A QR code you can change after it’s printed.
Put one code on your flyer, menu or packaging and decide later where it goes. Change the link, pause it between campaigns, and see how many people scanned it, when, and on what.
Keep typing. The code never changes. Only the page it forwards to does.
How does a dynamic QR code work?
A dynamic QR code doesn’t contain your web address. It contains a short link that belongs to you, like buildyourqr.com/q/Mn4vK2x. When a phone scans the code, it opens that short link, and our server forwards it to the destination you’ve chosen. Because the forwarding happens on our side, you can change the destination whenever you want and every printed copy follows. An ordinary “static” QR code works differently: the full address is drawn into the pattern itself, so a new address means a new code and a new print run. The short link also lets us count each scan and note the device and rough location. That’s where the analytics come from, without anything being installed on the scanner’s phone. The code itself never expires, and pausing it shows a short “paused” page until you switch it back on.
| Static | Dynamic (BuildYourQR) | |
|---|---|---|
| What the pattern stores | The full web address | A short link you own |
| Change the destination later | No, reprint needed | Yes, any time |
| Pause without reprinting | No | Yes |
| Scan counts, devices, cities | No | Yes, per code |
| Pattern density | Grows with the address | Always short and simple |
Where it can point
Where can a dynamic QR code point?
If it opens in a browser, a dynamic code can send people there. These are the ones we see most.
A menu or price list
Swap the PDF or page when prices or dishes change.
A booking or appointment page
Point it at a new calendar tool without touching the print.
This month’s offer
Re-point the same flyer at each new promotion.
A review page
Send happy customers straight to where you want reviews.
A sign-up form
Newsletter, waiting list, event RSVP, feedback survey.
A video or an app
YouTube, a product demo, or an app store listing.
Making one
How do you make one? Three steps.
No design software needed. Everything happens in your browser.
- 1~30 sec
Paste the destination
Any http or https address. Give the code a name only you’ll see, like “Window poster, Sept”.
- 2~1 min
Style it
Pick colours, dot and corner styles and a “Scan me” frame. On Dynamic and Pro you can add your logo or apply your brand kit.
- 3~10 sec
Download and print
PNG for screens and social posts, SVG for the printer. The short link is fixed from this moment on.
After printing
What can you see after printing?
Every code has its own report, so you can tell the window poster from the table card.
- Scans and unique visitors per day, in your time zone
- Device type, operating system and browser
- Country and city, plus the busiest hour of the day
- No IP addresses in your scan statistics (how we count)
Printing tips
How big should the code be when printed?
- Size it for the distance. A good rule of thumb is about 1 cm of code for every 10 cm between the phone and the print. So 2–3 cm on a business card, 10 cm or more on a poster seen from across a room.
- Keep contrast high. Dark code on a light background scans best. The designer warns you if your colours are too close.
- Leave a margin. Keep a clear border around the code. Don’t let text or photos touch it.
- Print one proof. Scan it with two different phones before the full run. It takes five minutes and can save a reprint.
Questions
About dynamic QR codes.
No. There’s no expiry date on the code itself. It keeps forwarding to its destination for as long as it exists in your account, on any plan, including after you cancel a paid plan. It stops working only if you delete it, or pause it (then scanners see a short “this code is paused” page until you switch it back on).
As often as you like. Edit the link in your dashboard, press save, and the next person who scans gets the new page. There’s no limit on edits and no waiting period. The printed code doesn’t change, so posters, menus and packaging already in circulation start pointing at the new address straight away.
Barely. A scan opens the short link on our server, which immediately answers with a redirect to your destination. For the person scanning it feels the same as opening the page directly. We also send headers that stop browsers caching the old destination, so a change you make is picked up on the very next scan.
Not at the moment. Short links use buildyourqr.com/q/… followed by a seven-character code. Most people scanning never see the address, because their phone opens the destination page directly after the redirect.
Colours, dots, frames and logos only change the image you download next, not codes already printed. Both old and new versions scan to the same short link, so you can mix them on different materials without any problem.