Guide
A QR code for a funeral program or a memorial card
A printed program has room for a name, a photograph and an order of service. A QR code in the corner lets it carry the rest: the obituary in full, where and when people are gathering, a livestream for those who can't travel, photographs, and where the family would like donations to go. This page explains what the code can open, how to change it after the service, and a few things worth deciding before anything is printed.
What the code can open
A code opens one web address. That address can be:
- The obituary, on the funeral home's site or a newspaper's.
- The service details: each gathering, with its time and place, and a livestream address if there is one.
- A photo album the family has shared.
- A donation page, if the family prefers gifts to a charity.
If you would like all of that in one place, the code can open a single memorial page that holds it together.
Two ways to do it with us
No page yet? A $99 code and hosted page, paid once, gives you a memorial page at
an address such as helmqr.com/in-memory-of-anna: their name and years, a photograph and
up to six more, the gatherings with a livestream address, a few paragraphs about their
life, the family, and where donations should go. You fill it in yourself and can edit it
afterwards. Edit the page whenever you like. No extra charge while HelmQR operates the service.
The family already has a page? A $19 code, paid once, points at it: the funeral home's obituary, an album, a donation page. Change it whenever you like. No extra charge while HelmQR operates the service.
One payment. No monthly fee from us. It keeps working while we operate the service. Not a promise the service runs indefinitely.
See the example memorial page → · Get a code and a hosted page for $99 · Get your QR code for $19
Updating it after the service
What people need from the code changes in the days after. Before the service it is the time and the place. Afterwards it may be a word of thanks from the family, where they were laid to rest, or the photographs people shared. The printed programs don't change, and don't need to: with a $99 page you edit the page, and with a $19 code you point it at a different address. The programs already in people's hands open the new version.
Who keeps the edit link
When the code is set up, we email a private edit link to the address used at checkout. Anyone who has that link can change what the code opens, and there is no separate password. So decide early who that person is. One family member is usually enough. Forwarding the email hands over editing along with it, so send it only to someone you would trust to make changes, and ask the funeral home to return or delete it if they set the code up for you.
If the link is lost, the person whose email address was used at checkout can ask for it again.
Before you print: a short privacy check
A memorial page is public: anyone with the address can read it, and a program can travel a long way from the service. A useful rule is to put nothing on the page that you would not print in the program itself.
- No home address. Give the place of the service, not where the family lives.
- Think about dates and times. A notice that the whole family will be away from home at a stated hour tells strangers the same thing. Some families publish the service time and leave out the reception at the house.
- Ask before naming people. Check with relatives before listing them, and leave out children's full names if anyone would rather.
- Photographs of the living deserve the same question.
We don't list memorial pages anywhere and ask search engines not to index hosted pages, but an address that is printed can be shared, so treat the page as public.
Printing it
On a program or a memorial card, print the code at least 1 inch across and keep the white border around it. You get PNG, SVG and print-ready PDF files to give to the printer or the funeral home.
Every code also comes with ready-to-print signs made from it, for a table at the service or the reception: a table tent, a counter card and a window sign. The sign builder on your edit page shows how wide the code prints on each one and the distance it scans from.
Scan a printed proof with your own phone before the full run goes to print.
Stone, metal and anything outdoors
Some families want a code on a plaque, a bench or a headstone. We make the code and the page it opens; we don't make plaques, and we can't tell you how a material will weather. That is the engraver's or the monument maker's field: ask them what they recommend for the setting, how large the code needs to be to stay readable, and send them the SVG or PDF file, which are vector drawings. Then scan their finished piece before it is installed.
A code on stone opens a page on our service, on the same terms as a code on paper. One payment. No monthly fee from us. It keeps working while we operate the service. Not a promise the service runs indefinitely. That is worth weighing before a code is cut into something meant to last.
Questions
Can we change what the code opens after the programs are printed?
Yes. With a $99 page, edit the page. With a $19 code, point it at a different address. There's no extra charge for either while HelmQR operates the service.
Do people need an app to scan it?
No. A phone's own camera reads the code and opens the page in the browser.
Can the funeral home set it up for the family?
Yes. Whoever sets it up receives the edit link by email. If that is the funeral home, ask them to pass the link to the family member who will look after the page.
Is there a monthly fee?
No. It is one payment, $19 or $99.
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