Guide · QR codes

    Dynamic QR codes: what they are and when to use one

    If you've ever printed a QR code, then needed to change where it goes, you already understand the problem dynamic QR codes solve.

    A shopper taps her phone to a NearField Marker on the edge of a retail display shelf

    Static vs dynamic in one paragraph

    A static QR code encodes the destination directly into the pattern. Change the destination, change the pattern. A dynamic QR code encodes a short redirect URL: the pattern points to a server you control, and the server decides where to forward each scan. The printed code never changes. The destination can change every day.

    A customer taps her phone to a NearField Marker on the front of a cafe order counter
    The same printed code on a cafe counter. What it points to changed this morning; the Marker did not.

    What you can do with dynamic that you can't with static

    • Edit the destination after printing: change menus, swap promos, fix a typo'd URL.
    • Track scans: opens, locations, repeat visitors, time of day.
    • Run campaigns: A/B test landing pages, rotate seasonal content.
    • Geo- or time-target: different content morning vs evening, or by city.
    • Add fallback content if the destination ever goes down.

    When static is still fine

    Wi-Fi credentials, permanent contact cards, plaques meant to last 30 years. Anything where the destination genuinely never changes and you don't need scan data.

    How NearField does this

    Every NearField Experience gets a short URL like getnearfield.com/e/abc123. The QR encodes that short URL. You edit the Experience in your dashboard; the next scan shows the new content. No reprint, no new code.

    When you order a physical Marker, its printed QR and its NFC chip open the same link, which forwards to whichever Experience you point the Marker at, so it works for guests who scan and guests who tap.

    Try it

    Generate a dynamic QR Experience now. Free, no card needed.

    Open the QR generatorBuild an Experience

    Ready-made Markers for this

    Pick a design, tell us where it points, and check out - no account needed to start.

    Ships in 2 business days from the US - and you can re-point any Marker later.

    QR Classic - Emerald Noir

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    QR Classic - Onyx Gold

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    QR Classic - Dusk

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    QR Classic - Midnight

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    A preloaded Marker, on us

    Hold one in your hand. The first one's on us.

    Tell us about your space and we'll preload a NearField Marker with your version and put it in the mail. No card, no call to book. The first tap does the convincing.

    • •We build a version for your space, not a generic demo.
    • •One real Marker, in the mail, on us.
    • •We reply within one business day to confirm before it ships.

    No card, no commitment. We send one preloaded Marker so you can feel the tap in your own space.