How to Use QR Codes for Event Registration

If the pandemic did anything, it certainly changed our relationship with technology, and we’ve definitely felt the effects here in the events industry.

Gone are the days of paper agendas, physical tickets and manually searching through piles of badges. In its place; the QR code - a nifty piece of tech that enables contactless event registration at events, conferences and exhibitions.

It’s was hard to miss QR codes on entrances to shops, cafes and other public buildings. Since then. we’ve noticed just how popular QR codes are for registration at conferences, exhibitions and galleries.

When it comes to events, registration QR codes are an ultra-simple way of allowing guests to check in when they arrive, especially if you pair this with our contactless, self-service registration kiosks. For a more personal touch, registration QR codes can also be scanned by staff at registration desks. Scan, print and off you go. Simple!

Why use QR Codes for Event Registration?

We’ve been using QR codes in our event registration solutions for years and have found them to be more efficient and cheaper than things like NFC or RFID badges.

Whilst smart badges are useful in certain circumstances, they require a chip to be embedded in the event badge and you need special equipment to both encode and read them. The process to do this in a busy registration area proves to be slow and clunky.

QR codes, on the other hand, can be generated for free and can be read by any smartphone as well as standard 2D barcode scanners. They can be sent easily in emails and applied directly onto badges. A registration QR code can be read even if it is partially damaged or missing - they are pretty hardy!

Great for you, Great for The Planet

As we continue to push sustainability in our industry, we’ve found that QR codes for registration are a far more responsible way of internalising data. From contactless info points, to digital event agendas, the need for printouts is long gone. QR codes and E-tickets eradicate the need for a physical ticket, as your code can be held locally on any device.

In fact, with a digital ticket, you don’t even need to have a badge - your E-ticket can act as your badge. That being said, our registration QR codes are fully compatible with our self-service kiosk, which print 100% recyclable event badges in a matter of seconds. So, for those event organisers who crave a fully bespoke event badge for their guests, you can rest easy knowing that you’re doing your part in continuing to encourage sustainability.

5 Tips for Using QR Codes At Your Event

Send a personalised QR code before the conference and then guests can present that on their phone. When they are scanned, the event registration system will recognise the QR code as being that person and check them in.
Self-service registration kiosks can be used to offer a completely contactless badge printing solution. QR codes are really fast and easy to scan.
Help your exhibitors make the most of their time and investment. Use a badge scanner app so that exhibitors can scan visitor badges and retrieve their contact details. Our Event Scan app lets exhibitors instantly see the attendees contact details and also add extra questions or notes.
Track who goes where at your event by scanning badges into sessions. This will give you invaluable data post-event and our real-time session scanning can let you know exactly who is where at any moment in time.
Sending registration QR codes or e-tickets out prior to the event taking place? Consider whether an e-ticket will suffice.

Conclusion

QR codes aren’t going anywhere. They’re cheap, easy to deploy as part of your event and easy for guests to use.

We hope this article has given you an insight on QR codes, what they are and how best to integrate them into your event registration.

Looking for the best way to implement registration QR codes as part of your event management process? Get in touch today for a further introduction to our services.