What a location QR code does
Scan a location QR code and the phone opens its maps app with the place already pinned, ready to start navigation. It is the fix for addresses that are hard to type, venues that maps search finds under the wrong name, and rural or industrial sites with no street address at all. The generator accepts either a written address or exact latitude/longitude coordinates and builds the code in your browser.
Address or coordinates?
| Address | Coordinates | |
|---|---|---|
| What the code contains | A Google Maps search link for the address text | A geo: URI with latitude and longitude |
| Precision | Depends on the maps provider finding the address | Exact — to a few metres |
| Works for | Normal street addresses, well-known venues | Car parks, entrances, trailheads, festival gates, sites with no address |
| Opens in | Google Maps (or browser if not installed) | The phone's default maps app — Apple Maps, Google Maps, etc. |
Address: https://www.google.com/maps/search/?api=1&query=12+Quay+Street+Bristol
Coordinates: geo:51.4545,-2.5879When the exact spot matters — the delivery entrance rather than the front door, the pitch rather than the park — use coordinates. You can read them from any maps app by long-pressing the spot.
Getting coordinates right
- Use decimal degrees (
13.7563, 100.5018), not degrees-minutes-seconds. Most apps show decimal by default. - Latitude comes first and runs −90 to 90 (south is negative); longitude second, −180 to 180 (west is negative). Swapping them puts the pin in the ocean.
- Four decimal places is about 11 m of precision — enough for a building. Five places is about 1 m.
- Check the pin in two different apps before printing; a typo in one digit moves it kilometres.
Common uses
- Event invitations and tickets — the venue, or the specific gate to use.
- Delivery and courier instructions — the loading bay at a large site.
- Property listings and viewings — a code on the board outside and in the brochure.
- Holiday rentals — the exact cottage on a rural lane, in the welcome email.
- Trail heads, meeting points and car parks — for hikes, races and group rides.
- Business cards and flyers — for shops, clinics and workshops.
- Emergency and safety signage — assembly points, defibrillator locations.
Which maps app opens?
A geo: code opens the device's default maps app — Apple Maps on iPhone, Google Maps on most Android phones, or whatever the user has chosen. The address option produces a Google Maps link, which opens the Google Maps app where installed and the web version otherwise; iPhone users without Google Maps see it in Safari. If your audience is mixed, coordinates are the more neutral choice.
Tips
- Print the address in words next to the code for people who prefer to type it or use a different app.
- Add a label in the description or the caption — “Main entrance”, “Parking” — because the pin alone does not explain itself.
- For venues with a “plus code” or what3words address, convert it to coordinates first; the generator does not read those formats directly.
- Location codes are short and scan well at small sizes; 2 cm is plenty for a card.