Guide
How do you change where a printed QR code points?
You cannot edit a printed code, so print one that points to a redirect you control. The redirect then forwards to the real page, and changing the page means changing one field instead of reprinting. This is what a dynamic QR code is.
Why a static code cannot change
A static QR code encodes the destination itself, pixel for pixel. A new link makes a different pattern, so the printed copies are wrong the moment the page moves.
The redirect approach
Encode a short link you own, such as a path on your own domain, and have it answer with an HTTP redirect to the real page. The pattern stays fixed while the target is editable.
- Choose a short, permanent address and print the code for that address.
- Point the address at the current page.
- To change the destination later, update the address’s target, not the print.
What a redirect also makes possible
Because every scan passes through the redirect, it can count scans, record the device, or choose between targets by country or operating system. Test a redirect on a phone before printing at volume.
A worked example: Qraffic
Qraffic is a hosted version of this pattern. Its codes encode a short Qraffic link, and changing the target is a single edit. Each scan is logged with country, city, device, operating system and time.
The same redirect can split scans between two pages for an A/B test, or send iPhones to the App Store, Android to Google Play and a Spanish-language phone in Miami to a Spanish page. Codes can also be created in bulk from a CSV.
More on the example: Qraffic.