Dynamic QR Codes for Businesses in North Cyprus
Updated: 7 min readTürkçe oku
A café in Kyrenia puts a QR code on a summer promotion poster. The promotion ends, the poster stays up, and the code now leads to a page that no longer exists. A barber in Famagusta prints a thousand business cards with a QR code for WhatsApp bookings, then moves to a booking app a few months later. The problem is the same in both cases: once a QR code is printed, you can't change it.
A dynamic QR code solves that. The printed code stays the same, and you change the page it opens. This guide explains how QR codes work, how dynamic codes differ from static ones, where they help businesses in North Cyprus, and what to check before you choose one.
How a QR code works
A QR code is a pattern of black and white squares that stores a short piece of text, which for a business is usually a web address. A phone camera reads the code and offers to open the page. There's no app to download: the iPhone Camera app reads QR codes directly, and most Android phones read them with the camera or Google Lens.
The QR code was developed by the Japanese company Denso Wave, which released it in 1994. It has built-in error correction, so a code can still be read when part of it is dirty or worn. That's why it works well on tables, shop windows and packaging.
Static vs dynamic QR codes
When you paste an address into a QR generator and download the result, you get a static code unless an extra service is involved: the address is written into the pattern itself. If the address changes, you need a new code, and everything you printed is out of date.
A dynamic QR code contains a short, permanent address instead, such as hanimenu.com/q/.... Anyone who scans it lands on that short address first and is sent straight on to the page you chose. To change the destination, you edit it in your panel. The printed code never changes.
| Static QR code | Dynamic QR code | |
|---|---|---|
| What's inside the code? | The destination address itself | A short, permanent address |
| When the address changes | You reprint | You type the new address in your panel; the printed code stays |
| Scan counts | Not available | Available (totals only) |
| What does it depend on? | Nothing; the code works on its own | The service that provides the short address |
| Cost | Usually free | Usually a yearly or monthly plan |
| Best for | Wi-Fi details, an address that will never change | Promotions, bookings, listings, leaflets, packaging, shop windows |
The short address has one more advantage. The longer the address inside a QR code, the more squares the code needs, and the harder it is to read when printed small. Because the address in a dynamic code is short, the code stays simple.
Where it helps: four examples from North Cyprus
Cafés: promotions, not the menu
Picture a café in Nicosia that's popular with students. The poster in the window has a QR code. During exam week it points to a page announcing late opening hours; in summer, to a cold drinks offer; between promotions, to your Instagram. The poster stays where it is, and only the destination changes.
If your menu is on Hani Menü, the QR code on your tables already stays the same while you update prices and dishes in the panel. A dynamic QR code is for everything else: promotions, events, your Google reviews page.
Barbers and hairdressers: booking links change
A barber in Famagusta might take bookings on WhatsApp today and through a booking app next year. If the code on the business card, the mirror and the door is dynamic, it can point to the WhatsApp chat first and to the booking page later. Before a busy holiday weekend, pointing it straight at the page with free slots takes a minute. Our guide to QR code business cards covers what to put in the code on a card.
Hotels and guesthouses: room cards stay for years
A card in a hotel room in Kyrenia or Iskele may stay there for years, but what guests need changes with the season: pool and beach hours in summer, indoor facilities in winter, a programme of tours and events throughout. On check-out day, the code at reception can point to your Google reviews page. Everything stays current without reprinting a single card.
Estate agents: the sign moves to the next property
A "For sale" sign on a flat in Iskele carries a QR code that opens the listing. When the flat sells, the same sign moves to another property and the code is pointed at the new listing. If the sign can't come down straight away, point the code at your other listings, so passers-by never land on an empty page.
Leaflets, shop signs, product packaging, takeaway bags and vehicle graphics work the same way: the longer the printed material lasts, the more useful a dynamic code becomes. If you'd rather put Instagram, WhatsApp, your location and your Google reviews behind a single code, see our guide to one QR code for all your business links.
When you don't need one
- Wi-Fi codes: the network name and password are stored inside the code, not at an address. If you change the password, you reprint the card; a dynamic code doesn't change that.
- An address that will never change: if your website's home page has had the same address for years and always will, a static code is enough.
- A menu that already has a permanent address: a Hani Menü menu keeps the same QR code however often the menu changes. See our guide to QR code menus in North Cyprus.
What to check before you choose
Who controls the short address?
