QR codes with your own domain: plan a .at address for printed materials

1. Decide on the complete address before creating the code

For a QR code containing a web address, the entire URL matters, not just the domain name. https://projekt.example/karte and https://projekt.example/kontakt identify different paths under the same hostname. These are documentation examples only. Write down the actual destination for your project in full and open it in a browser. Should visitors reach a menu, registration form or contact page? Check the language of that page as well. Agreeing only the domain leaves this important destination decision unresolved. Avoid printing a code first and deciding what visitors should find afterwards; settle the public journey while changes are still straightforward.

2. Choose an address you can maintain over time

For printed materials, a durable starting address is often more useful than one that anticipates your next website rebuild. W3C guidance on stable URIs supports this principle: plan addresses you can preserve after reorganising a site. For an Austrian café, a deliberately long-lived address could lead visitors to the current menu. That is a planning example, not a ready-made feature of our domain account. Record who will maintain the address. Do not use an internal preview, a private sharing link or an address that works only in your own signed-in browser as the public destination. Test access as a visitor would experience it.

3. Separate the domain, DNS and any redirect

DNS connects a hostname to a service. It does not configure a redirect for a URL path such as /karte. If the printed address should later lead somewhere else, your web service must keep serving the original address or configure an appropriate HTTP redirect. The HTTP standard describes these responses and their destination. Ask your website contact whether your service supports this and how changes will be checked. atdomain.at does not currently sell hosting or email mailboxes and does not provide a QR generator. A registered domain name alone does not perform those tasks or keep a separate website service active.

4. Check registration and HTTPS before approving the print

If you want a new .at address, check the confirmed registration status after ordering. A search result, basket item or payment alone does not establish successful registration. Then open the exact destination using https://. The website service must recognise the address and present a suitable certificate. A working preview at a different address is insufficient. Approve the print only once the public route works. Record whether you use www rather than switching between spellings. This helps avoid unnecessary corrections to materials that have already been designed. If an order remains pending, resolve that status before treating the address as ready for distribution.

5. Test the actual print and the visible address

Do not check only the graphic inside your design application. Print a proof from the final production file and test its code using a mobile phone. Ask a second person to follow the same route without your account access. Compare the displayed web address and the page that actually opens with your plan. On the phone, check important content and every necessary control, such as a registration button. Include a readable web address beside the code as an alternative. If colours, size, material or placement change later, test the new print again. A successful proof confirms that tested version, not every subsequent variation.

6. Plan a term longer than the first campaign

Business cards, notices and packaging may still circulate after a campaign ends. Decide how long the domain and destination should remain accessible. A standard new .at domain currently costs €12.99 total price for the first year with us; renewal costs €15.99 total price per additional year. New standard .at domains also offer three years for €39.00 total price including registration and two annual renewals. This saves €5.97 against €44.97 through annual payments assuming today’s prices remain unchanged. Transfers and existing renewals are excluded. Afterwards, arrange renewal in good time at the price then offered; there is no automatic card charge.

7. Keep a short print-and-link record

Store the complete encoded address, print file, intended destination and responsible contact together. A printed code does not change its embedded address when you create a different code later. You need either replacement materials or an original address that still works. After changing a website, check printed materials already in circulation too. With our default nameservers, manage DNS in your account; custom nameservers are supported as well. Changing DNS does not replace checking the destination page. Also keep the prepaid-through date separate from the technical expiry advanced through annual renewals, so the continuing domain task remains visible alongside the website work.

• Complete URL and intended language recorded.
• Registration confirmed and public HTTPS address checked.
• Final print tested with a second person.
• Responsibility for the destination and domain renewal agreed.