How to make a QR code for a link
Make a free QR code for any web address that keeps working for good. Static versus dynamic codes, how big to print it and how to test it before printing.
A QR code for a link is the most common kind there is: a menu, a feedback form, a product page, a booking link on a poster. Making one takes seconds. The choice that matters is made before you start and most QR websites make it for you without saying so.
Static or dynamic
A static code contains your web address and nothing else. Scan it and the phone goes straight to your site. It never expires, costs nothing and depends on no one.
A dynamic code contains a short link on the QR vendor’s domain, which forwards to your address. That lets the vendor count scans and let you change the destination and it is also why dynamic codes stop working when a subscription or free trial ends. The full story is in do QR codes expire.
The QR code generator makes static codes only. If you want to change the destination later, point the code at a page on your own site and change that page instead.
Making it
Paste the address into the link QR code page. If you leave off https://, it is added, because without it many phones treat the text as a search. Download SVG for printing or PNG for screens. Colours and a logo are optional; the generator warns if the contrast is too low and reads the code back to confirm it scans.
Keep the address short
Every character becomes part of the pattern. A short address gives a coarse code that scans from across a room; a long one with tracking parameters gives a fine one that needs to be printed large. Trim anything the page doesn’t need.
How big to print it
At least 2 to 3 centimetres for something held in the hand, such as a card or a label. For anything scanned from further away, a useful rule is a code about a tenth of the scanning distance: around 10 centimetres for a poster read from a metre. The generator shows a minimum size for each code.
Test before you print
Scan the printed proof with an iPhone and an Android phone from the distance people will stand at and follow the link to the page. Printing a code on hundreds of items without testing is how misprinted codes happen. And because people are right to be cautious about codes, see is this QR code safe for how scanners judge them.
For a related next step see Why is my QR code blurry or not scanning?.
Common questions
Is it really free with no catch?
Yes. A QR code is a public standard and a static code containing your address costs nothing to make or use, forever. Paid services charge for dynamic codes, which route scans through their servers.
Can I change the link after printing?
Not with a static code. Point it at an address on your own site that you control, such as yoursite.com/menu and change what that page shows or redirects to.
Which file should I download?
SVG for print and for designers, since it stays sharp at any size. PNG at 1024 pixels or more for documents, slides and the web.
Can I add my logo?
Yes. A small logo in the centre works because QR codes carry redundant data. The generator raises error correction automatically and checks the code still scans.