Comparisons
Static vs Dynamic QR Codes
What the redirect actually buys you, measured on real encoded codes, and which payloads are worse off for it.
16 min readWedding QR code generator
RSVP codes, a map to the venue, a code per guest for the place cards. Made here for nothing, printed as a sheet at an exact size, and every one read back by a decoder first, because the reprint cost on stationery is the whole order.
Start with the size problem, because it decides the rest. A place card gives a code about 20mm, and the full Google Forms URL most couples reach for needs 22.8mm. The same form through its short link needs 16.4mm and fits.
A guest or table name on each line. Every code points at the RSVP link above, unless you paste a different link on the line.
- Codes
- 6
- Per page
- 5 x 6 = 30
- Pages
- 1
✓ 30mm clears the 16.4mm this sheet's densest code needs.
The SVG carries real millimetre units. Print at 100%, not fit to page, or the sizes above stop meaning anything.
What fits on a place card, measured
Five links couples actually encode, against four pieces of stationery. The row worth looking at twice is the Google Form. The long URL and the short one open the same form, they differ by 53 characters, and that is 6.4mm of minimum width: enough to decide whether it belongs on a place card.
| What the code points at | Chars | Needs | Place card20mm | RSVP card30mm | Invitation45mm | Welcome sign80mm |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Your wedding website, short domainThe easiest one to make fit. Buy the short domain and every piece of stationery gets easier. | 25 | 14.8mm | tight | room to spare | room to spare | room to spare |
| A wedding site on a platformThe usual shape. Still fine on an invitation, tight on a place card. | 45 | 16.4mm | tight | room to spare | room to spare | room to spare |
| A Google Form RSVPThe free RSVP route, and the longest link most couples will encode. Needs 22.8mm, which rules out a place card. | 87 | 22.8mm | too small | tight | room to spare | room to spare |
| A shortened form linkThe same form, through the short link Google gives you. 16.4mm instead of 22.8mm, for two clicks of effort. | 34 | 16.4mm | tight | room to spare | room to spare | room to spare |
| A map pin for the venueDirections on the invitation, which is the most useful wedding code and the one people forget. | 40 | 16.4mm | tight | room to spare | room to spare | room to spare |
Two ways out when something does not fit. Shorten the link, which is free and usually enough: take the forms.gle version, or buy a short wedding domain. Or print the code larger, which stationery rarely has room for. Shorten first.
Which code for which job
A wedding needs about six codes, and they are not the same code. Here is what each one should point at.
- RSVP without paying for a wedding website
A Google Form collects the replies into a spreadsheet for nothing. Take the short forms.gle link rather than the long one, because the difference decides whether it fits on the card. Google Form QR codes.
- Directions to the venue
A map link on the invitation, which saves you the questions. Short share links from the maps app encode small enough for any stationery.
- A different code per guest or per table
Paste the list, get a sheet. Per-guest RSVP links, table numbers on place cards, seating cards for the reception. bulk generation.
- Details that are not settled yet
Print the code, decide later. A dynamic code lets you repoint the destination after the invitations have gone out, which matters when the venue changes or the schedule moves. dynamic codes.
- Guest photos from the day
One code on every table pointing at a shared album, so the photos arrive without anyone collecting phone numbers. party photo codes.
- A code that matches the stationery
Colour, shaped modules, a monogram in the middle. All of it is tested against a decoder before you can download it, which matters more here than anywhere because the reprint cost is the whole print run. artistic codes.
Before you send anything to the printer
- Print at 100%. The sheet is measured in millimetres so the codes come out at the width the table promised, and fit-to-page silently undoes that.
- Pale ink on cream card is where wedding codes die. The contrast your eye forgives, a camera does not, and the download here stays locked when the decoder cannot read the result.
- Test the actual printed piece, not the screen. One card, the real stock, the real ink, scanned by a phone that is not yours.
- Print the RSVP address in small text as well. Not every guest scans, and some of them are the ones you most need a reply from.
- Order the stationery after the code passes, not before.
What QRMakery does not do
- No wedding website, no RSVP collection, no guest list. The codes point at whatever you already use, and a Google Form is free.
- No printed stationery. You get an SVG sheet with cut marks; the card stock is yours.
- No design templates for invitations. Colour, shape and a monogram in the middle are on the art generator, and everything it makes is decode-tested.
- Static codes by default, so a printed code cannot be repointed unless you encoded something you control.
Wedding QR code questions
How do I make a wedding RSVP QR code without a website?
Build the RSVP as a Google Form, take the short forms.gle link it offers rather than the long docs.google.com one, and encode that. Replies land in a spreadsheet, it costs nothing, and the short link is the difference between fitting on an RSVP card and not. The measurement on this page shows both versions against real card sizes.
How small can a QR code be on a wedding invitation?
It depends entirely on the link, and the table on this page measures it. A short wedding-website domain needs 14.8mm at error-correction Q, so it clears a 20mm place card. A full Google Forms URL needs 22.8mm, which does not fit that place card at all and is tight even on a 30mm RSVP card. Shorten the link before you shrink the code.
Can I print a sheet of place cards with different codes?
Yes. Paste one line per guest, with a name and their own link if each guest has one, and the sheet builder lays them out at an exact millimetre size with cut marks. Every code is decode-tested before it reaches the sheet, and any row that fails is listed rather than quietly printed.
What if the venue or the details change after we print?
A static code cannot be changed, so the honest options are to encode something you control, like a page on your own wedding site that you can edit, or to use a dynamic code whose destination you repoint later. Encoding the venue's own website is the version that goes wrong, because you cannot edit that.
Will a coloured or decorated code still scan?
Only if it is tested, which is why nothing here downloads until a decoder has read it back. Wedding stationery pushes codes into pale ink on cream card, which is exactly where contrast fails, and the reprint is the entire order. Keep the contrast strong, test the actual printed piece, and treat a screen preview as necessary rather than sufficient.
More for weddings and events
Invitations, RSVPs, guest photos, and scanning people in at the door.
- Guest check-inOne code per guest, scanned at the door, duplicates flagged, and the list never leaves your device.
- Wedding RSVP QR codePoint a code at your RSVP form, sized for invitation card, with the dark-stock and foil traps explained.
- Event QR codeAdds the date, time and venue to a phone calendar, with the time written as local time rather than converted.
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