If you are planning to generate Dynamic QR Codes using Scanova, but do not want your end-users to see any Scanova branding in the URLs (e.g., regular Scanova Dynamic QR Codes are encoded with short URLs of the format https://scnv.io/ABCD), then you can use a feature called 'Custom Domain' or 'Custom Short URL'.
Using this feature, your QR Codes will be encoded with say https://qr.mywebsite.com/ABCD instead of https://scnv.io/ABCD. However, you will still be able to use the dynamic features of Scanova such as scan tracking and editing QR Code content.
Note that this feature is only available to Pro and Enterprise users. See Plans & Pricing.
Here is how to setup and use this feature:
A. Why you need custom short URLs and the necessity of a sub-domain
- The URL that you want your target audience to eventually see is called 'Target URL'. The Target URL can be any URL. For example, your website, a promotional webpage, a social media page, etc.
- Using Scanova QR Code Generator, there are two ways you can link the Target URL with a QR Code. This can be done via:
- Static QR Code
- Dynamic QR Code
- Static QR Codes are basic QR Codes where the Target URL is encoded into the QR Code. This means that the URL is hard-coded and cannot be updated. This makes a Static QR Code permanent in nature and has very limited functionality
- In Dynamic QR Codes, a short URL is encoded (called the 'Redirecting URL'), which then redirects to the Target URL. When people scan a Dynamic QR Code, the first thing they will see is the 'Redirecting URL'. This will run in a mobile browser and then redirect to the specified Target URL. This allows Dynamic QR Codes to have additional functionality such as content editability and scan tracking
- By default, Redirecting URLs are of the following format "https://scnv.io/AbCd", where AbCd is a hash unique to each Dynamic QR Code
- Many Scanova QR Code Generator users prefer to have their own branding for everything, including Redirecting URLs. Using the 'Custom Domain' feature it is possible to customize the Redirecting URL
- For this, it is suggested that you first set up a sub-domain ("eg. https://qr.mywebsite.com") in your DNS via a CNAME record that points to scnv.io. This allows you to mask Scanova Redirecting URLs with your own sub-domain URLs (e.g. https://qr.mywebsite.com/AbCd) even though all traffic will still go via Scanova servers
- A sub-domain is suggested so that your root domain (https://mywebsite.com) and all its URLs remain unaffected. This is because the sub-domain will point to scnv.io, which means that the sub-domain will simply be an 'alias' of scnv.io and all incoming traffic via QR Codes will be served via scnv.io servers. You would not want this to happen with your root domain.
B. Create a sub-domain that points to scnv.io
- Go to your domain hosting service provider (GoDaddy, Digital Ocean, AWS, Plesk, etc.)
- Choose the domain of your choice (the URLs in the QR Codes will be of this domain)
- Go to DNS Settings on the chosen domain
- Create a new CNAME record with the following values:
- Sub-domain/ Hostname: qr or scan or any short name of your choice (Note that some DNS settings may require you to enter a complete sub-domain e.g.,qr.mywebsite.com)
- Alias /Canonical: scnv.io(this temporarily gives Scanova control over the sub-domain to allow you to use Scanova’s advanced features)
- TTL value can be specified to 43200
- The above step will create a new sub-domain owned by you, pointing towards Scanova’s domain scnv.io
C. Add the new sub-domain to Scanova Pro account
- Login to your Pro account
- Go to Dashboard > Settings > Custom Domain
- Click on ‘Get Started’ and enter the new sub-domain created in Step B
- Once you add the domain, the tool will verify if the sub-domain points to scnv.io. Note that sometimes it will take up to 24 hours before our system can recognize the changes on your subdomain
- Add the TXT Record (mentioned in the instructions box) to verify domain ownership. Add @ in host/name/hostname field
- Click on Done. If you receive a message ‘Verified Successfully’, then setup is complete
D. Generate Dynamic QR Code using Custom Domain feature
- Go to QR Code Generator and create a new QR Code
- In the Create QR Code window, select the Customize Short URL option under Advanced Settings
- In the domain part of the URL, you will see a dropdown menu that will now allow you to select your custom sub-domain
- The QR Code you generate using this sub-domain will have no Scanova branding (scnv.io URL)
If you have more than 1 Custom domain in your account, and you wish to make one of them default so that all the QR Codes that you Generate using the Custom domain feature have that domain in their short URL. Then you can do so by going to Settings > Custom Domain > Toggle the button on the 'Set Default' column. You can also change it anytime and set any other available domain as default.
If you have completed all the steps above and still are facing issues in setup, please reach out to us at support@scanova.io.