How to Make a Google Maps QR Code for Your Location

To make a Google Maps QR code, copy your location's share link from Google Maps (Share, then Copy link), paste it into a QR code generator and download the image. When someone scans it, Google Maps opens on their phone at your location, ready for directions. The whole job takes two minutes and costs nothing.

This guide uses the free QR code generator, which makes the code in your browser. It covers how to pin the exact entrance rather than a rough area, which link type gives the cleanest code, how big to print it, and how to make a separate code that takes customers straight to your Google review form.

Step 1: get the right Google Maps link

The link decides where people end up, so spend a minute on it. There are three ways to get one.

If your shop or venue is listed on Google Maps

1. Open the Google Maps app and search for the place.
2. Tap its name or address near the bottom of the screen, then tap Share.
3. Choose Copy in the share menu. You get a short link that starts with https://maps.app.goo.gl/.

On a computer, open the place, use Share and copy the link from the "Send a link" tab.

If you need the exact gate or entrance

A listing pin often sits in the middle of a building, a mall or a wedding lawn, while the entrance is on another road. Drop your own pin instead:

1. Switch to the satellite layer (the Layers button) so you can see gates and lanes.
2. Touch and hold the exact spot, such as the main gate or the parking entry. A red pin drops there and its coordinates appear in the search box, for example 28.612912, 77.229510.
3. Tap the pin's details at the bottom, then Share and Copy.

If you want a link that never depends on a listing

Google publishes a documented link format that works on Android, iPhone and computers. Put your coordinates after query=, with the comma written as %2C:

• Show the spot: https://www.google.com/maps/search/?api=1&query=28.612912%2C77.229510
• Start directions to it: https://www.google.com/maps/dir/?api=1&destination=28.612912%2C77.229510

If Google Maps is installed, these open the app; otherwise they open Maps in the browser. The directions link starts from the scanner's own location when the phone shares it. Because it holds only coordinates, it keeps working even if your business listing is renamed, merged or closed.

Which link makes the best QR code?

Longer links make denser codes with smaller squares, which are harder to scan from a distance. Counts below are from the QR code generator's own library:

So don't copy the long URL from your browser's address bar. Use the Share link, or the coordinates link if you want it independent of the listing.

Will a maps.app.goo.gl link stop working? Google shut down its general goo.gl shortener, but its developer blog says links generated by Google apps, such as Maps sharing, continue to work, and an update of 1 August 2025 said all actively used goo.gl links are preserved.

Step 2: make the QR code

1. Open the QR code generator and paste the link into the Text or URL box. The code appears a moment after you stop typing, or press Generate QR code.
2. Pick a Size: Small, Medium, Large or Extra large. For anything you will print, choose Extra large.
3. Press Download PNG, or Copy image to paste it straight into a design.

What the tool does and doesn't do, so there are no surprises:

• It makes a plain black-on-white code with a white border four squares wide, which scanners need. There are no colour, logo or frame options.
• It uses error-correction level M, so the code still scans with roughly 15% of it smudged or torn.
• It is a static code: the link is stored in the pattern itself, so it never expires and needs no account. The flip side is that you can't change the destination later, and there are no scan statistics. If you move, print a new code.
• The image is built in your browser and the link is not uploaded. The file is named qr-code.png but is saved in GIF format; if a design app or upload form rejects it, open it and save it again as PNG, or take a screenshot.

Image sizes the tool produces for the two common link types:

Step 3: print it at the right size and test it

A common rule of thumb is that the code should be at least one-tenth of the distance it will be scanned from. Scanned from 30 cm (a visiting card), 3 cm is enough. On a shop door read from 1 metre, aim for 10 cm. On a banner read from 3 metres, 30 cm.

The Extra large image of a share link (740 pixels) prints sharply up to about 6 cm at 300 dpi. A QR code is just squares, so enlarging it further is fine as long as your design software keeps the edges crisp; at 10 cm wide the same file still has about 190 pixels per inch, which is plenty for blocks this size.

Before you print a hundred copies:

• Print one copy and scan it with two different phones, one Android and one iPhone, from the real distance and in the real light.
• Check that it opens the right spot, and tap Directions to see the route a visitor would get.
• Keep dark squares on a light background and leave the white border clear. Avoid glossy lamination where light falls on it, which causes glare.
• Print "Scan for directions" and the written address under the code, for anyone whose camera won't scan.

Where a location QR code helps

• Shop entrance and visiting cards: a code on the shutter, counter or card brings back customers who forgot the lane. Pair it with a WhatsApp QR code for orders and a UPI QR code for payment, as in the UPI QR guide for shops.
• Wedding and event invitations: pin the gate guests should use, not the venue's office, and test the route the evening before. Large venues often have separate gates for guests, caterers and parking, so one code per gate helps.
• Delivery address: in a big housing society, a pin at your tower's gate saves delivery partners a phone call. You can also send the same link on WhatsApp. Think twice before putting a home-location code where strangers can scan it.
• Clinics, coaching centres and offices on an upper floor or inside a complex: a pin at the stair or lift entrance avoids "which building?" calls.

A QR code for Google reviews

If you manage your shop's Google Business Profile, Google gives you a review link and QR code of its own. On a computer, open your Business Profile, select Read reviews, then Get more reviews. Use the Copy icon for the link, or right-click the QR code and choose Save image as. Google's help page says review QR codes can currently be made only in a computer browser, not on mobile. If you need a larger image to print, paste the copied review link into the QR code generator and choose Extra large.

Follow Google's rules when you ask for reviews. Its policy for Maps bans offering discounts, freebies or payment in exchange for reviews, selectively asking only happy customers, and pressuring customers to leave a rating or review while they are on the premises. A simple "Happy with us? Scan to review" card at the counter is fine.

For other kinds of codes (website, text, WhatsApp, UPI) and how they differ, see the free QR code generator guide.

Frequently asked questions

Does a Google Maps QR code expire?

No. The code is static and stores the link itself. It works as long as the link works, and Google says Maps share links continue to function. A coordinates link doesn't depend on any short link at all.

Can I change the location after printing?

Not with a static code. The link is part of the pattern, so a new address needs a new code. If you expect to move, print small runs.

Why does my code open the browser instead of the Maps app?

Google's links open the app when it is installed and fall back to the browser when it isn't. Some QR scanner apps open links in their own built-in browser, so try scanning with the phone's camera app instead.

Can I make a QR code for my home address?

Yes, drop a pin on your gate and share it. Keep it on invitations or delivery notes rather than on the gate itself, because anyone who scans it gets your exact location.

Can I add my logo or colours?

Not in this tool; it makes plain black-on-white codes, which are also the most reliable to scan. You can add a coloured frame and text around the code in your design, outside the white border.

Sources: Google Maps Help, "Share a map or location" and "Find and enter coordinates"; Google Maps Platform, Maps URLs developer guide; Google Developers Blog, "Google URL Shortener links will no longer be available" (updated 1 August 2025); Google Business Profile Help, "Create a Google link or QR code to request reviews"; Google Maps user contributed content policy, Prohibited and restricted content.