How to Change a QR Code After It's Printed, Without Reprinting
A dynamic code points at a short link you control, so you can change where it goes and see how often it gets used.
The MyPersonalQR team2 min read · 18 February 2025
A thousand flyers are back from the printer. You pick one up, and there it is: the link has a typo.
With an ordinary code, that is the end of the story. The flyers go in the bin and you start again. With a dynamic code, it is a two minute fix, and the flyers already in people's hands start working.
Same square. A different idea behind it.
The pattern holds one short address. Where that address goes is up to you, any time.
How a dynamic code works
The printed pattern holds one short address and nothing else. It stays the same forever, which is what makes it safe to print in large numbers.
When somebody scans, the request reaches us, we count it, and we send them wherever the code is set to go right now. Change that setting and the next scan goes somewhere else.
Changing your mind after it's printed
This is why most people choose dynamic. A thousand printed flyers stop being a commitment. Point them at a new page next month and they are still working.
It also means a mistake can be put right. A wrong price or a broken link is a quick edit, not a reprint.
- Repoint a whole campaign in one edit
- Fix a mistake without recalling anything
- Reuse last season's print for this season
- Pause a code without collecting the posters
Finding out what actually happened
Every scan is counted, so print stops being invisible. You see scans over time, roughly where they came from, and what kind of phone was used.
Give each placement its own code and you can finally compare them. That poster site against this one, the packaging against the shelf edge.
A different page at different times
A dynamic code can follow rules. Breakfast until eleven, lunch until five, the evening menu after that. You set it once and it runs itself. Any gap falls back to a page you choose, so nobody lands on nothing.
Who gets in, and for how long
Because the request comes through us, a code can carry rules instead of being a plain pointer.
- Put a password on the page
- Set a date it goes live
- Set a date it stops
- Cap the number of scans
- Switch it off instantly
What to know before you choose it
A dynamic code relies on the short link continuing to work. That is a real dependency, in the same way any hosted service is.
The person scanning also needs a connection. That rules it out for the one case static is built for: a Wi-Fi code can't be dynamic, because the person has no internet yet. That is the whole reason they are scanning.
Side by side
| What you get | Static | Dynamic |
|---|---|---|
| Works without any internet on our side | ||
| Never expires on its own | ||
| Unlimited scans | ||
| Change the destination after printing | ||
| Count and analyse scans | ||
| Hosted landing page you can edit | ||
| Different content by time or day | ||
| Password protect it | ||
| Set a start or expiry date | ||
| Pause it without reprinting |
Related reading: Static or Dynamic QR Code: Which One Should You Use?
Try it on a code of your own. It takes a few minutes.