Static vs dynamic QR codes: which one to print
Every QR code you have ever scanned is one of two kinds. The pattern looks the same, but what happens after the scan is very different, and it decides whether you can fix a mistake once the code is printed.
Static codes: the content is inside the pattern
A static code stores its content directly in the black and white squares: a website address, a Wi-Fi password, a phone number or a whole contact card. The phone reads it and acts on it without asking any server.
That makes static codes:
- free and permanent: nothing can expire, because nothing runs behind them;
- private: nobody counts the scans;
- impossible to change: a typo in the address stays there forever.
They are the right choice for content that will not change: your Wi-Fi network, a vCard on a business card you reprint every year anyway, or a link to your home page.
Dynamic codes: the pattern holds a short link
A dynamic code stores a short link instead, for example qr.example/aB3xY9k. When someone scans it, the short link sends them to the destination you set in your account. You can change that destination at any time, and the printed code follows.
That gives you:
- edits after printing: swap the menu, the campaign page or the PDF without touching the print;
- statistics: scans over time, by country and by device;
- control: pause the code, protect it with a password, end it on a date or after a number of scans.
The trade-off is that a dynamic code depends on the service that runs the short link. Choose one that keeps codes working if you change plans and lets you export where every code points.
A quick way to decide
| If the code goes on… | Use |
|---|---|
| a Wi-Fi sticker, a vCard you hand out | static |
| a restaurant menu, a poster, packaging | dynamic |
| anything you will print more than a few hundred times | dynamic |
| anything where you want to know if it works | dynamic |
A good rule: if reprinting would cost you more than a coffee, print a dynamic code.
Mixing both
Most businesses use both. Static codes for the things that never change, dynamic codes for everything with a campaign, a price or a season behind it. In Scanteo static codes are free and unlimited on every plan, and you choose static or dynamic when you create each code.
Try it with your own code
Create a QR code you can change after printing. Free, no credit card.
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