The short address inside a dynamic code sits on the provider's own web address (for example hanimenu.com/q/...). If the provider closes the service, or your account is closed, your printed codes are affected too. So before you print hundreds of copies, ask: what happens to my codes when my plan ends? If the answer isn't written down, find out first.
What happens when a Hani Menü plan ends
- During your plan: the code goes straight to your page.
- For 30 days after it ends: the code works exactly as before, and we remind you to renew.
- After that: the code still leads to your page, but people who scan it first see a short page showing where it goes, and tap "Devam et" (Continue). During this time you can't change where the code goes; that opens again once you renew. The short page disappears as soon as your renewal payment has been processed.
Your short address is never given to anyone else: even if you forget to renew, your code won't be pointed at another business. When your account is first opened, codes also show the same "Devam et" (Continue) page until the first payment arrives, so you can set up and test your codes in the meantime.
Safety: stickers can be stuck over codes
You can't tell where a QR code goes just by looking at it. The US Federal Trade Commission has warned that scammers stick their own codes over genuine ones and use fake pages to collect information. Scan the codes in your window and on your tables now and then, and check nothing has been stuck over them.
On Hani Menü, shortened links (such as bit.ly) aren't accepted as destinations, so people can see where a code leads. Hani Menü can also close a code that's being misused.
Test a new destination before you save it
The moment you change the destination, every printed copy goes to the new page. Open the new page on your own phone first, with Wi-Fi off, and then save it. The Hani Menü panel keeps a history of each code's destination changes.
Printing tips
- Size: a common rule of thumb is that each side of the code should be about a tenth of the scanning distance. That's 3–4 cm on a table, 10 cm on a door and 20–30 cm in a window read from the pavement.
- Contrast: a dark code on a light background. Avoid a light code on a dark background.
- Quiet zone: leave an empty margin around the code at least four times the width of its smallest square, and don't let frames or text touch it.
- Materials: matt lamination indoors; sun- and damp-resistant vinyl or acrylic outdoors.
- Say what it opens: a short line such as "Scan for this week's offer" or "Scan to book".
- Test: print one copy, scan it from the real distance with at least two different phones, then print the rest.
On Hani Menü you can download each code as a PNG, as an SVG that stays sharp at any size, or as a print-ready card PDF. Our table QR code printing guide (in Turkish) covers size, placement and materials in more detail.
Scan counts and privacy
A dynamic code also tells you how often it's scanned. Is the window poster or the leaflet doing more work? Give each one its own code and compare.
Hani Menü's scan counter records only a daily total for each code. The identity, IP address, location or device of the person scanning isn't kept with that number, and no cookies are used; the "Devam et" (Continue) page doesn't collect anything either. Automatic opens, such as WhatsApp link previews, aren't counted. If someone scans twice, it counts twice, so treat the number as a rough guide.
As with any website, the hosting server also keeps a technical record of incoming requests; we don't use these records to identify or track the people who scan your codes. The details are in our privacy policy (in Turkish).
Hani Menü QR codes
Hani Menü's QR code service is for any business, whether or not you run a restaurant. We open your account; in the panel you give each code a name and a destination, then download the files and print them. While your plan is active, you can change the destination whenever you like, and the new one works as soon as you save it. One account can hold several codes, each with its own destination and its own scan count.
Plans are yearly. Current prices for the first year, later years and each extra code (VAT not included) are on our QR code page (in Turkish), where you can also request a quote.
Frequently asked questions
Does the address inside a dynamic QR code change?
No. The code contains a short, permanent address, and you only change where that address leads. The printed code stays the same, so there's nothing to reprint.
Can I turn my existing static QR code into a dynamic one?
No. A static code has the destination written into it, and that can't be changed. To switch, you print the new dynamic code once; after that, you never need to reprint when the address changes.
Does the code stop working when my plan ends?
On Hani Menü, the code works exactly as before for 30 days after your plan ends. After that, people who scan it first see a short page with a "Devam et" (Continue) button and still reach your page; during this time you can't change the destination. Everything returns to normal as soon as your renewal payment has been processed, and your short address is never given to anyone else.
Is any information collected from people who scan the code?
No. Hani Menü's scan counter records only a daily total for each code; the identity, IP address, location or device of the person scanning isn't kept with that number, and no cookies are used. The details are in Hani Menü's privacy policy.
Where can the code point?
To any web page: your website, your Instagram profile, a PDF menu, your Google reviews page or a booking page. Shortened links (such as bit.ly) and misleading or harmful pages aren't accepted.