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QR Codes

The QR Code Generator lives in the admin Tool Box (Admin → Tool Box → QR Codes). It makes downloadable QR code images for links, WiFi networks, contact cards, email, phone numbers, and text messages — for signage, flyers, business cards, table tents, and anything else customers point a phone camera at.

QR codes for a URL can optionally be made trackable: the printed code counts every scan, shows you scan analytics, and can be pointed at a new destination — or turned off — later, without reprinting anything.

The generator is admin-only, like the rest of the Tool Box.

Generate and download a QR code

From Admin → Tool Box → QR Codes:

  1. Under Content, pick a type from What do you want to encode? — Website / Link (URL), Plain text, WiFi network, Contact card (vCard), Email, Phone number, or SMS / text message.
  2. Fill in the fields for that type (see the list below).
  3. Optionally adjust the Appearance settings (size, colors, error correction, caption) or add a Center logo.
  4. Click Generate. The code appears in the preview panel on the right.
  5. Click Download PNG to save the image. The output is a PNG file; if you entered a Caption, it's used as the filename.

If you click Generate with the content fields empty, you'll see "Please fill in the content first."

Fields per content type:

  • Website / Link (URL) — URL (e.g. https://example.com). Scanning opens the link.
  • Plain text — Text. Scanning shows the text.
  • WiFi network — Network name (SSID), Password, Security (WPA/WPA2, WEP, or None), and Hidden network?. Scanning offers to join the network — great for a customer-WiFi sign.
  • Contact card (vCard) — First name, Last name, Organization, Phone, Email, Website. Scanning offers to save the contact.
  • Email — To, Subject, Body. Scanning opens a pre-filled email.
  • Phone number — Phone number. Scanning offers to dial it.
  • SMS / text message — Phone number and Message. Scanning opens a pre-filled text message.

Size, colors, error correction, and caption

The Appearance section of the QR Code Generator controls how the image looks:

  • Size (px) — image width/height in pixels (default 400, from 80 up to 2000). Use a larger size for print.
  • Margin (px) — quiet zone around the code (default 10). Keep some margin; scanners rely on it.
  • Error correction — L — Low (7%), M — Medium (15%) (the default), Q — Quartile (25%), or H — High (30%). Higher error correction survives smudges and logos but packs more dots into the code.
  • Foreground / Background — the code's colors. Keep a dark foreground on a light background for reliable scanning.
  • Caption (optional) — a line of text printed below the code (and used as the download filename).

To put your logo in the middle of a QR code, use the Center logo section of the QR Code Generator and choose a Logo image file (PNG, JPEG, GIF, or WebP). The logo is automatically sized and centered, and the code is set to high error correction so it still scans reliably. A PNG with a transparent background works best.

Always test-scan a logo'd code with a phone before sending it to print.

Make a trackable QR code

A trackable QR code doesn't encode your destination link directly — it encodes a short redirect link hosted on your VMX site. When a customer scans it, the scan is logged and they are immediately forwarded to the destination. That gives you two things a normal QR code can't do:

  • Scan analytics — how many scans, when, and from what kinds of devices.
  • Retargeting — you can change where the printed code points later, without reprinting it.

To create one, in the QR Code Generator:

  1. Choose Website / Link (URL) as the content type and enter the URL. (Trackable codes are URL-only; the option is hidden for other content types.)
  2. Check Make this a trackable code.
  3. Optionally enter a Tracking label (internal) — e.g. Spring 2026 flyer — so you can tell your codes apart later. Customers never see the label.
  4. Click Generate. A "Trackable code created" box shows the code's ID, its redirect link, and a View scan analytics → link.
  5. Click Download PNG and print as usual.

While you stay on the page, tweaking appearance settings and regenerating reuses the same trackable code — a new code is created only if you change the destination URL or the label. If you leave and come back later and generate the same URL again, that makes a fresh trackable code with its own analytics, so create a code once and download the variations you need in the same visit.

The destination must be a full web address starting with http:// or https://; otherwise you'll see "Enter a valid http(s):// URL to track."

Manage trackable codes — retarget or disable without reprinting

Open Admin → Tool Box → QR Codes, then click Manage trackable codes → (the Tool Box card also has a direct Manage trackable codes shortcut). The list shows every trackable QR code with columns Label, Code, Destination (editable), Scans, Last scan, and Enabled.

  • Change where a printed code points: edit the Destination (editable) field on its row and click Save. The button briefly shows "Saved ✓". From that moment, every scan of the already-printed code goes to the new destination — no reprint needed. This is how you reuse the same printed sign for a new promotion.
  • Disable a code: uncheck Enabled on its row. Anyone scanning the printed code then sees a simple "This QR code is no longer active." page instead of being redirected. Re-check Enabled to turn it back on at any time.
  • View analytics: click Analytics on the row.

The Scans count and Last scan date count real people only — automated link-preview and crawler hits are excluded.

QR scan analytics

Each trackable QR code has an analytics page: open Admin → Tool Box → QR Codes → Manage trackable codes → and click Analytics on the code's row (or use the View scan analytics → link shown right after creating a code). It shows:

  • Headline totals — total human scans, plus bot/preview hits (excluded). When a QR link is pasted into a messaging app or scanned by a web crawler, the automatic preview fetch registers a hit; those are detected and kept out of the human numbers so your scan counts reflect real people.
  • Scans per day (last 30 days) — a daily bar chart of human scans.
  • Device, OS, and Browser breakdowns — derived from each scanning phone's browser signature: Mobile / Tablet / Desktop, operating systems such as iOS, Android, Windows, and macOS, and browsers such as Chrome, Safari, Firefox, and Edge, each with counts and percentages.
  • Top referrers — where visitors came from, for links that were followed from a web page rather than scanned from print (direct camera scans have no referrer).
  • Recent scans — the latest 25 human scans with When, Device, OS, Browser, IP, and Referrer.

"This QR code is no longer active."

If scanning a printed QR code shows the page "This QR code is no longer active. If you reached this in error, please contact the business.", the trackable code behind it has been disabled (or the scanned link was incomplete). To bring it back: open Admin → Tool Box → QR Codes → Manage trackable codes →, find the code's row, and re-check Enabled. The printed code starts working again immediately — nothing needs to be reprinted.