Gone are the days of writing down a phone number, address, or URL. Now you can scan a QR code and go on with your day. Thankfully, you can make QR codes in Canva faster than you might think!
Have you ever seen a QR code and asked yourself, “It must have taken hours to make something so complex looking.” It’s understandable to think this at first, but after you read this tutorial, you will learn how easy it is to make a QR code in under ten minutes.
Plus, if you’re looking for a way to create dynamic QR codes in Canva, I’ll show you the best third-party app.
How To Create A QR Code In Canva
Canva is one of the best programs to use when it comes to making QR codes. Not only can you make the code fast in Canva, but you can also do a surprising amount of customization to your code.
Step 1: Create A Design Or Open A Design
To create a QR code in Canva, you first must have a project open.
Click the Create A Design button on the main page to create a new design.
Alternatively, if you have a design you’re currently working on, you can add your QR code.
Step 2: Search For The QR Code App
Once you have your design open, you need to find the QR Code app.
In the side panel to the left side of the screen, scroll down to the bottom to find Apps. Click on Apps to reveal all of the available apps that Canva provides.
You can find the QR Code app in the Popular and Create Something New sections. Both icons will open the same app. Click on either one.
Step 3: Add Your URL
When the QR app opens, you will be presented with a space to add your website address, landing page, or promotional URL.
Simply copy the required URL, then paste it inside the URL box.
Step 4: Customize The Look Of Your URL
After adding your URL, you will also be able to customize your QR code’s look. This is an optional step you can do by opening the Customize drop-down menu.
With Canva, you can easily change the color of the background and foreground elements by clicking the color pickers for the Background Color and Foreground Color. This helps if you need the QR code to match the color of the other elements on your design. You can also change the color of the design elements to match the QR code.
You can also change the size of the scannable area within the QR code with the Margin slider.
This option is not recommended in most cases. The smaller the scannable area is, the less readable the area becomes.
Customizing the look of your QR code is not required, but it can make the code stand out from other traditional QR codes.
Step 5: Add Your QR Code To Your Design
Once you’ve finalized the look of your code, click on the Generate QR Code button to add it to your project.
Once your QR code is added, you can enlarge or shrink it by clicking on it, then moving the corner handles toward or away from the center of the element.
How To Make A QR Code Clickable In Canva
There may be situations where your end user won’t be able to scan your code with their phone. To make this easier, you can make your QR code clickable.
To do this, select your QR code, then click on the Link button in the upper right-hand corner.
You will then be prompted to enter a link. Paste your link in the box. Click anywhere outside the box to close this window.
Your QR code is now both scannable and clickable.
When you’re done with your design, click Share. You will get a warning that you must export your design as a PDF for your links to work.
You can choose from two PDF types in the File Type drop-down menu:
- PDF Standard – Lower quality, but a smaller size file.
- PDF Print – Highest quality, but a much larger-sized file.
Once you make your choice, click on Download.
You will now have a PDF with a clickable QR code that you can share however you’d like.
Do Canva QR Codes Expire?
The good news is QR codes do not expire. You can make a hundred QR codes pointing to a hundred different websites, and twenty years later, each one of those QR codes will still work.
The bad news is if the website link that’s attached to that QR code is no longer live, then the QR code will send your end user to a broken link.
When it comes to standard QR codes, you will not be able to change the link to your code after you create it. To change where your QR code sends your end user, you must make a dynamic QR code.
Can You Create Dynamic QR Codes With Canva?
You can make a dynamic QR code in Canva with the help of a third-party app called QR Tiger.
You can find this app in Canva by scrolling down the left side panel and clicking on Apps. In the search bar, type in QR Tiger. Click on the yellow icon to get started.
If this is your first time using this app, you will be directed to the QR Tiger website.
You will need to register for a free QR Tiger account first. To do this, click on Register.
Follow the onscreen instructions and fill in all of your information.
Once you create your free account, click on My Account on the website’s main page.
Then, click on Settings.
You will find your API Key at the top of the settings page. Click on Copy to copy your API Key to your clipboard.
After copying your API key, go back to your Canva Account and click on the QR Tiger icon.
You will be asked to connect your account. Click on Connect to do so.
When the next window pops up, paste your API Key into the API Key box, then click Authenticate.
A message will pop up on Canva saying that it couldn’t find any QR codes that match your query, but this is normal. You need to first create your QR code on the QR Tiger website.
Go back to the QR Tiger website, and on the main page, you will see an area to create your code.
In the first box, enter the URL.
Below that box, make sure to check Dynamic QR. This will ensure you can edit the URL later if you need to.
After that, click Generate QR code.
After clicking on Generate QR code, you will have the opportunity to customize your QR Code. You can customize everything from the “eyes” of the code to the colors and patterns, and you can even add a logo to the middle of your QR code.
I’ll let you discover everything that you can customize here. One thing is for sure; you can customize your QR Code more with QR Tiger than with Canva.
When you’re finished, click Done Editing/Download.
The QR code you created will now appear in Canva under the QR Tiger tab. You can now click the code or drag it into your project.
If you don’t see your QR code right away, close down Canva and then open it up again, and it should be there.
Any QR code you make with QR Tiger will show up here automatically. This makes Canva a convenient place to keep all your QR codes together in one place where you can easily add them to your projects.
If you need to change the URL linked to the QR code, you can do so on the QR Tiger website by clicking the Edit button for the QR code you made. Just paste your new URL, and you’ll be good to go.
Can You Track QR Code Uses In Canva?
You will not be able to track QR codes that you make within Canva itself.
The best way to track your QR codes is with QR Tiger.
Once you make a dynamic QR code with QR Tiger, you can always check the number of scans it has on the website. This only works for dynamic QR codes and not static QR codes.
If you just need a general QR code for a one-and-done design, the built-in QR feature in Canva will do just the trick. However, if you want your QR codes to be operational no matter what links you’d like to add to the code in the future, then using QR Tiger with Canva will be a better option for you!
