Guide
Can you edit a QR code after it is printed?
Yes, if it is a dynamic code: the printed squares hold a short link, and you change what that link sends people to. No, if it is a static code: the squares hold the web address itself, and paper does not update. Here is how to tell which you have, and how a change works.
Which kind do you have?
Scan it and watch the address the phone shows before the page loads. If it is your own web address, the code is static. If it is a short link on some other domain, the code is dynamic, and whoever owns that domain owns the forwarding. A code that opens an error, an advert or a page asking the owner to reactivate it is a dynamic code whose forwarding was switched off: why QR codes stop working covers that case.
How a change works with us
Every HelmQR code is dynamic. When your code goes live we email your files and a private edit link; My codes lists every code you bought with one email, each with its edit link. Open the edit link and choose Change where it points: paste the new address, save, and every copy you already printed opens the new page from the next scan on. Change it whenever you like. No extra charge while HelmQR operates the service.
The printed code never changes. That is the point: the cards, the menus and the signs stay exactly as they are.
Four kinds of change
- Point it somewhere new, now. A new menu, a new listing, a different booking page.
- Pick a day for it to switch. Choose a date and a new web address, and the code switches on that day.
- Pick the last day it works. After that day, a scan shows a page that says the code has ended, with the date. Extend, change or remove the end date whenever you like.
- Switch after a number of scans. Pick a number, for example 500, and another web address. After that many scans the code opens the other address instead.
All four are set from your edit link, and all four can be changed again.
What can't be edited
The squares. If you want a different design, a different color or a logo on the code, the new files are yours to download and reprint, but what is already on paper stays as it was printed.
A WiFi code that joins automatically, or an email/SMS code that opens directly, has its details printed inside the squares: changing those means new files and a reprint. Any code that opens a web page is yours to repoint.
A static code, from us or from anyone, can't be changed at all. Print a dynamic one next time, and replace the static one when you can.
What it costs
A code is $19, once, and a code with a hosted page is $99, once. One payment. No monthly fee from us. It keeps working while we operate the service. Not a promise the service runs indefinitely. Changing where the code points is included, every time, and there's no card on file.
Get your QR code for $19 · See what a hosted page is → · See the packs →
Questions
Do the cards I already printed open the new page after I change the code?
Yes. They hold the same squares, and the squares hold the same short link. Only what the link sends people to has changed.
Can I edit a static QR code?
No. The web address is in the squares themselves. Make a dynamic code and print that; the static one can only be replaced.
Is there a charge for each change?
No. Repointing is included in the one payment, as the terms above say, however many times you do it.
Can I undo a change?
Yes. Point the code back at the old address from the same edit link, or remove a scheduled change or an end date before its day.
I lost the email with my edit link.
Open My codes, enter the email you paid with, and we send a sign-in link to that address. Every code and page you bought is listed there with its edit link.
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