Static vs dynamic QR code

What a static QR code is

Every QR code is a pattern of dark and light squares that encodes some text. Denso Wave, which invented the format, publishes how much a code can hold: up to 7,089 digits or 4,296 alphanumeric characters in the largest size. When the text is a web address, your phone reads it from the pattern and offers to open it. Nothing is looked up on a server first.

That makes a static code simple and permanent:

• It works for as long as the print is readable and the content is still true.
• No account, subscription or company sits between the scan and the destination.
• It can hold things that aren't links at all: Wi-Fi details, a phone number, a text message or plain text.

The catch is that the pattern is the content. Change one letter of the address and you get a different code. If you print 500 flyers and then move the page, the flyers lead to an error page. We explain this in more detail, including what makes a code stop working, in do QR codes expire?

Longer content also makes a denser code. Denso Wave's version table shows codes growing from 21 × 21 modules up to 177 × 177 as the data grows, and denser codes need to be printed larger to scan well.

What a dynamic QR code is

"Dynamic" isn't a different kind of QR code. It's an ordinary static code that holds a short redirect address instead of your final link. When someone scans it:

1. The phone opens the short address, which belongs to the service that made it.
2. The service looks up where that address should go right now.
3. It sends the visitor on to your real page, and usually records the visit.

Because the lookup happens at scan time, the service can let you:

• Change the destination without reprinting. Point last month's poster at this month's offer.
• Count scans. The service sees each visit, so it can show totals over time.
• Keep the code small. A short address makes a simpler pattern than a long link with tracking tags.

The trade-off is dependence. The printed code only works while the redirect does. If the subscription lapses, the trial ends, or the company closes, the code can stop forwarding. And because the address belongs to that company, you can't move the code to another provider.

How to tell them apart

Scan the code and read the address before you tap it. If it shows the final site, it's static. If it shows a short address on a QR company's or link shortener's domain, it's dynamic.

Get both with a static code and a short link

The generator on this page makes static codes only. It draws the code in your browser from exactly what you type, with no account, and nothing can switch it off later.

You can still get the benefits of a dynamic code by putting a redirect you control inside it. A Liite short link is one way to do that:

1. Create a short link in your Liite dashboard. It looks like liite.co/x/yourcode and forwards to the page you choose.
2. Put that short address into the generator below, or download the QR code the dashboard makes for the link.
3. When the destination needs to change, edit the short link. The printed code stays the same and starts sending people to the new page.

Liite counts clicks on each short link, and scans of the QR code that the dashboard makes for a link are counted too. The free plan includes 10 short links; paid plans include more.

The same dependence applies, so be clear about it: the printed code works only while the short link exists. If you delete the link, or set it to expire, the code stops forwarding. If you never need to edit the destination or count visits, a plain static code pointing straight at the page is the simpler choice.

Which one to use

• Wi-Fi, phone numbers, contact details, plain text: static. These codes don't open a web page, so there's nothing to redirect.
• Your own website's home page: static is usually fine. The address won't change.
• Printed marketing where the offer changes: a short link inside a static code lets you change the destination later.
• Anything you want to measure: a short link, so visits are counted. A plain static code can't count scans, because nothing sits between the phone and the page.
• Packaging or signs meant to last years: static, pointing at an address on your own domain. If you want flexibility, change the page at that address rather than the code.

Whichever you choose, print a test copy and scan it with two or three phones before you print in bulk. Our checklist for testing a QR code and the guide to minimum QR code size cover what to check.

Related guides

• Do QR codes expire?
• How do QR codes work?
• QR codes in marketing and advertising