordinate that a phone turns into a pin on a map, or with an ordinary web link to a map page or a set of directions. Both work on modern smartphones, but they behave differently, and choosing the wrong one can send your visitors to the wrong entrance or a dead screen. This article explains how each method works, how to get accurate coordinates, and how to use location codes in real situations such as posters, tourist trails, event signage and delivery notes. ## Two ways to encode a place ### Method 1: the geo link A geo link is a short URI that looks like this: geo:48.858370,2.294481 The first number is latitude, the second is longitude. When someone scans a QR code containing a geo link, most phones will offer to open it in an installed map application, showing a pin at those coordinates. The phone's operating system understands the `geo:` scheme, so the QR code does not need to know which map app the person uses. The full standard form also allows an altitude and a query parameter, for example `geo:48.858370,2.294481?q=...`, but support for the extra parts varies. In practice, the plain `latitude,longitude` form is the most reliable. ### Method 2: the map web link The second method is simply a normal URL that points to a map website or a directions page. Scanning it opens the phone's browser, which then shows the location or starts turn-by-turn directions. Many map services provide a "share" button that generates such a link for a place or a set of coordinates. The advantage of a web link is that it works everywhere a browser works, and it can carry extra context: a place name, a business listing, opening hours, photos. The disadvantage is that it depends on a website being reachable and on the map service keeping the link format working. A geo link, by contrast, is self-contained and does not depend on any particular website. ### Which one to choose Use a geo link when you only need to show a pin at a spot, and you want the code to keep working for years with no maintenance. Use a web link when you want directions pre-filled, a named place, or extra information on a page. If the destination is a named business or building, a link to its map listing is often friendlier than a bare pin. If the destination is a trail marker, a gate, or a spot with no address at all, the geo link is usually the better choice. One more option sits between the two: a link to your own web page that shows the location, embeds a map, and offers buttons for directions. This costs more effort but gives you full control. If you use a QR code generator that supports dynamic codes, the code can point to a short URL that you can redirect later, which is useful when a location or meeting point changes. ## Getting accurate coordinates A coordinate is only useful if it is accurate, and small errors matter. One decimal place of latitude is roughly 11 kilometres; five decimal places is roughly one metre. For a building entrance, a walking trail junction or a parking spot, aim for at least five decimal places. The easiest way to get accurate coordinates is to stand at (or very near) the spot and read them from your phone's map app: press and hold on your current location or on the exact point, and the app will display the coordinates. Tap to copy them. This "long-press to drop a pin" method works in the major map apps on both iPhone and Android. A few practical points: - Check the coordinate order. Latitude comes first, longitude second. Swapping them is the most common mistake, and it can place your pin hundreds of kilometres away, often without any obvious error. - Watch the sign and format. South of the equator and west of the prime meridian, values are negative. Some sources give coordinates with letters (N/S/E/W) or in degrees-minutes-seconds; convert to decimal degrees before putting them in a QR code. - Test the pin before printing. Paste the coordinates into a map app on a desktop or another phone and confirm the pin lands where a person should actually stand, not in the middle of the building footprint or a nearby field. - For indoor spots, GPS accuracy drops sharply. Coordinates from inside a large building may be off by many metres, so treat indoor geo targets as approximate and pair them with clear written directions (more on that below). ## How phones handle geo links Both iPhone and Android understand the `geo:` scheme, but the experience differs, and it also differs between the built-in camera app and a third-party scanner app. On Android, scanning a geo QR code with the camera typically opens the default map application directly at the pin, sometimes with a prompt asking which app to use. On iPhone, the Camera app recognises the code and will usually offer to open it in the installed map application; the exact presentation (a notification banner, an automatic hand-off, or an app chooser) varies with the iOS version and settings. Third-party QR scanner apps handle geo links inconsistently. Some pass them to the OS correctly; others try to open them as web addresses and fail. This is one reason to test with the built-in camera rather than assume every scanner behaves the same. Web links are more predictable: every phone opens them in a browser, and a well-formed map URL will show the location or offer directions. The trade-off is an extra step (browser, then possibly a redirect or an app prompt) and a dependence on