QR Memorial & Grave Marker Glossary
Clear, plain-English definitions of the terms families meet when memorializing a loved one — QR memorial plaques, grave markers, headstones, digital memorial pages and more. Each entry answers the question directly, then links to a fuller guide.
QR memorial plaque
A QR memorial plaque is a small weatherproof plate — usually 316 stainless steel — engraved with a QR code. Scanning it with any phone camera opens a digital memorial page of a loved one's photos, videos, voice and stories. It attaches to a headstone, urn, bench or keepsake and needs no app. Learn more.
Digital memorial page
A digital memorial page is a permanent online tribute to someone who died — a private page holding unlimited photos, videos, voice recordings, a life story and visitor tributes. Family can create one free, edit it anytime, and invite others to add memories. A QR plaque can link a physical grave to it. Learn more.
Grave marker
A grave marker is any object that identifies and honours a burial or resting place — a headstone, a flat plaque, a bronze tablet, or a small memorial stone. Markers range from upright monuments to flush ground-level plates. A QR grave marker adds a scannable code that opens a full digital memorial. Learn more.
Headstone vs gravestone vs tombstone
The three words mean essentially the same thing today — an upright memorial stone at a grave. "Tombstone" originally meant the stone lid of a tomb, "gravestone" the stone over a grave, and "headstone" the stone at the head of the plot. Modern usage treats them as interchangeable.
Flat grave marker
A flat grave marker (or flush marker) is a memorial plate set level with the ground rather than standing upright. Cemeteries often require flat markers for easier mowing. They are typically granite or bronze; adding a QR memorial plaque lets a flat marker link to photos, video and stories.
Bronze memorial plaque
A bronze memorial plaque is a cast metal tablet, prized for its durability and classic look, mounted on a stone base, wall, bench or niche. Bronze weathers to a soft patina over decades. A QR memorial plaque offers a lower-cost, weatherproof alternative that also opens a digital memorial when scanned. Learn more.
Lifetime hosting
Lifetime hosting means a digital memorial page stays online with no recurring fee — the memory is not held hostage behind a monthly subscription. With Scan2Remember, one plaque purchase includes free lifetime hosting of the memorial page, and families own and can export everything they upload. Learn more.
Weatherproof memorial plaque
A weatherproof memorial plaque is built to survive outdoors for decades — rain, frost, sun and salt air. Marine-grade 316 stainless steel is a common choice, rated 50+ years outdoors, making it safe to attach to a headstone or urn that lives in a cemetery or garden year-round.
Pet memorial plaque
A pet memorial plaque honours a dog, cat or other companion at their resting place or garden. A QR pet plaque scans to a free pet memorial page holding their photos, videos and the small everyday moments — the zoomies, the snoring — that made them family. Weatherproof and no app required. Learn more.
Memorial guestbook
A memorial guestbook is a place where friends and family leave messages, memories and tributes for someone who died. Online guestbooks let mourners light a virtual candle, share a story, or post a photo at any hour — turning a memorial page into a living, shared record of a life. Learn more.
AI photo animation
AI photo animation gently brings a still photograph of a loved one to subtle, respectful motion — a soft smile or turn of the head — from a single old picture. Added to a digital memorial page, it lets families see a familiar face move again without altering who they were. Learn more.
How QR memorials work
A QR memorial works in one scan: a family creates a free memorial page, orders a QR plaque, and attaches it to a headstone, urn or keepsake. Any visitor points a phone camera at the code and the memorial opens instantly in the browser — photos, video, voice and stories, with no app to install. Learn more.
Frequently asked questions
A QR code on a headstone is a small scannable plaque that, when photographed with a phone camera, opens a digital memorial page of the person's photos, videos, voice and life story. It turns a name and two dates into a full, living record anyone visiting the grave can access instantly.
A headstone is one type of grave marker — specifically an upright stone. "Grave marker" is the umbrella term for anything that identifies a resting place, including upright headstones, flat flush plaques, and bronze tablets. All can carry a QR memorial plaque that links to a digital memorial.
No. Any modern smartphone camera reads the QR code and opens the memorial page directly in the web browser — there is nothing for visitors to download or install. This matters at a graveside, where older relatives can simply point their phone and the memorial appears.
Yes. A digital memorial page is private by default; the owner chooses who can view it and who can add photos or tributes. Reputable memorial services never sell memorial data, photos or visitor information, and families can export or transfer everything they upload.
A memorial plaque made from 316 marine-grade stainless steel is rated to last 50+ years outdoors, withstanding rain, frost, sun and salt air. The digital memorial page it links to is hosted for the lifetime of the service, so the memory endures alongside the physical plaque.
Related guides
Explore in depth: QR code headstones, how QR memorials work, create a free digital memorial page, and the QR memorial plaque.