The important distinction
Static codes versus dynamic codes
Most sites advertising free QR codes generate dynamic ones. The code encodes a short URL on their domain, which redirects to your real destination. That buys you editable targets and scan analytics, and it costs you control: the redirect is a subscription, and if it lapses, every printed code stops working. Codes printed on packaging or signage have been bricked this way.
The codes here are static. Your URL is encoded directly into the pattern. Nothing to renew, no third party in the path, no analytics — and no way to change the destination later without reprinting. For a link to a domain you control, that trade is usually the right one, because you can always change what lives at the URL.
What to encode
More than links
A QR code holds text, and phones recognise several conventional formats inside that text:
- A web address: type it in full, including
https://, or some scanners will treat it as plain text. - Wi-Fi access:
WIFI:S:NetworkName;T:WPA;P:password;;joins a network on scan — useful for a café, a rental or a guest room. - A phone number:
tel:+46701234567opens the dialler. - An email:
mailto:hello@example.com?subject=Orderopens a pre-filled message. - Plain text: a batch number, a care instruction, a serial. It shows on screen and goes no further.
Error correction
Choosing L, M, Q or H
Every QR code carries redundant data so it still reads when part of it is damaged. Level L recovers from about 7% damage, M about 15%, Q about 25% and H about 30%. Higher levels need more modules, so the same text produces a denser grid — which, printed at the same physical size, means smaller modules.
M is the sensible default and what this tool uses. Move up to Q or H when the code will be printed on something that gets handled, folded or wet, or when you want to place a logo in the middle: the logo is damage as far as the decoder is concerned, and H gives you the headroom to cover roughly a fifth of the area and still scan.
Printing
Size, contrast and quiet zone
The working rule for print is that the code should be at least a tenth of the distance it will be scanned from. A code read at arm's length — a menu, a business card — needs about 2 cm square. A poster read from three metres needs about 30 cm. Shorter URLs produce fewer modules, larger modules and easier scans, so a tidy short link genuinely helps.
A QR code needs a quiet zone of four modules on every side, which the downloads here include. Keep dark modules on a light background rather than the reverse: most decoders assume dark-on-light, and inverted codes fail on a meaningful share of phones. If you must use colour, keep strong contrast and avoid putting the code on a photograph.
Test the printed code, not the screen version, and test it on both an iPhone and an Android phone at the distance people will actually stand.
Questions
Frequently asked questions
Do these QR codes expire?
No. The data is encoded in the pattern itself, so there is no service in the middle that can expire, and no account to keep paying for.
Can I edit the link later?
Not without generating a new code. That is the trade-off for a static code. If the destination might change, point the code at a URL on your own domain and change what that URL serves.
Are my scans tracked?
Not by this tool. The code goes straight to your destination, so any analytics come from your own site, not from us.
How much text fits in a QR code?
This generator handles up to about 850 characters. Shorter is better: fewer characters mean fewer modules and a code that scans from further away.
Can I put a logo in the middle?
Yes, if you add it in your own design tool and use error correction level H. Keep the covered area under about 20% and test the result before printing.
Why does my QR code look different from another generator?
The standard allows eight mask patterns and different padding choices, so two encoders can produce different-looking codes carrying identical data. Both scan the same.