the link staying valid. Because behaviour varies, the safest pattern is: use a geo link for a simple pin, test on at least one iPhone and one Android phone, and always print a human-readable fallback alongside the code. ## Adding a printed address as a fallback A QR code is a convenience, not a guarantee. Phones run out of battery, cameras break, and some people simply prefer not to scan. Every printed location code should be accompanied by information that works with no technology at all. For a fixed destination, print the street address in full, plus any access details a visitor needs: "Rear entrance, via the courtyard on Mill Lane" is worth more than a perfect coordinate. For places without an address, print the coordinates themselves in a readable form, for example `48.85837, 2.29448`, so a person can type them into any map app manually. Round to five decimal places; more digits just add noise. Two further fallback ideas: - Add a short "what3words"-style hint or a nearby landmark description if the location is hard to describe ("opposite the blue church door"). Avoid inventing systems your readers won't know; a plain landmark description is universally understood. - If you use a dynamic QR code (one that redirects through a URL you control), keep the redirect alive. A dead redirect is worse than a static code, because it fails silently. ## Where location QR codes earn their keep ### Posters and flyers On a poster, the reader is usually far from the destination, so a link that opens ready-made directions is more useful than a bare pin. Combine the code with the address and, if space allows, a note like "Scan for directions." Place the code at eye height, keep a clear margin around it, and make it large enough to scan from a metre or two away — as a rule of thumb, a printed code should be about one-tenth of the scanning distance in size. ### Tourist trails and heritage sites Trail markers are the classic use case for geo links. Each marker carries a code with the coordinates of the next stop, so visitors can navigate without signage along the whole route. Because trail markers may stand for years with no maintenance, prefer static geo codes over links to pages that might disappear. Print the stop number and the next stop's name on the marker too, so the trail still works if someone can't scan. ### Event signs Events change layout constantly: entrances move, rooms get reassigned, parking shifts. This is where dynamic codes shine — print signs once, redirect the codes when the plan changes. For a one-day event, a static code to a map pin for the venue entrance plus a printed room plan inside is usually enough. Put codes at decision points: the car park exit, the lobby, the fork in the corridor. ### Delivery notes and site access Drivers and couriers often arrive at the wrong end of a large site. A code on the delivery instructions that points to the goods entrance gate — not the site's postal address — saves calls and delays. Include the coordinates in text form as well, since drivers may be using dedicated navigation devices that don't scan codes. If access requires a code word, a phone number, or specific hours, print that next to the QR code; the map pin alone won't get a truck through a locked gate. ### Entrances and meeting points inside large buildings Large buildings are where coordinates alone fail. GPS is unreliable indoors, so a geo pin may land the visitor at the building's centre or at the main entrance when you meant the side door. The practical approach is layered: a geo code or map link that targets the building's street entrance, then interior wayfinding handled by human-readable signs, floor numbers, and names. If you must encode an indoor meeting point, put the code at the building entrance with instructions like "Scan here, then follow the corridor to Room 214," rather than expecting an indoor pin to guide anyone. ## Testing before you print Never deploy a location QR code without testing it on real phones. The minimum test: 1. Scan with an iPhone camera app and confirm the pin or page opens where you intended. 2. Scan with an Android camera app and repeat. 3. If you used a web link, confirm it works in a browser with no app installed for that map service, and that it doesn't rely on a login. 4. Confirm the printed fallback (address or coordinates) is correct by typing it into a map app. 5. Check the code scans from the real distance and lighting conditions it will face — outdoors in sunlight, at arm's length on a trail marker, from a car window for a delivery sign. If a scan opens the wrong place, the most likely causes are swapped latitude and longitude, a missing minus sign, or a pin dropped on the building centroid rather than the entrance. Fix the coordinate, regenerate, retest. ## Conclusion A location QR code is either a geo link like `geo:lat,long` — self-contained, durable, ideal for pins and trail markers — or a plain web link to a map page or directions, which adds context and pre-filled routes but depends on a URL staying valid. Get coordinates to five decimal places from the exact spot a person should stand, mind the latitude/longitude order and signs, print a text address or coordinates as a fallback, and test on both iPhone and Android before anything goes to the printer. Do that, and a two-centimetre square of dots will reliably walk a stranger to your door.