What is a QR code?

A QR code is a two-dimensional barcode that encodes text, which is almost always a URL. A phone camera reads the pattern and offers to open the link, so nobody has to type an address by hand. That small convenience explains why QR codes appear on restaurant tables, conference badges, product packaging, and the last slide of a talk. Anywhere a link has to jump from a physical object to someone's phone, a QR code does the job.

Shared files benefit more than you might expect. A printed wedding invitation can carry a code that opens the page you made to put the wedding details online. A poster works the same way, and when you post a PDF flyer online, the code points straight at it, so nobody squints at a long URL. NudgeHost generates a QR code for every link automatically on the free plan, where competitors typically keep it behind a paid tier. You never need a separate generator or a third-party tool that sees your URL.

The code points at your link, so it follows whatever the link does. Update the file and the code keeps working, because the URL stays the same. Set the link to expire and the code expires with it. Hosting and the QR code cost nothing, and an upgrade to Pro only comes into it for extras like custom domains for zipped sites. A code printed on paper is the quickest way to hand someone a file without asking them to type anything.