December 2009: the shop window becomes an access point
On 7 December 2009, Google announced that it was sending Favorite Places decals to more than 100,000 businesses in the United States. Each decal included a QR code leading to the business’s Place Page on a phone. The programme described concerned the US market; it was not an announcement of a worldwide rollout.
For passers-by, the idea was practical: access a listing outside the shop window instead of retyping the business’s name into a search. The QR code connected the physical medium to a page viewed online.
The QR code opens the listing; it does not replace the page
Google had introduced Place Pages on 24 September 2009 as pages bringing together information about a place, including photos, reviews and related websites. In the Favorite Places journey, that listing was the destination to view; the information was not all contained in the printed square.
The post’s update, dated 18 December, explained that some phones without support for the mobile version of Place Pages reached Google’s mobile homepage instead. A code could therefore be read correctly without displaying the intended listing. This observation belongs to the historical journey described by Google and makes no claim about how its old links behave today.
The guide to a QR code opening the wrong page helps distinguish the decoded address, redirects and final destination.
A fictional workshop chooses what passers-by should find
Imagine “Atelier du Passage”, a fictional shop displaying creations and organising demonstrations. Its team wants a window QR code. Before creating the image, it chooses the priority action:
- Opening hours and exceptional closures: an information page kept up to date.
- The creations on display: a directly accessible catalogue page.
- Getting to the shop: a page providing the intended directions and address.
A “View our opening hours” caption should not open a catalogue without those hours. The business’s name and a readable address help identify the destination. The scenario is fictional and does not describe the business photographed.
The guide to writing a QR caption helps align the printed promise with the chosen page.
Preparing a window link QR code with Qurl
The Qurl generator can encode the chosen page’s address. It produces a link QR code; it does not create a Google listing, Favorite Places decal or selection badge.
Open the destination without the business’s management session and check that it provides the stated information. For placement behind glass, consider reflections and the side from which the audience views the medium. The guide to QR codes in windows and on shiny surfaces explains these constraints.
Essential opening hours can also remain written on the window. Someone without a reader needs another route to the information: the guide to QR alternatives helps plan it.
The medium lasts; the page needs to stay useful
The 2009 example highlights two different responsibilities: keeping the medium readable and keeping the destination relevant. If the business changes its page, provider or person in charge, the printed QR code retains its address. The guide to retaining access to your business’s QR codes helps organise this follow-up.
This milestone guarantees neither Google rankings nor selection for a programme. It illustrates a way to link a place to information. The retrospective on Homeplus in the subway in 2011 shows another physical medium connected to a mobile journey; the one on iOS 11 in 2017 looks back at the evolution of camera-based reading.