Which code where
| Job | Code type | Static or dynamic | Where |
|---|---|---|---|
| Care instructions | URL | Dynamic | Packaging insert, swing tag |
| Thank-you and review | URL | Dynamic | Thank-you card |
| How it was made | URL | Dynamic | Insert, swing tag |
| Reorder | URL | Dynamic | Consumables, base of the box |
| Shop and social | URL | Dynamic | Business card, insert (see the policy note) |
| Craft fair contact | vCard | Static | Stall sign, business card |
The packaging insert
The insert is the card that goes in every parcel, and one code on it does most of the work. It should open the care instructions for that product line: how to wash the knitwear, how to keep the leather supple, how to trim the candle wick. Buyers who look after the thing keep it longer, come back, and do not leave a one-star review for a shrinkage they caused.
One code per product line, dynamic. Print a stack of inserts for each line and change the page behind the code whenever you learn something new to say.
Thank-you cards and repeat orders
A handwritten thank-you card is part of what buyers pay a maker for. A small code in the corner adds a page with a longer note, a photo of the piece being made and, on Etsy, the review link for their order. Keep the card handwritten. The code is the extra, not the replacement.
For consumables, a reorder code on the base of the box or the insert points back to the listing. Soap, candles, tea, refills and greetings-card packs all sell again to the same person if the way back is one scan.
Care instructions
The care page behind the code should be short, in plain words, with a photo of the right way and the wrong way. A washing symbol chart is not care instructions. If the piece can be repaired or re-dyed, say so and say how to send it back. The page is also the place for the “how it was made” video: thirty seconds of the wheel turning or the loom moving, filmed on a phone, and buyers share it.
Getting the insert right
- Size: 2 cm minimum on a home printer, 2.5 cm if you can spare the space. The buyer is holding the card at 20 to 30 cm.
- Card: matte, 250 to 300 gsm. Glossy photo card reflects and inkjet ink sits on top of it and smudges.
- Printer: a laser printer gives the sharpest modules. On an inkjet, choose the plain-paper setting and let it dry before stacking.
- Level: Q, so a small logo or a hand-drawn mark can sit in the middle without breaking the code. The logo guide shows how much is safe.
- Colour: dark ink in your palette on cream or white. Pale sage, blush and mustard do not scan. The contrast checker tells you in a second.
- Words: “Scan for care instructions”, and the short web address beneath it.
- Batch: lay out an A4 sheet with every insert you need and print them together. Cut with a guillotine, not scissors, so the margins stay clean.
Do this
A 2.5 cm level Q code in dark brown on cream 300 gsm matte card, a small hand-drawn mark in the centre, 'Scan for care instructions' beneath, pointing at a dynamic link to a one-screen care page.
Not this
A 1.5 cm code in pale sage on glossy photo card, cut by hand with the margin trimmed off, pointing at a homepage that has moved since the inserts were printed.
In practice
Print one A4 test sheet, let it dry, and scan every code with two phones before printing the rest. A home printer that is low on toner produces codes that look fine and fail, and one test sheet finds that out for the price of a sheet of card.
Policy note
Marketplaces have rules about sending buyers away from the platform, and Etsy’s are enforced. Before a code points at your own shop, your social accounts or a mailing list, read Etsy’s current seller policy on off-platform links. Care instructions, a thank-you page and a how-it-was-made video are content, and a review or reorder link that goes back to Etsy is safe. A “buy direct and save” code is the kind of thing that gets a shop suspended. When in doubt, ask Etsy, not a forum.
Try it yourself
List each product line and its care page link, one per line, and the batch generator lays them out on a printable sheet. Make them dynamic in QR Studio so the pages can change without a reprint.