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Short links and dynamic QR codes

Create once. Share anywhere. Control what happens afterwards.

Doorbell gives you one Link with two doors: a short URL and a QR code. Print it, post it, hand it out. Then change where it goes, when it goes there and who sees what, without reprinting anything.

Free in its first version. No card, no plans, no feature gates.

Door one · scan

QR code encoding https://drbl.me/menu?s=qr

Door two · tap

drbl.me/menu

One Link

Autumn menu

Active
Destination
ferrylane.example/menu-autumn.pdf
Right now
Lunch menu, until 16:00
Rules
iPhones to the app, everyone else to the web
Version
v4 3 earlier versions

Change anything here and both doors update within seconds. The printed code never changes.

How it fits together

One link, two doors

You never manage a short link and a QR code separately. They are two interfaces to the same object, so there is one thing to edit and one place to look.

  1. 01

    The short URL

    Paste it anywhere text goes: a bio, a message, an email, a poster. Short enough to read out loud.

  2. 02

    The QR code

    Points at the same Link, with a marker so scans and taps show up separately. Export as SVG or PNG and print at any size.

  3. 03

    The Link behind both

    Destinations, rules, schedule, page and access settings live here. Edit once and both doors update within seconds.

01Change it later

Change it after it has been printed

A menu code on the table, a flyer in the window, a code on the packaging. Once the ink is dry the destination stays live, because the code points at the Link, not at the file.

Swap the destination, set a switch-over date or repeat by time of day. Every change is a version you can compare and restore.

Autumn menu
Active
drbl.me/menu
Right now →
Lunch menu
Next change →
Dinner menu · 16:00 Europe/London
Opens · 7 days →
312
last 7 days
Versions
  1. v4Dinner menu moved to the new PDF
    Current
  2. v3Schedule: breakfast, lunch and dinner by time of day
    Restore
  3. v2Lunch menu replaced
    Restore
  4. v1Created
    Restore

Restoring an earlier version creates a new one, so nothing is ever lost.

Example Link; the components are the dashboard's own.

02Pages and bundles

Several destinations behind one code

When one destination is not enough, turn the Link into a Page or a bundle: an event with a map, a menu and a booking link; a release with the App Store, Google Play and the website.

Visitors get a light, fast page in your colours. Each button is tracked on its own, so you learn which one mattered.

Preview of a bundle page titled Ferry Lane Bakery with four buttons: pre-order for Saturday, this week's menu, find the stall and say hello, plus a Made with Doorbell line.

Rendered by the same renderer visitors see, in preview mode.

03Analytics

Know what happened, not who

Opens, unique visitors, scans against taps, and where visitors came from, down to the city and never further.

Bots are counted separately and left out of your numbers, so a burst of link previews never looks like a crowd.

Opens · 7 days

1,284

+12% vs the 7 days before

Unique visitors · 7 days

906

+8% vs the 7 days before

QR share · 7 days

62%

796 QR scans

Bot requests

31

Recorded, excluded from every figure above

Sources

Where the last 1,284 opens came from

  1. QR796 · 62%
  2. Direct270 · 21%
  3. WhatsApp116 · 9%
  4. Instagram64 · 5%
  5. Other38 · 3%
Example figures in the dashboard's tiles and breakdown list.

04Everything a Link can do

One object, all the controls

A Link holds its destinations, rules, schedule, page and access settings. Pick what you need; the rest stays out of the way.

Read about each feature

05Pricing

Free, really

Doorbell is free while it is in its first version. Every feature is included, there is no plan to upgrade to and nothing is held back for a paid tier.

If pricing ever arrives, links you have already shared will keep working. That is a rule in the product, not a promise in a footer.

The pricing page, in full
  • No card
  • No plans or tiers
  • No feature gates
  • Only anti-abuse rate limits

06Trust

Private by design, for your visitors and for you

Analytics that answer “did people open it?” without building a profile of anyone. The details are in the privacy notice.

  • No tracking cookies

    A redirect sets no cookie. Visitors are counted with a key derived from their address and browser through a secret that changes every day; the raw values are never stored.

  • City, never closer

    Location stops at country, region and city. No coordinates and no map of individual people.

  • Bots kept apart

    Crawlers, link previews and scanners are recorded with a class and excluded from opens and unique visitors.

  • Raw data for 90 days

    Individual events are deleted after 90 days; only totals remain. Nothing is sold or shared with advertisers.

  • Abuse taken seriously

    Destinations can be checked against Google Safe Browsing, suspicious Links show a warning before redirecting, and anyone can report a Link from that screen.

  • Shared links never break

    Renamed addresses keep resolving, deleted ones are retired and never reused, and redirects are never cached, so a change is honoured within seconds.

07Questions

Before you print anything

The questions people ask once they realise the code will outlive the plan.

What happens to a printed QR code when I change the destination?
Nothing, and that is the point. The code encodes your short URL, never the destination, so the destination can change as often as you like and the same code keeps working.
Can I rename a short link?
Yes. The old address keeps resolving to the same Link as an alias, so anything already printed or posted does not break. Deleted Links retire their address for good; it is never given to someone else.
What counts as an open?
A request from a person that reaches a destination or a page. Refreshes count; crawlers, link previews and scanners are recorded with a class and left out. Button presses on a bundle are counted separately as clicks.
Is it really free? Where is the catch?
Doorbell is free in its first version and every feature is included. There is no plan to upgrade to and nothing held back. The only limits are the rate limits that keep abuse out. If pricing ever arrives, links you have already shared will keep working.
Do visitors need an app to scan the code?
No. Any phone camera reads it and opens the short URL in the browser. The code carries a small marker so scans and taps show up separately in analytics.
Can I use my own domain?
Not yet. Custom domains are planned for the next phase; the Link model already supports them, so nothing you set up now will need redoing.
What do visitors see if a link has expired or hit its limit?
Whatever you chose: a plain expired page, your own message, a redirect somewhere else, or a not-found response. The same choice applies when an open limit is reached.

Start with one Link. Print it with confidence.

Paste a URL, get a short link and a QR code, and keep every control for later.

Create link

No card. No plans. Sign in with Google or a magic link.