QR code generators

#21

No it’s not.
It’s a static URL there’s nothing Dynamic about the QR code.

The code stays the same.
It’s a misnomer in that the code itself is not dynamic, but the redirect of the URL is the dynamic part.

I completely understand what you’re saying about ‘Dynamic QR Code’ - but it’s not correct.

You can buy services like this but at a cost.

If you have your own website you can setup a redirect easily enough using Python and Flask.

But the QR code itself only points to a Singular URL.

The rest is setup on backend of a server with scripts to redirect.

I think it’s really important to establish this.
You can’t change the content of the QR code after it’s published.

QR content remains fixed.

You can put whatever you want in the code.
You can’t change it.
You can direct to a web URL that can redirect to another site.

Just wanted to define it.

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#22

I see, thank you for a detailed explanation, definitely worth noting! I didn’t know that

#23

Hey Frutiger,

I use Uniqode’s QR Code generator; these are the advantages of their paid version: dynamic QR Code (you can edit the content any time, even once you print them out and share with thousands of people, unlike what Smurf2 mentioned dynamic QR Codes Content is not fixed, you can update it anytime and use the same QR Code for several use cases).

Additionally, their QR Codes are trackable, have several download options (PNG, JPG, SVG, PDF, etc.), have an auto-design QR Code feature that generates QR Codes that are in line with your brand logo and color, and are GDPR and SOC® 2 compliant. Security in terms of QR Codes plays a huge role, ensuring no one can hack your QR Codes or use them for malicious purposes.

Thanks!

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#24

The content of the QR code remains the same. The content can’t change.

It redirects to different information.

Don’t be under any illusion.

It’s not dynamic. The url and backed is the dynamic part.

#25

I’ve set these up from scratch. I’ve set up trackers for QR codes myself.

Doing the exact same thing. Linking to a url hosted on the company website, and the redirect is setup, doing this I tracked the scans by a basic counter of redirects, and was able to update the url to redirect to another microsite later.

I guess I just don’t like the term dynamic.

Because it’s truly not.

#26

while the term may be disingenuous, many companies market dynamic QR codes as a QR code that can after the destination after the fact. It’s become pretty common place.

Sure, the code itself isn’t dynamic, but once again the term is so widely used, that it has become common.

#27

That will work if the site is built using Python and a Flask framework, which isn’t especially common. Javascript and an HTTP redirect could also work on most sites where the admin has the necessary access, but those two methods come with drawbacks.

For admins with FTP access to the server, an arguably better and more universal way is to rely on the server software itself to handle it. Around three-quarters of websites use either Apache or NGINX server software.

With Apache servers, one line of code added to the .htaccess file at the document root will do the job. For example,

redirect 302 "/file" "https://newdomain.com/file

With NGINX, adding a redirect to the .conf file is equally straightforward, but I’m not as familiar with it. I think it’s something like this, but I’m unsure of the syntax.

server {
server_name domain.com;
 rewrite ^/(.*)$ http://www.newdomain.com/$1 permanent;
}

Whatever the case, there are multiple ways for a savvy website admin to use QR codes, which lead to redirects that can be changed at will by the admin. For those without access or necessary skills, a paid (so-called) “dynamic” QR code does the same thing.

#28

Yeh that works too. Many ways to do a redirect.

301 permanent
302 temp
307 temp (better than 302)

You can redirect a whole domain

Javascript is not very SEO friendly - why I didn’t mention it

Thought Python and Flask was common enough - but it’s been a long time.

#29

It’s situationally better, but in most instances, a 302 redirect might be preferable since search engines can stumble over 307s.

We’re getting pretty far into the weeds, but here goes my long-winded response. The difference between a 302 and a 307 is that the 307 retains the query’s “method,” whereas the 302 does not pass along the method.

There’s the GET method and the POST method. An example of GET is a typical hypertext link that calls up a web page. In other words, the browser gets information from the browser to build the web page. An example of POST might be sending form data to the server. In other words, the browser posts information to the server.

GET can also be used to transfer actionable information to the server, but that information is appended to the URL. When the need to transfer information to the server exceeds the inherent limitations of GET, POST must be specified, and the information transferred within the request body.

GET is the default and isn’t typically specified unless there’s reason to believe that POST is needed, in which case POST is specifically specified.

A 302 temporary redirect doesn’t maintain the method, but off the top of my head, I can’t think of a typical situation where a redirect would need to transfer POST data. I’m sure that an oddball situation might exist, but I’ve never run into it, so I’ve never had occasion to use a 307 redirect.

The biggest problem with 307 redirects, however, is that unlike GET, search engine bots can stumble over POST requests due to situationally important information being absent from the appended information on URLs. But from what I understand, the bots have gotten much better at extracting that information from the body of POST requests. Then again, I can’t think of too many situations where one would want a POST request indexed.

In essence, using 302 or 307 makes little difference unless there’s a specific reason to retain the POST method, in which case 307 is needed. I’d rather use 302 because GET is still the default. By the way, this is an example of the type of deep-in-the-weeds technical stuff that has caused me to shift away from building websites, which used to be my primary design specialty for several years. I found it less and less fun to deal with.

#30

I was only highlighting how the backend of these QR codes work - I just don’t like the term ‘dynamic’ because it’s not. So just wanted to be clear about what is going on with a ‘dyanmic code’

You could equally have a URL that says ‘myamzaingmarketingcampaign dot com’ and that would automatically redirect.
It doesn’t mean it’s a dynamic URL - it’s a simple redirect.

Anyway - didn’t mean to get into ins- outs of it all - it was just information to pass on.

I’m sure there’s plenty of reasons for picking a way.

#31

I use a paid generator, been a while now. Usually, the free version gives you access to less/not advanced features. As for the differences between free/paid, with the paid one I can: edit the QR code destination (meaning, no need for reprinting), have access to advanced tracking/analytics, customize pretty much every aspect of the code, and add a logo; then, there’s a bulk QR code generation feature, and integrations (for example, I can bulk update a bunch of destination URLs with Google Sheets/Zapier integration) - probably my favorite two, save me tons of time. The company I work for uses QR codes a lot, and these features really make a difference, so it makes sense to be on a paid plan. We use https://www.uniqode.com/qr-code-generator (you can check all the features/plans). I remember when we first started with it, our GM said they picked it as the safest one on the market. And since then, I learned a thing or two about QR codes and use cases that require extra safety, so I can confirm - definitely top class in this aspect.