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Dynamic QR Code plugin for WordPress

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Concepts

This plugin permits to generate and manage dynamic QR codes.

The basic idea of the dynamic QR code is that you can modify what happens when users scan it without changing the information encoded inside the QR code itself: that means you don’t have to recreate, reprint and redistribute it.

Static vs dynamic

In a static QR code the information is embedded in its code, immutable. Therefore, if the information changes or becomes invalid, the QR code must be rebuilt and reprinted.

In a dynamic QR code the embedded information is simply an URL to a management system (the website where the plugin resides) that performs the intended action.

How it works

Each QR code is characterized by a specific key that the plugin uses to redirect users to the web page or the custom URL you associated with that particular key.

Once all the requested parameters for the creation of the QR code have been set, the plugin provides an URL to be inserted into the QR code image.

QR code image

The QR code image is automatically generated by the plugin, but you can use an equivalent image created by any third party tool.

The main advantages of this strategy are as follows:

  • you can change the redirect page even after you have created, printed and redistributed the QR code;
  • the plugin tracks the scans and stores them in the site database, available for statistical analysis.

Conditions

There’s a variety of conditions that can be set to change the behavior of a QR code.

Examples:

Activation time

The QR code is only active within a certain time frame, or until a date, or from a date onwards.

Day of the week

The QR code is active only on a specific day of the week.

Maximum number of scans

The QR code remains active until a maximum limit of scans by users is reached.

Multiple conditions

It's possible to define a conditional behavior by creating multiple QR codes with the same key (which therefore give rise to the same image): in this case the redirection is decided based on the valid condition (e.g. the date) or, if more conditions are simultaneously valid, with a random draw of one of them.

See the QR-Code Edit page and the Scenarios section for detailed list of conditions and implementations.

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