Customizing Your Lyza QR Codes

QR — quick response — codes were created in the 1990s by engineer Masahiro Hara of the Japanese auto parts company Denso to simplify the company's supply chain. At no point did Denso think they were creating one of the most useful marketing tools of the last century; but that's exactly what QR codes have become.

Custom QR codes are important. When you see a URL like www.example.com, you know where clicking it will take you. But QR codes aren't like that; they're not human-readable. A stock, default QR code doesn't tell you anything about your destination. That can make users hesitant to scan it.

That means a clever marketer needs to do something to tell users where the QR code comes from, and where they're going to go when they scan it! That's where Lyza's QR codes come in.

By default, Lyza's QR codes are Lyza-branded. Lyza links are trustworthy, for several reasons including the fact that they are not open to the same kind of bait-and-switch abuse that's a problem for other link shorteners. Because Lyza puts user trust front and center, people know that scanning a Lyza-branded QR code is OK. 

Plus, they stand out really well.

When you claim a Lyza link, for the cost of a coffee, you can customize it from the My Links screen. This means you can use your own branding — your logo, your color palette — to let users know they're scanning one of your QR codes. They trust you, so they trust the code.

If you're linking to your page on a platform like Amazon, YouTube, etc., you can also use the platform's logo so that users know their destination. Lyza's QR code studio has over 50 logos of popular platforms built in, in SVG format (scalable vector graphics, which look tremendous at any size, even on a billboard or a blimp).

Important: only use platform icons for QR codes that link to the relevant platform. Misleading platform icon use will cause links to be removed.

When you've customized your icon, be sure to download it in either SVG or PNG format! PNG (portable network graphics) format is great for online and digital use.

Here's how to create a stellar QR code with Lyza.

1. First, create your Lyza link and claim it; see How to Create a Short Link. After you purchase the link, the My Links screen displays.
   To customize the QR code of a link you purchased earlier, click the My Links button in the page header.
2. Your list of claimed links displays. Locate the link whose code you want to customize, and click its QR code button. The link's QR code window displays.
    
3. Click the Customize QR code button. The QR code studio displays.
    
4. In the Branding section, click Pick an icon to select one of the built-in brand logos and messages. Alternatively, click Choose file to upload your own logo, icon, or message to display in the QR code's center. For best results, use an SVG or PNG image file with an appropriate resolution for the QR code's intended use.
5. In the Color section, use the Interior color picker to change the main QR code color. 
   If you want to use a gradient instead of a single color, select Interior gradient. A gradient is where the color changes from a start color to an end color. The interior gradient fields display.
   
   Use the Interior gradient rotation fields to change the gradient's direction. Use the Gradient start color and Gradient end color pickers to set the gradient's colors.
   By default, the QR code's corners (the "finder pattern" fiducial markers) use the same color as the Interior color. If you want to use a different color, deselect the Corners use interior color option. The Corner color picker displays; choose the new color you want to use for the corners.
   
   You can also set the corners to use a gradient; select Corner gradient. The Gradient start color, Gradient end color, and Corner gradient rotation fields display. The corner gradients always rotate around the center of each corner: at 45 degrees they are all pointing inwards, at 225 degrees they are all pointing away, and so on. Corner gradients and interior gradients both use the same colors you configure in the Gradient start color and Gradient end color fields.
6. In the Style section, select how you want the interior "dots" (Interior style) and the corners (Corner style) to display.
7. To return all the studio fields and your QR code to their default settings, click the Reset QR code button.
8. Finally, when you're finished, don't forget to download your custom QR code before closing the studio!