How do we make a QR code for church giving that won't stop working?

Use a free static code that points at a short address on your own website, and change where that address leads instead of reprinting.

Short answerMake a static QR code, which holds the web address itself and has no account behind it to expire. Point it at a short address on your church's own website, such as example.org/give. If the giving page ever changes, change the page or redirect that address, and every bulletin, slide and pew card you have printed keeps working.

This guide is for whoever makes the QR code for the bulletin, the slides or the pew cards. It also fits a nonprofit printing a code for an event table.

What is the difference between a static and a dynamic QR code?

A static code contains your web address. A dynamic code contains someone else's web address, which then forwards the phone to yours.

With a static code, the pattern of black squares spells out the address, for example https://example.org/give/. A phone reads it and goes straight there. Nothing sits in between, so there is nothing to switch off. The code works as long as that address works. The QR format itself is free to use. Denso Wave, the company that created it, answers the question "Is there a fee for using QR Code?" with "No."

With a dynamic code, the pattern holds a short link on the QR vendor's server. When someone scans it, the vendor forwards them to your page. That lets you change the destination and count scans, which is useful. The catch is that the forwarding only runs while the vendor keeps your account active. Vendors say this in their own help pages:

Terms differ between vendors, and all three say paying again brings the codes back. Until then, a church that printed pew cards from a free trial may only find out when people say the code doesn't work. If a website asks you to sign up or start a trial before you can download a code, it is probably making a dynamic one, so read its terms first.

Where should the QR code point?

Point it at a short address on your own domain, such as example.org/give/, and never at a page you don't control. That address becomes your "dynamic" link, but you own it and nobody can switch it off.

  1. Create a WordPress page called Give with the address /give/ and put your giving form on it.
  2. Make the code from the exact address visitors end up on. Open the page in a browser and copy the address bar, including https:// and the www if your site uses it.
  3. If the destination changes later, edit the Give page, or redirect /give/ to the new place. The free Redirection plugin does this from a WordPress screen. Its listing says it has no premium version and shows more than 2 million active installations (read November 2026).
  4. Don't rename the Give page's address. WordPress keeps a record of old addresses for blog posts, but its code skips pages (it only tracks "non-hierarchical" content), so renaming /give/ to /donate/ can leave every printed code on a "Page not found" screen unless you add a redirect.
  5. Print the address under the code. The Welsh Government's QR guidance says "Using a short URL instead of or alongside a QR code may be preferable" for people who can't scan. A short address is also easy to say from the front.

One more dependency: the code only works while your domain name is renewed. If one volunteer pays for the domain on a personal card, write that down somewhere the church can find it.

How do you make a static QR code for free?

Use a tool that turns the address you type into a picture on your own computer, with no account. Each of these encodes exactly the text you give it, so the result is static.

  • Google Chrome. Open your Give page, then choose More, Cast, save, and share, Create QR code, and Download, as Chrome Help describes. Check that the address it shows is the clean one, with nothing extra after it.
  • Microsoft Word for Windows. Word has a barcode field that can draw a QR code inside your bulletin. Press Ctrl+F9 (Microsoft notes that "just typing curly brackets {} won't work"), type DisplayBarcode "https://example.org/give/" QR \q 3 between the brackets, then right-click and choose Toggle Field Codes. Microsoft says the field is supported in Word for Windows desktop. The \q 3 part, taken from Microsoft's own example, sets the error correction level (Microsoft allows 0 to 3), explained below.
  • LibreOffice (free). Choose Insert, OLE Object, QR and Barcode, per LibreOffice Help. You can pick the error correction (Low 7%, Medium 15%, Quartile 25%, High 30%) and the margin.

Donor Merchant, our free WordPress donation plugin, has no QR generator of its own. You don't need one: any of the tools above works with any giving page.

How big should the printed code be, and what makes it scan reliably?

