Website QR codes — Input checklist

Worked example

Enter a complete http:// or https:// address that you have opened and checked, because the QR code stores it exactly as typed.

A website QR code is only as good as the address inside it, so settle the address before touching any design option. Chatcument accepts only a complete URL that begins with http:// or https://; a bare domain such as example.com/guide is rejected with a message asking for the full address, and export stays disabled until it passes.

Take a cafe that wants a card on every table linking to its seasonal menu. The owner opens https://example.com/guide in a browser first, follows any redirect, and copies the final address from the address bar rather than from an old email. That habit catches typos, expired pages and a missing trailing path before 200 cards are printed.

Length matters because every character becomes data. A 25-character address like https://example.com/guide fits in a small code of roughly 25 to 33 modules per side depending on error correction, while the same page with a 120-character tracking tail needs a visibly denser pattern with smaller squares. If you need campaign tags, keep one or two short parameters, or put a short redirect path on your own domain.

The usual mistake is a link that works for you but not for strangers: a page behind a login, an address pointing to a draft, or a link to a shared document that is set to private. Open the address in a private window, and on mobile data as well as the office network, to see what a visitor sees.

Finally, remember that a static code cannot be edited. The address you type is printed into the pattern, so choose a stable page, not a link you expect to move next month.

https://example.com/guide

QR encoding the same URL

The URL must start with http:// or https://; the code stores the address as typed and cannot be changed after printing.