Smart Posters with Web NFC

What is a Smart Poster?

A Smart Poster is a traditional physical poster that has been enhanced with an NFC tag. This allows users to interact with the poster using their smartphone. By simply tapping their device on a designated spot, they can instantly access digital content, making the static poster dynamic and engaging.

How It Works

The core of a smart poster is an inexpensive NFC inlay (sticker) placed behind the paper or on the surface. This tag is programmed with an NDEF record—most commonly a URL. When a user taps the poster, their phone reads the tag and automatically opens the link in their browser.

Common Use Cases

• Marketing & Ads: Link to a product page, a discount coupon, or a promotional video.
• Events: Allow users to tap to register, view the schedule, or add the event to their calendar.
• Transit & Tourism: Provide real-time bus schedules or link to a digital map of the area.
• App Downloads: Direct users to the App Store or Google Play Store to download your app.

Implementing a Smart Poster with Web NFC

Creating a smart poster is simple. You just need to write a URL record to an NFC tag. Here is how you can do it using the Web NFC API:

async function createSmartPosterTag(url) {
  if (!('NDEFReader' in window)) {
    console.log('Web NFC is not supported.');
    return;
  }
  try {
    const writer = new NDEFReader();
    await writer.write({
      records: [{ recordType: 'url', data: url }]
    });
    console.log('Smart poster tag created!');
    // Optional: Lock the tag to prevent tampering
    // await writer.makeReadOnly();
  } catch (error) {
    console.error('Error writing tag:', error);
  }
}

Best Practices

• Clear Call to Action (CTA): NFC is invisible. You must visually indicate where the user should tap (e.g., a phone icon or "Tap Here" text).
• Lock Your Tags: Once you have deployed your poster, it is crucial to lock the NFC tag (make it read-only). This prevents malicious users from rewriting the tag to point to harmful websites.
• Use Short URLs: While NFC tags have plenty of memory for URLs, shorter URLs write faster and are easier to manage.