Print it at least 2 cm (about 3/4 inch) square, black on white, with a clear margin, and test the printed proof on several phones. The basis for each point:

  • Size. The Welsh Government asks for "a minimum size of 2x2 cm, larger codes may be necessary for greater scanning distances", and at least 150x150 pixels on screens. A pew card can stay near the minimum. A poster across the room or a slide seen from the back row needs to be much bigger, so test it from where people sit.
  • A clear margin (the "quiet zone"). Denso Wave says "QR Code requires a four-module wide margin at all sides of a symbol". A module is one of the small squares. Don't let text, borders or photos crowd the code.
  • Contrast. Denso Wave's advice is "Basically, please print out your QR Codes with black on a white background", and it warns that a red code on white can't be read. Skip color tints unless you have tested them.
  • Logos in the middle. Denso Wave cautions against "deforming the code by overlaying it with an illustration." Error correction lets a damaged code still read; Denso Wave says "Level M (15%) is most frequently selected" and suggests Level Q or H for factory settings where codes "get dirty." For cards that get handled every week, a higher level is a reasonable choice.
  • Short addresses scan better. A longer address needs more squares, so at the same printed size each square is smaller. example.org/give/ beats a long link full of tracking codes.
  • Test before you print in bulk. Scan the paper proof (not the screen) with an iPhone and an Android phone, ideally an older one too, in the light of the room where it will be used.

A note on posters in public places: the FTC reports "scammers covering up QR codes on parking meters with a QR code of their own." Check any code left up in a lobby or on a door now and then. Printing your address under the code lets people see where it should go.

What does the giving page need to work well on a phone?

Anyone who scans is on a phone or tablet, so the page needs few fields, a wallet button, and a recurring option.

  • Few fields. Ask only what you need. On Donor Merchant's form the required details are first name, last name and email. Phone is optional, and extras like "in honor of" sit in a closed section the donor opens only if they want it. Turn off custom questions you don't use.
  • Apple Pay and Google Pay. Stripe describes Apple Pay as letting customers "pay with a card stored on their Apple device instead of manually entering their card details." On a website form, Stripe says "you must register all of your web domains that show" the button, including www. Donor Merchant takes card, Apple Pay and Google Pay through your own Stripe account and has a one-click domain registration on Settings > Payments > Stripe. If your giving page lives on a different subdomain, that one needs registering too. Stripe also notes that Google Pay needs HTTPS and that some browsers, including Chrome on Android, need the site's Permissions-Policy header to allow payments. If a security plugin sets that header, ask your web person to check it.
  • A recurring option. A scan on Sunday is a good moment to offer monthly giving. Donor Merchant can offer weekly, every 2 weeks, monthly, quarterly and yearly, and you choose which. Donors can cancel any recurring gift themselves in the donor portal, and Stripe donors can update their card there.
  • No caching surprises. If your site uses a page cache, read our page cache exclusions guide before you print.

Before the bulletin goes out, scan the printed code and make one small real gift from your own phone. You pay Stripe's or PayPal's normal processing fee on it, as on every gift. Donor Merchant adds no fee of its own.

Can one QR code go to a specific fund or appeal?

Yes, but give each appeal its own page. Donor Merchant's links can't pre-fill an amount or a fund: the form doesn't read settings from the web address. Instead, create a campaign for the appeal (Donor Merchant > Campaigns), put [donor_merchant campaign="N"] on its own page, and point a code at that page, for example example.org/give/roof/. Each campaign can have its own goal, suggested amounts and description, and the gifts are recorded against it. If you also use a fund dropdown, it still appears on campaign forms, starting at "Where it's needed most." See the shortcodes docs and campaigns.

Plan for the appeal ending, because printed cards outlive appeals. A campaign can have an end date. After it, the form shows "This campaign is no longer accepting donations. Thank you for your support!" That's polite, but it's a dead end for someone holding last spring's card. When an appeal finishes, either replace that page's form with your general one or redirect its address to /give/.

When is a PayPal or Venmo QR code the better choice?

If your church has no website, or you just need a code by Sunday, the payment companies' own codes work, with trade-offs.

The trade-off is that these codes point at PayPal's or Venmo's address, not yours. They keep working while that button or profile exists, but if you ever move to another tool you reprint. Your gift records also live in that account rather than on your website, so year-end giving statements are yours to assemble. If you want both, Donor Merchant can show PayPal on your own form, and Venmo for one-time gifts in US dollars, behind your own /give/ address.

Sources

Get Donor Merchant

Free from WordPress.org, with recurring giving included.

Download Donor Merchant free Or try the demo first.