Dynamic QR Code

What is a dynamic QR code?

A dynamic QR code has a destination you can change after you share it. It points at a short redirect you control instead of placing the final URL directly in the pattern. Change where it goes as often as you like, and every copy follows: printed, on a screen or in a video.

The purchase includes destination editing, unlimited scans and basic scan counts. A Graklink QR code also supports time-and-day and device routing. A café can send weekday lunch scans to its lunch menu and all other scans to the regular menu, even if neither page address changes.

Routing rules run in order. For a time rule, choose the days, hours and time zone; scans that match no rule go to the default destination. The full setup is in routing by country or device.

Static vs dynamic QR codes

A static QR code encodes your destination directly, so the link is part of the pattern. The encoded URL stays fixed, although a page at that address can still change. You can update the page at that address, or manage a redirect there if you control the site. Changing the encoded address requires new artwork.

A dynamic QR code encodes a short redirect instead, and that redirect forwards to whatever destination you set. The pattern stays fixed while the destination behind it can change. That is the entire difference, explained in full here: static vs dynamic QR codes.

Changing the destination after you share it

A QR code may sit on a printed card, run in a video or show on a screen in a shop window. Once it is out there, you cannot recall every copy. A dynamic QR code lets you change where all of them point at once.

Suppose the appointment page on your printed appointment cards has moved. First scan a card to read the address. If it is a managed dynamic QR code, open its dashboard and update the destination. If it opens your own website directly, check whether you can maintain that address. Updating that destination lets customers keep using the appointment card already on their fridge to reach the new booking page.

The same applies to a QR code in a TV ad or a streamed video, where the footage cannot be edited after it airs. See QR codes in TV ads and streaming video.

How to change a dynamic QR code

With a Graklink dynamic QR code you can change the destination from a phone:

1. Log in to your dashboard.
2. Open the QR code you want to change.
3. Open Destination and paste the new URL.
4. Save.

After saving, allow a short time for cached redirects to update, then scan an existing copy to check the new page. Every copy uses the same saved redirect. The pattern never changes; only where it points does.

What if I already shared a static QR code?

If the QR code is static, you cannot edit it. You have two options:

• Replace the artwork with a dynamic QR code. This adds destination editing for future changes.
• Redirect at the source, if you own it. If the static QR code points at a URL on a domain you control, you can sometimes set up a redirect at that address. This only works if you own and manage that destination, and it adds a moving part you have to maintain.

For anything you print in volume or expect to keep, a dynamic QR code is the safer starting point.

Tracking scans

Every scan of a dynamic QR code passes through its redirect, so the redirect can count it. A static QR code opens the destination directly, so nobody in the middle can count its scans. Every purchased Graklink QR code includes basic lifetime scan counts, and deeper analytics are optional. What to measure, and what the numbers mean, is in how to track QR code scans.

Branding a dynamic QR code

You can choose colors and add a logo. The designer checks artwork and contrast, but test the final file on the intended print or display before you share it. Keep a clear margin four modules wide on each side of the pattern, as DENSO WAVE specifies, and keep dark modules on a light background. More detail: QR code with a logo.

How to make one

1. Design the QR code. Pick colors and add your logo if you want.
2. Point it anywhere. Paste the URL it should open: a menu, a listing, a promo, a link hub, anything.
3. Test the final file on the intended print or display.
4. Download a print file (SVG or PNG) at any size, and change the destination later from your dashboard if the page moves.

Use the included counts or routing when they answer a real question.

Use cases

A dynamic QR code can open your menu, listing, product instructions or booking page. A direct booking link lets someone choose an appointment while they’re standing beside your sign. You’ve saved them finding the calendar through your homepage. See real setups by trade on the use-cases pages, such as restaurants, weddings, realtors and YouTube creators.

Do you need a subscription to keep a QR code working?

With Graklink, no subscription required. A dynamic QR code depends on its redirect service, so check the terms of any other provider before you share one. Providers differ: some stop the redirect, while others keep it active and restrict editing. Bitly’s help centre, for example, says ordinary bit.ly links and their QR codes keep working after a downgrade, while custom domains have separate conditions.

A recurring plan can include several QR codes and additional marketing tools. If you need one changeable destination for a durable sign, compare that annual total with a one-time purchase, and check whether cancellation affects the redirect, editing or analytics.

A purchased Graklink QR code keeps its redirect and destination editing without a subscription, so it never stops redirecting because of a billing event. The details, including what happens if Graklink closes, are in the Forever promise.