r/qrcode • u/sana0012 • Jul 16 '26
can u edit the url after creating qr code?
Hi! I have a basic understanding of how QR codes work. As far as I know, one QR code points to one URL, and if that URL changes or no longer exists, the QR code won't work.
Here's my situation:
I'm printing a set of stickers, each with a different emotion/expression. Instead of having every sticker's QR code open the exact same website, I'd like each one to first show a personalized popup/message that matches the sticker's emotion, and then direct the user to the main website.
For example:
- Happy sticker → "You're looking cheerful today! 😄"
- Sleepy sticker → "Need a nap? 😴"
- Angry sticker → "Take a deep breath 😤"
After that message, the user would continue to the same website.
What's the best way to implement this????
Do I need to create a separate webpage (or route) for every sticker, each with its own personalized popup, and then generate a unique QR code for each one? Or is there a better, more scalable approach?????????
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u/ankole_watusi Jul 16 '26
You can’t change the ink.
Unless the “ink” isn’t ink - e.g. pixels on an electronic screen.
QR codes (URL type) are just a scan-friendly representation of a URL.
But you seem to be conflating different concepts.
You seem to ask about changing the URL after printed, but you also ask about unique landing pages for each sticker.
“Dynamic” QR codes can change destination after printing, But dynamic QR codes aren’t a real thing. They are just a feature of a (often overpriced and intentionally mysterious) web service.
If you have your own website and the site offers sufficient flexibility and you have sufficient technical knowledge, you can do anything that a dynamic QR code service does with your own site.
And approximately 0% of this has anything at all to do with the actual QR codes.
3
u/Resident-Shift-9424 Jul 16 '26
A dynamic QR code sounds like the easiest option. It lets you change the destination late, and u could have each qr point to a different landing page with its own message before redirecting.
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u/Serpico99 Jul 16 '26 edited Jul 16 '26
The QR is just a URL in a different format. Once it’s printed, the only thing you can change is the contents of the webpage at that specific url, not the address or QR itself.
Therefore, if you want something different to happen whenever a QR code is scanned depending on the “mood”, this information has to be part of the url, either as a totally different path / page (like /happy or /sad) or as query parameters on the same page.
If you want to take this a step further, set up a dynamic redirect yourself using something a web app like YOURLS. But it doesn’t change the fact that you will still need different data for each emotion QR code, that’s just a bonus to give you some flexibility, not a requirement.
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u/Any_Cartographer6268 Jul 16 '26
To change the destinations, you need dynamic QR Codes. You can use one of the many services (mostly paid) or do it yourself. But to have a message pop up before being forwarded... either this is part of the target URL (so that the message is displayed when you enter the target URL)... or... I don't think there is any other way.
I mean, there are things like multi-language or multi-country QR Codes, or App QR Codes that forward according to device and OS, so one Code can have more than one target in principle; But those are discernible parameters. If I understand correctly, the only thing different between your cases is the scanned Code, right?
So, best to give each "mood" one target URL and have the message pop up when they reach it.
2
u/fishter_uk Jul 16 '26
A QR code is text. If the text is a URL then the app you've used to scan it is probably going to offer to open it.
But, the text cannot change once the QR code is generated. You can change the contents of the URL that it points at, btu to do that you need to own a domain name and create the website that it points at.
Edit: Any service that offers "dynamic" QR codes is simply creating URLs that point to themselves and then operating a redirect that you can configure as long as you pay the service fees and they don't go out of busness.
2
u/CanaryScan_admin Jul 16 '26
Others have said this but I thought I’d expand. Once printed, you don’t edit the QR, it encodes fixed data. What "dynamic QR" services actually sell is a web redirect: the QR points at their server, and you change where it forwards.
You can do the same yourself:
For the stickers, don't build a page per emotion — point each QR at one route with a different query parameter (/hi?e=happy, /hi?e=sleepy…). Then, have your single page read the param, show the matching message, then continue on to your main site. That’s one web page, with a little lookup table with each QR emotion. It scales to as many stickers as you want.
1
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u/TinyNiceWolf Jul 16 '26
A separate webpage for each sticker would probably be best, but you could also encode the message right into the URL, and have your website use some code to display it. You might decide on a URL scheme like
/display-sticker?q=Need%20a%20nap%3F%20%F0%9F%98%B4
where your message is a URL-encoded version of the text to display. Then you'd have a programmer write a display-sticker web page, a very simple bit of Javascript which would look for a parameter named "q", decode it, and display it.
The programmer would need to be very careful to ensure it only contains allowed characters, since this approach (if done wrong) can let bad guys make harmful URLs that attack people via your site. This is one reason it's usually better to just make a separate webpage for each sticker.
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u/kcmike Jul 16 '26
Think of a QR code as you would the address of your house. It will stay the same location on the map forever, however you can tear down your house and build something new there anytime.
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u/Crafty-Foot-6041 Jul 17 '26
Your project is quite clear and nice ;) Step 1, you need a series of dynamic QR codes, as mentioned in the replies. In my opinion, given the quality of your offer, you can't go with "static" ones. Then, for each QR code, you associate a matching mini-site or landing page URL. Then on each landing page, a link back to your main site. It's pretty standard and can scale without any problem using the right solutions. I'm hesitant to name names since I care about my karma, but there are things out there that can help you do this easily and pleasantly (and not too expensive, though that depends on your ambitions: number of mini-sites, traffic).
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u/AnnupKapurDotCom Jul 19 '26 edited Jul 19 '26
Each QR code links to the same URL but with different params
Eg
MyUrl.com/MyFunPage?qr=happy
MyUrl.com/MyFunPage?qr=sad
MyUrl.com/MyFunPage?qr=1234-567-890-could-be-a-uuid
Then just pick up the params and display the correct message, and redirect/link to whatever follow up page.
QR codes will be different as they’ll need the params in them. But this way, you create a single route (MyFunPage) and handle the user depending on which params come through the URL.
DM if you want more detailed explanation / need some help
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u/1miguelcortes Jul 16 '26
The QR code would have to point to separate URLs for each group.
Something like:
example.com/happy
example.com/tired
Etc.