Static and dynamic codes

A static QR code stores your content — the URL, text or Wi-Fi details — directly inside the pattern itself. Nothing sits between the scanner and your content: no account, no server, no tracking. The trade-off is permanence: once printed, the content cannot be changed, because changing the content changes the pattern. Everything made in the ScanMe Online generator without signing in is a static code.

A static QR code encodes your content directly in the pattern, so it works forever but can never be edited. A dynamic QR code instead encodes a short ScanMe link (scanmeonline.com/r/…) that redirects to your destination — so you can change where it points at any time, even after printing, and see how often it is scanned, from which countries and on which devices. Static codes need no account; dynamic codes require a free account.

Dynamic QR Codes

No. A static QR code has no built-in expiration because its content is encoded directly into the image, so there is no server involved and nothing that can be switched off. It keeps working as long as the printed or digital code remains scannable and the content itself remains valid (for a URL, as long as that page stays online). ScanMe Online places no time limits or scan limits on static codes.

It depends which kind. A static QR code has no scan limit at all: scanning happens between the phone and the printed pattern with no server in between, so there is nothing to count it and nothing that could switch it off. A dynamic code does have a monthly tracked-scan allowance — 1,500 on the free plan — because every scan passes through a redirect we record. Going over it does not stop the code working: the redirect keeps resolving, we keep counting the total, and only the per-scan breakdown pauses until the 1st.

No. The content of a static code is baked into the pattern, so editing it produces a different pattern: a new code that would need reprinting. If you expect the destination to change, create a dynamic QR code instead: the printed pattern stays identical while you repoint the destination behind it whenever you need.

No, not on our servers. Static QR codes are generated entirely in your browser: the content is encoded to an image locally and never needs to be uploaded to build it. What is kept is a copy of the finished image, in your own browser’s local storage on this device, so that the History page can hand you the same file again without re-rendering it. Nothing in that list has been anywhere else, it keeps up to 100 recent items, and you can clear it at any time from the History page.

History

No, not as an in-place conversion: the two encode fundamentally different things. A printed static code cannot become editable. What you can do is create a new dynamic QR code pointing at the same destination and use it for future printing. Likewise, a dynamic code cannot be turned into a static one, though you can always create a static code containing the current destination URL directly.

A dynamic code encodes a short, permanent link like scanmeonline.com/r/Ab3kR9mZ. When someone scans it, our server answers with an instant redirect to your current destination and records an anonymous scan event for your analytics. Because the printed pattern only contains the short link, you can change the destination as often as you like without reprinting anything.

Dynamic QR Codes

Yes. That is the whole point. Open Dynamic QR Codes, edit the code, and enter the new destination URL. The printed QR code itself never changes, because it encodes the permanent short link rather than the destination. You can change the destination as many times as you like, and each change takes effect immediately for the next scan.

Immediately. Redirects are served live from the current destination stored for your code, and responses are explicitly marked as non-cacheable, so phones and networks do not hold on to an old destination. The next scan after you save goes to the new address.

Yes. Every dynamic code can be paused from the Dynamic QR Codes dashboard. While paused, scans show a branded page explaining the link is unavailable instead of redirecting. Resume it at any time and scans redirect again. Pausing is useful for time-limited campaigns or while you prepare a new destination.

No. A dynamic code has no expiry date and no cap on how many times it can be scanned — an active code keeps redirecting for as long as it exists in your workspace, and nothing about your plan or your billing ever stops it resolving. What your plan does meter is how many of those scans get recorded in detail for your analytics; going over that allowance costs you the per-scan breakdown for the rest of the month, never the redirect. You decide the rest of the lifecycle: pause it, resume it, change its destination, or retire it when you are finished with it.

Yes, and deleting archives the code. An archived code stops redirecting: anyone scanning it sees a page explaining the link has been retired (technically an HTTP 410 response). Archiving frees the slot it occupied in your plan. Its short link is reserved forever and never reassigned, so a code you printed can never suddenly point at someone else’s content. Archiving is currently permanent. There is no restore, so pause a code instead if you may need it again.

No. Short codes are randomly generated (like scanmeonline.com/r/Ab3kR9mZ) and cannot currently be chosen or branded. Random codes keep every link unguessable and permanently unique. Custom aliases and custom domains are not offered today.

Yes. Each code is independent, so you can point several codes at the same URL (one per poster location, say) and compare their scan counts in analytics to see which placement performs best. Each code still counts toward your plan limit.

Yes. Printed material is exactly what they are designed for. Since the printed pattern encodes a permanent short link, menus, flyers, packaging and signage never need reprinting when the destination changes. Style the code in the same editor as static codes, test a sample print, and you can keep updating the destination for the life of the material.

Yes, fully. Dynamic codes use the same design editor as static codes: colors, gradients, dot and eye styles, logo, frame and text. Open a code from Dynamic QR Codes and choose Customize design; the content is locked to your short link while every visual option stays available. The saved design re-renders identically whenever you download the code again, on any device.

Dynamic QR Codes

Because dynamic codes are live redirects on our domain, we require a verified email address before you can create one or change where one points. This raises the cost of abuse (such as redirecting printed codes to malicious pages) and gives every code an accountable owner. Verification is a one-time step: register, click the link in the verification email, and refresh.

They keep working. Active dynamic codes continue to redirect whether or not you sign in. Signing in is only needed to manage them (edit destinations, view analytics, pause or retire). A lapsed payment does not stop them either: a plan ending gives you 30 days before anything over the new limit is paused, and nothing is ever deleted.