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Static vs dynamic QR codes: which to print

A static QR code has the link written into the pattern itself: it costs nothing and needs no service, but where it leads cannot change after printing. A dynamic QR code holds a short link that forwards each scan, so you can change the destination and count scans - and with most QR services that forwarding needs a paid plan. When you order from one of our QR code pages - stickers, window clings or car decals - you can add a dynamic code free: paste your link when you order and change where it leads anytime in your account, with no subscription.

Static QR codeDynamic code from a QR serviceFree dynamic code with a StickersFox order
What the code holds Your link (or Wi-Fi details) itself A short link owned by the QR service A short stickersfox.com/q/ link tied to your account
Change where it goes after printing No Yes, in the service's dashboard Yes, in My QR codes in your account
Ongoing cost None Usually a monthly or yearly plan None - free with the print order, no subscription
Scan counts No Yes Yes, by day for the last 14 days
Switch it off No Usually, in the dashboard Yes, in My QR codes
Best for Wi-Fi, or a link that will never change Codes you manage across many tools and campaigns Menus, reviews, payment and shop links on anything we print for you

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How each kind works

A QR code is a picture of some text, usually a web address. In a static code that text is your own address - yourshop.com/menu - drawn straight into the black and white squares. Any free generator makes one, it needs no account, and nobody stands between the scan and your page. The price of that is permanence: once it is printed, the address it opens is fixed.

A dynamic code draws a short address belonging to whoever runs the code instead. When someone scans it, their phone goes to that address, which forwards them to wherever you have told it to. That middle step is what lets you change the destination and count scans without reprinting - and it is also why the code depends on whoever runs it and on your account there.

What happens to a printed dynamic code when a plan ends

QR services say it plainly in their own help pages: the forwarding is a service, and most of them need an active plan to keep it running. When a plan lapses, the short link stops sending people to your page and shows an error or the provider's own page instead; some free trials switch their dynamic codes off when the trial ends. Renewing usually brings the same codes back, but every printed sticker shows a dead end in the meantime.

That is a small risk on a poster for one weekend, and a real one on two hundred table stickers or a van door meant to stay up for years. Before printing a code from a QR service, read what it does when you stop paying, and keep the account in the business's name rather than one person's.

A dynamic code that comes with the print

When you order from one of our QR code pages - QR code stickers, clear QR code stickers, menu, review, scan-to-pay or social media QR stickers, QR window clings or QR car decals - tick Add a free dynamic QR code under the calculator and paste your link. We make the code and it goes on your design where you choose - right, left, below or above it, inside it, or wherever our designer thinks best - and it is on the proof, so you can scan it from your screen before you approve. For now our designer places the code and emails that proof, usually within 1 business day, and you are charged only when you approve it.

After the order, the code is listed in My QR codes in your account; a guest order shows up there when you sign in with the order email. There you can change where the code leads, switch it off and on, see scans by day for the last 14 days and download it as SVG or PNG. There is no plan behind it to renew: the code is free, with no subscription. Links are checked for safety and a link flagged as unsafe is refused, and a switched-off code opens a plain StickersFox page instead of your link.

The no-service option: a page on your own site

If you would rather depend on nothing but your own website, make a page or a short path on your domain - yourshop.com/menu, yourshop.com/review - and print a plain static code for it. When the menu or the offer changes, change that page or set it to redirect somewhere new; most website builders and shop platforms have a redirect setting for exactly this. You lose built-in scan counts, but your site's own analytics shows visits to the page.

Printing either kind so it scans

Both kinds print the same way. Keep the code dark on a light background, leave a quiet margin of plain space around it at least four of its small squares wide, and size it to the distance: a code scans from roughly ten times its own width, so a 2-inch code works in the hand and a 10-inch code on a window works from the sidewalk. A short link makes a simpler pattern, which scans a little more easily at small sizes.

Our free dynamic codes are plain black on white with that margin built in, and on clear vinyl they are printed on white ink so they scan on glass and dark bottles. A code in your own file is printed exactly as it is, so give it the same margin and, on clear, a white panel behind it. Either way, scan the code on your proof before you approve it.

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Die-cut vinyl stickers The default choice From $22.00 Clear vinyl stickers When the surface should show through From $24.20 Window clings & static cling stickers For glass you will change again From $6.80

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Questions people ask

Do static QR codes expire?
No. A static code has no service behind it, so it works as long as the address inside it works. If the page it opens is deleted, the code opens a missing page, but the code itself never stops scanning.
Do dynamic QR codes stop working if I stop paying?
With most QR services, yes - the forwarding needs an active plan, and a lapsed plan sends scans to an error or the provider's page. The dynamic code that comes with a StickersFox print order has no subscription behind it.
Is the dynamic QR code from StickersFox really free?
Yes. It comes with the order it is printed on - stickers, clings or decals - and there is no subscription: you change where it leads in My QR codes in your account whenever you like.
Can I change where a static QR code goes?
Not the code itself. But if it points to a page on your own website, you can change that page or redirect it anywhere, which gives you much of the same freedom.
Which kind should I put on a sticker?
For Wi-Fi, a static code: it carries your network details, not a link, so it cannot be dynamic. For menus, reviews, payment links and shop pages, a dynamic code you can repoint - ours comes free with the print. A static code to a page on your own site works too.
Can I use a QR code I already have?
Yes. Put it in your design and we print it exactly as supplied. Scan it on the proof from your screen before you approve.

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