Smart links and web-to-app
What is a dynamic QR code?
Short answer
A dynamic QR code holds a short link instead of the final destination. Scanning it goes through a redirect, so you can change where it points after printing and count every scan. A static QR code holds the content itself: it never expires, but it can’t be edited or tracked.
Why teams use them
Print is expensive and campaigns change. With a dynamic code on a poster or a package, you can fix a wrong link, switch from a launch page to a sale, or send iPhones and Android phones to different stores, all without reprinting. Scan counts show which placements actually work. A static code can’t do any of that, because the destination is printed into the pattern itself.
The catch
A dynamic code depends on the service behind its short link. If that service shuts down, or the subscription ends and the provider switches off the redirect, every printed copy stops working at once.
Before printing, find out what happens to your codes if you stop paying. Appy’s links and QR codes keep working until you delete them, even after you cancel.
Related terms
- Smart link
A smart link is one link, often with a matching QR code, that checks the device tapping it and sends each person to the right place: iPhones to the App Store, Android phones to Google Play or another store, desktops to your website, and straight into the app when it’s already installed.
- UTM parameters
UTM parameters are five tags you add to a link, utm_source, utm_medium, utm_campaign, utm_term and utm_content, so analytics tools know where a visit came from. Apps add a catch: the App Store drops them, and Google Play only keeps them inside its referrer parameter.
- Bot clicks
Bot clicks are visits to a link made by software, not people: link-preview crawlers from WhatsApp, iMessage, Slack and Facebook, search engine bots, and email or security scanners that check links before delivery. They inflate click counts, so good link analytics keep them apart from real clicks.
One link for every phone
Create a free smart link and QR code that sends iPhones to the App Store, Android phones to Google Play and desktops to your website.