Editable QR Codes: An In-Depth Guide for Beginners

You probably know what QR Codes are. They are square-shaped 2D barcodes that store information. From text and alphanumeric characters to multimedia, they can store it all.

You’re probably thinking of using QR Codes in one of your campaigns. And you’ve stumbled upon the fact that QR Codes can be edited. Well, that’s right. These are called Dynamic QR Codes.

Dynamic QR Codes are not only editable but also trackable. Keep reading to know more about them.

Also read: Types of QR Code

A. What is an editable QR Code?

As mentioned earlier, an editable QR Code allows you to change the stored data anytime. And here’s how it happens—the target data is never directly stored in an editable QR Code.

It stores a short URL that actually contains the target data. Hence, there’s no limit on the amount of data that you can store in an editable QR Code.

Moreover, editable QR Codes also allow you to switch between the QR Code categories. For example, say you are using a Website URL QR Code to drive traffic to your website. And this campaign has been quite successful. So, you have decided to use this QR Code for another campaign to, say, boost app downloads.

Here, an editable QR Code will allow you to change the Website URL QR Code to App Store QR Code. That means better and wider flexibility.

In addition to this, these QR Codes also allow you to monitor their scanning activity. That means you can see details such as how many people scanned your QR Code, exactly when they did it, and where they did it from.

B. Difference between editable QR Code and static QR Code

Do you know that not all QR Codes can be edited? Well, depending upon the editability, QR Codes are of two types: Dynamic and Static.

You already know what a dynamic (editable) QR Code is. Now let’s see how a static QR Code works.

Static QR Code

As the name implies, these QR Codes are static in nature. That means, they are permanent and the data stored in them cannot be edited.

Unlike dynamic QR codes, static QR Codes store the target content directly. This limits you from adding as much data as you want. You can only store up to 7,089 characters in a static QR Code.

Also, to edit the stored data, you’ll have to create a new QR Code from the scratch. And finally, static QR Codes don’t allow you to monitor their scanning activity.

Related: Types of QR Codes

C. Benefits of using editable QR Codes

In comparison to static QR Code, editable QR Codes offers various benefits:

1. Best for long-term use: You can edit the content in an editable QR Code whenever required. without a need to create a new one

2. Track the scans, their location, and scanning devices: You can monitor the behavior of your end-users. It gives detailed insights into how your business campaign is working. Based on the scanning analytics, you can optimize your future campaigns accordingly too

3. Protects the information with a password: Editable QR Code also offers additional features such as password protection. It means when end-users scan it, they’ll have to enter the password to see the encoded details

This feature is especially useful if you want to share confidential information via QR Codes.

4. Saves time and effort: Again, you don’t need to create a new QR Code every time you wish to edit the data. You can do it in a few simple clicks

5. Go a step ahead of barcodes: Once the information is stored, it becomes fixed in barcodes. And as we’ve discussed, editable QR Codes overcome this barrier

6. Keep the QR Code clean: The static QR Code becomes dense when the encoded content increases

But a dynamic/editable QR Code stores only short URLs and doesn’t become dense irrespective of how much data you encode This also increases the scannability of your users.

Related : QR Code For Link

D. How to generate an editable QR Code?

You’ll need an advanced QR Code generator to create an editable QR Code. And here’s a list of the best QR Code generators available online. You can go through it to decide on the best one for yourself.

Using Scanova for a demo, here’s how to generate an editable QR Code:

1. Go to Scanova and select the most relevant QR Code category for your use case. For a demo, we’ll be creating a Website URL QR Code

2. Select Website URL category

3. Enter the link to be encoded and click on Continue

4. Next, on the page that loads, name your QR Code and proceed ahead

5. On the next page, you’ll see two QR Code design options. You can choose from a custom QR Code with the logo or a custom QR Code with the background

6. Once you’ve decided on design or no design (by not choosing either of the two design options), proceed to download

7. Now you’ll see a pop-up prompting you to sign-up for a free trial. Note that you won’t have to enter card details to sign-up

8. Once the sign-up is done, click Download your QR Code

9. A window will pop up. Here, specify the image format and size for the QR Code to be downloaded. Once done, click on Export

Your editable QR Code will be generated.

E. How can you edit the dynamic QR Code?

Here’s how to edit the data encoded in a QR Code using Scanova:

1. Login to your Scanova account and go to the My QR Codes section

2. Select the QR Code which you want to edit:

Name: Here, you can change the name of the QR Code

Category: Using this feature, you can switch the QR Code category—Website URL QR Code, App Deep Link, App Store, Audio, Coupon, Custom Page, Document, Event, and more

Tags: Here, you can add more tags

Below this, you will see more options such as:

Content: You can edit the content you linked to a QR Code

Advanced Settings: You can enable password protection, GPS location, and lead generation

Design: You can edit the design again the way you want to

3. Make the required changes and click Update QR Code.

You are done! Your QR Code will be updated in no time. That’s all about editable QR Codes.

You can now go-ahead to create your first editable QR Code.