Making a QR code that still works in five years

The dirty secret of most "free QR code generator" sites: the code they give you is a dynamic QR — it points to their redirect server, not to your website. After the trial ends (often 14 days), your printed code opens a paywall page. If you've ever scanned a poster and landed on "this QR code has expired", that's what happened.

Static codes don't expire

A static QR code encodes your URL (or text, Wi-Fi credentials, phone number) directly in the pattern. There is no middleman server, so there is nothing to expire, ever. The QR Code Generator here produces static codes, generated in your browser — the URL you encode is never even sent to us.

The one trade-off: a static code can't be re-pointed later. Print a URL, and that's the URL. If you need scan analytics or editable destinations, that's what paid dynamic services are legitimately for — just know that's the product you're buying.

Print size: the 10:1 rule

A QR code should be at least 1/10th of its intended scan distance. Scanned from arm's length (25cm)? 2.5cm wide is enough. On a banner read from 5 metres? Half a metre. When in doubt, bigger — and always leave the white margin (the "quiet zone") around the code; designs that crop it are the #1 cause of codes that won't scan.

Before you print 500 of anything

• Test the printed size on both an iPhone and an Android, in mediocre light.
• Use a short URL — fewer characters means a coarser, more scannable pattern.
• Dark-on-light only: scanners tolerate coloured codes but invert poorly. If the background is darker than the code, many phones give up.