Editable QR codes with scan counts
Last updated 2026-11-02
A normal QR code holds its destination inside the image. Print it, and that destination is fixed for good. If the page moves, you reprint.
An editable code (other sites call it a dynamic code) holds a short address instead, and that address forwards to wherever you point it today. The printed image stays the same. Only the forwarding changes.
How it works here
When you tick Editable short link + scan counts on a Text/URL code, the code no longer contains your URL. It contains a short sobog.com/r/… address. Scanning it hits sobog.com, which counts the scan and sends the phone on to your URL.
What you get from that:
- Change the destination after printing. Your saved codes each have a Stats / edit page where you can change the live URL.
- Scan counts. The same page shows how many times it has been scanned and when it was last scanned. Counts are written to the database about once a minute, so a test scan can take a moment to show up.
- An end date if you want one. Pick no end date, 24 hours, or 7, 30 or 90 days.
- What happens after it ends. Give a second URL to send people to once it expires, or a short message to show instead.
- A smaller code. The short address is usually shorter than your real URL, which gives a coarser grid.
It needs a free account (Google or X) with a name and email on your profile, and it only works for Text/URL codes. Wi-Fi and contact codes are read by the phone directly and cannot go through a redirect. Tracking is free for now; paid plans may come later.
Static or editable
Editable is not automatically better. The honest trade-off:
- A static code depends on nobody. It works as long as your page does. An editable code also depends on sobog.com being up and the short link still existing.
- A static code is private. Scans of a static code never reach us. Scans of an editable one are logged; the privacy page says exactly what is kept.
- Scanners see a short link, not your domain. Careful people check where a code goes before tapping, and
sobog.com/r/…tells them less than your own address would. Is it safe to scan a QR code explains why that matters.
Use editable when the destination may change (menus, event pages, anything printed in bulk), when you want to know whether a flyer is working, or when a campaign should stop on a date. Use static for things that will not move: your home page, a Wi-Fi network, a contact card.
Before you print
- Scan the printed code once and check it lands where you expect.
- Check the scan count went up on the Stats / edit page a minute later.
- If you set an end date, decide now what people should see afterwards. A clear message beats a dead page.