QR Code Generator

Static and dynamic codes, and why it matters

This is the thing to understand before printing anything. A static QR code contains your link directly. Scanning it reads the link out of the pattern itself, so it keeps working forever, with no service in the middle and no way for it to be switched off. That is what this tool makes.

A dynamic code contains a link to the generator's own server, which then redirects to your real destination. That allows editing the destination later and counting scans — genuinely useful features — but it means the code only works for as long as that company keeps redirecting. Free plans on the big generator sites are usually dynamic, and the redirect stops when the trial ends or the plan lapses. People discover this after the menus are printed and the posters are on the wall.

If you are putting a code on something physical, static is almost always what you want. If you genuinely need editable destinations or scan analytics, a paid dynamic service is the right tool and this one is not it.

Download SVG for anything you are printing

PNG and JPEG are fixed grids of pixels: enlarge one for a poster and the edges of the squares go soft, which is exactly what makes a code harder for phones to read. SVG is vector, so it stays perfectly sharp at any size, from a business card to a shop window. Printers ask for vector for this reason. Use PNG for anything on screen and SVG for anything going to print.

The settings that affect whether it scans

Error correction decides how much of the code can be dirty, damaged or covered while still scanning. Medium, at 15%, is the default and is right for screens and clean printing. Raise it to Quartile or High for a code that will be outdoors, on a sticker that may scuff, or printed small. Higher correction means a denser pattern, so it needs to be printed a little larger.

The quiet zone is the blank margin around the code, and it is not decoration — scanners use it to find the edges. Four modules is the standard and the default. Reducing it to squeeze the code into a tight layout is the most common reason a printed code will not scan.

You can set the foreground and background colours, and contrast is what counts: dark pattern on a light background. A light code on a dark background, or two colours of similar brightness, will fail on many phones. Test with a real phone before printing, always.

What this tool does not do

There is no logo in the middle and no scan tracking. Both need either an image overlay step or a redirect service, and neither would survive the promise that the code keeps working forever with nobody in the middle.

Related tools

Compress Image reduces the PNG's file size if the code is going on a web page, and Convert Image Format switches it to another image format.