How to create a QR code for a Google form

The job of a teacher is tough, and with the move to remote learning, it’s only gotten tougher. For the most part, students are now back at school for in-person learning, but teachers (and professors in secondary education) still need to administer online tests and quizzes. Many educators find Google’s online forms and surveys easy to use for their quizzes, and one efficient way of administering them is through a QR code.

But education is only one of the applications for the QR code.

Many industries use Google Forms or surveys. Healthcare practices use them for contactless registration or vaccination forms, and event management companies use them to gather customer prospect data. No matter the industry or use case, organizations depend on QR codes to easily create mobile and online access to forms.

Indeed, QR codes are everywhere, and the pandemic only increased demand for them. Forty-six percent of consumers in the United States and United Kingdom said that they noticed an increase in QR code use since pandemic-related shelter-in-place orders began in March 2020.

When you factor in today’s reliance on cloud computing (specifically, Google Workspace), every industry from education to e-commerce needs to create a QR code for their Google forms.

Unsure how QR codes function? They’re mainly used to contactlessly upload and transfer information on smartphones.

Newer smartphones have QR code technology built-in so all users have to do is point their phone’s camera at the QR code (whether it’s online or printed). The option to open the link will display on the screen, and you’ll immediately have access to the form or survey.

For example, teachers can add a QR code into an online exercise, form, or printed document so that their students can scan the code with their phone or tablet and open the test.

Step-by-step instructions to create a QR code for your Google form

When creating a QR code for your Google form, keep in mind that there currently isn’t a native (or built-in) QR code feature in Google Forms. However, there are plenty of third-party QR code creators available online and within the Google marketplace as form add-ons or widgets.

That said, let’s jump into the step-by-step process of creating a QR code from a third party online.

1. Start with the newly created or preexisting Google form you want to create a QR code for. Click the Send button at the top right of your form, and when the Send form popup appears, click the link icon to copy your link.

• Note: You can also click the Shorten URL checkbox to copy a truncated version of the Google form link.

2. Visit an online QR code generator you find through Google search. We’ll use QRCode Monkey as an example. Paste your form’s URL into the URL field. Then click the Create QR Code button on the right side of the screen.

3. Click the Download PNG button to save your new QR code as a PNG file. You can also save the code as an alternate file type, such as a PDF, if it better suits your needs.

4. From there, you can print out your Google form’s QR code so students, clients, or prospective customers can scan it to access your form. You can also email/text your QR code, or add it as an image to the thank you page of another online form (a class attendance form, for example) to trigger a quiz or survey once users have successfully completed the initial form.

We mentioned earlier that you can also generate a QR code for your Google form through a third-party add-on in the Google Marketplace (such as QR Code Generator). This can be convenient because you don’t have to visit a separate website, and the add-ons offer some feature flexibility.

However, the marketplace QR code generators do come with a few downsides:

• Cost. You can generate a limited number of QR codes before you hit a paywall. So if you need more than a handful of QR codes, be prepared to pay a little extra.
• Scalability. Since there’s a limit to how many QR codes you can generate before paying, it won’t be possible to scale your QR code usage without incurring a fee.
• Security. As with any third-party program, you’ll need to be careful about which software you allow to access your data as this could trigger security alerts.

At the end of the day, Google Forms is a useful tool that’s handy for educational institutions and other businesses, either because they already have a Google Workspace license or because they’re familiar with the brand.

While you can certainly get the job done with QR codes in Google Forms, there’s an alternative that’s free of the downsides mentioned above and offers a more streamlined process.

Create easy QR codes with Jotform

Jotform offers a seamless, intuitive, and cost-free way to create a QR code for your forms, resulting in easy and carefree mobile access for your users.

Whether it’s a quiz you’re administering, a patient request form your practice, a client information sheet for marketing, or an appointment form for your beauty salon, using Jotform is a no-brainer for feature-rich data collection and QR code creation.

Creating your code and sending it to your users at scale couldn’t be simpler, so let’s dive in.

To create a QR code with Jotform, go into your finished form and select the Publish tab.

In the Quick Share tab, under the Share Form section, you can share your form via a QR code.

Download your QR code to distribute it via printout, email, or text. Alternatively, you can copy the HTML code to embed the QR code into your site, blog, or videos.

That’s it! No need to give third party access to your data or worry about how many QR codes you generate before having to pay because Jotform’s QR codes are free to use. And it’s just as easy to create your QR code on the go with the Jotform Mobile Forms app.

Finally, if you’re a current Google Forms user, there’s no need to worry about creating brand new forms. You can easily migrate your forms overusing our import tool.

With Jotform, you’ll have access to our advanced Form Builder, customizable templates, app integrations (including Google Workspace), and a powerful mobile app that lets you collect data through the QR codes you create for your users.