X QR code

What goes in the code

The profile address, x.com/handle or twitter.com/handle, or the address of a single post. Both domains resolve, and they resolve to the same account, so the choice is only about which looks less confusing on the printed item.

A post URL is long and contains a numeric ID, which makes the pattern denser. On a poster that is fine. On a card it means printing larger than you planned.

• The handle as it will be in a year, not as it is during the campaign
• One post for an announcement, the profile for something permanent
• No parameters after the URL, they lengthen the payload and expire
• Check what a logged-out visitor sees before you print

The logged-out problem

Much of X is only readable with an account, and the amount that is readable without one has changed repeatedly. A stranger scanning a code on a wall may see a sign in prompt rather than the post you wanted them to read.

The practical consequence: never make a printed code the only way to reach something important. If a post contains an announcement, a price or a date, that information belongs on a page you control, and the code can point there instead.

Handles change more here than elsewhere

Renaming an account is a normal thing to do on this platform, and every rename breaks every printed code that used to work. If the handle is tied to a campaign, a product or a person who might rebrand, treat the print run as temporary.

A redirect service in front of the code survives renames, and it introduces a dependency. The cheaper answer is a short link on your own domain that you can repoint, which is the same idea without a third party.

Where the code earns its place

Next to a booth at a conference, on a slide at the end of a talk, on a press card, on a sticker at an event. Places where the audience is already used to the platform and a handle is easier to scan than to type.

On a product or a shop window, the same code does less work than a Facebook or Instagram page, because the audience without an account is larger and gets less content.

Sizes

A profile URL is short, so the pattern is sparse and the code reads well at small sizes. 2.5 cm is enough on a card, 5 cm on a table stand, 10 cm on a poster read from a metre or two.

Avoid printing the code over a dark background. The platform colours are not the problem, the contrast is, and a light code on a dark card fails on older cameras more often than a black code on white.