Whatever opens in a browser can sit behind a scan: one article worth a class reading, a sign-up form on a noticeboard, a shared folder for a project team, a booking page on a meeting-room door. A single QR code covers every one of those cases the same way.
Paste the URL and the code is ready, made in your browser with nothing uploaded and no account to create, so it is also the fastest way to move a link from a laptop to someone's phone: show the code on screen and let them scan it. For a code pointing at a homepage rather than one page, the website page covers that case in more detail.
Turning a URL into a QR code
Copy the link to the exact item
In a browser, copy from the address bar. In an app, use Share and then Copy link. Check that you copied the item itself, not the app's home page.
Trim what the scanner does not need
Tails such as ?utm_…, &fbclid= or &si= are added for tracking. Removing the ones you do not use makes the code less dense.
Paste it in the Link tab
https:// is added if you left it off. Only http and https links are accepted, so a link that would do nothing on a phone never reaches the code.
Scan it on a phone that is not yours
A colleague's phone is not signed in to your accounts, so it shows what a stranger will see. Then download PNG or SVG.
Links that need a second look before printing
Most links just work. These are the ones that catch people out.
Shared documents
Google Docs, Drive and OneDrive links open only for people with access. Set sharing to anyone with the link before you print.
Forms and surveys
Use the form's public link, from the Send button in Google Forms, not the editor address in your browser bar.
Temporary file transfers
Download links from file-transfer services usually expire after a few days. They should never go on paper.
Long URLs, shorteners and one code per link
The longer the URL, the more modules in the code and the bigger you must print it. Under about 80 characters this rarely matters. For longer links you can remove parameters, use a third-party shortener, or make a dynamic code, which encodes a short MakeQR link. A shortener adds a second service that can close or change its terms; if there is going to be a redirect, keep it in the same place as the code.
A QR code opens exactly one address. For several links behind one code, point it at a page that lists them. MakeQR Pro hosts a link page for this, behind a single dynamic code.
What a URL QR code contains
The URL, exactly as it will open, including path and query string. Nothing is added: no MakeQR redirect and no tracking. The code needs nothing from us after download; only the destination has to stay online.
https://greenfieldschool.org/news/2026/reading-list?ref=newsletterSizing a link code for where it is read
Scanning distance is about ten times the code's width. On a handout read at 25 cm, 2.5 cm is enough; on a noticeboard read from half a meter, 5 cm. For a projected slide, work from the back row: at 10 m the code on screen needs to be about a meter wide, which in practice means half the slide.
Print it at least 20 mm (2.0 cm) wide
Link QR code mistakes worth avoiding
Copying the edit link
An editor link to a form, doc or design opens a login or an access request for everyone but you.
A link that only works in the app
Some apps hand out links that open only for signed-in users. Open the copied link in a private browser window to be sure.
Printing a link you will replace
Next year's form will have a new address. A static code cannot follow it, so plan for a dynamic code or a reprint.
When a link code should be dynamic
If the link is permanent, such as a published article or a form you will keep open, static is fine and free forever. If it will be replaced, like an annual form, a revised document or a temporary page, make the code dynamic before printing, because a static code cannot be changed afterwards. Dynamic codes also count scans. They need a free account, and two are free forever.
How dynamic QR codes workSingle links people turn into codes
- A teacher projects a code for the reading assignment so students open it on their phones.
- A running club pins a code for its race sign-up form to the clubhouse noticeboard.
- A speaker shows a code to the slides and references on the final slide.
- An office manager puts a code for the room-booking page on each meeting-room door.