What is an online sympathy card?
Looking for a unique way to express condolences? Learn about one option: online sympathy cards.
One of the simplest ways to express condolences after a person's death is to send a card. It can help people feel less alone as they grieve the person who has died. Many people still send paper cards, sometimes along with flowers or another gift.
More and more people, however, are sending online sympathy cards. These work just the same as a card. They feature a message of condolence and the names of the person or people who sent it. The only difference is that the card is sent and accessed online.
Online sympathy cards are extremely easy to create and send. They can also be signed by anyone, anywhere in the world. This makes them a popular choice for families, teams or friendship groups who live in different locations.
Another advantage of going online for your sympathy card is that you can add multiple photos, videos and even GIFs.
Some people argue that online sympathy cards are less appropriate than traditional cards. At Treasured Moments, we believe it's all a question of personal taste. Just as there's no right or wrong way to grieve, there's no right or wrong way to express sympathy.
Online sympathy cards for pet owners
Online sympathy cards can be sent to pet owners as well as to the loved ones of a person who has died. These, too, can include photos, videos, personalised messages and GIFs.
Some companies provide online sympathy cards for both situations. Others specialise in one or the other.
What should you write in an online sympathy card?
At Treasured Moments, we believe that there are no rules surrounding grief. This applies to online sympathy cards. At the end of the day, it's up to you what you write.
That said, some people find it difficult to know where to start. They worry about "getting it wrong" and striking the wrong tone. If that sounds like you, here are some things to keep in mind.
First, it's often appreciated if you personalise the card. With a traditional card, this can be done through your handwriting. With an online sympathy card, it's about the message itself.
People often offer help and support to the grieving person. Beyond that, it's your choice how much you want to celebrate the person who died and how much you want to acknowledge the death.
If you want to keep it simple, you could use a phrase like "I am so sorry for your loss" or "Thinking of you". If you want to say more, you could write about your relationship with the person who died and what you will miss about them.
One thing to remember when writing a message for an online sympathy card is that the grieving person will probably have received a lot of messages. For this reason, it can be best to keep the message on the short side. You, however, are the only person who knows what is and is not appropriate.
When should you send an online sympathy card?
As with messages, there are no rules about when to send an online sympathy card. In this, we differ from many online guides to the "etiquette" of sympathy cards. You know the person you are sending the sympathy card to. It's your call how soon after the person's death to send it.
A brief history of sympathy cards
Sympathy cards became popular at the start of the 19th century. In middle-class circles, you were expected to send a card after someone had died.
The fashion in Victorian times was to send a card with a black border. A card with a red border, by contrast, was about a business matter.
Today there are many more options available. People are encouraged to express themselves more. Online sympathy cards are a case in point, letting senders add photos, videos and other personalised materials.
Despite this change in presentation, the purpose of sympathy cards has stayed the same over the years. Perhaps the biggest change was the introduction of sympathy cards for pet owners in the 1980s.
Online sympathy cards have been around since the 1990s. However, they now offer more flexibility than ever before. They can be group-signed and sent with personalised messages, text, audio and video.
Another big change has been the introduction of online
memorial web pages. These provide a space for people to share messages, photos, videos and audio relating to the person who died.
Some companies, such as ours, also offer
funeral videography services. This means you can commission professional-quality videos for your online memorial.
Sites such as these became popular during the COVID-19 pandemic when many people were unable to attend funerals. Online memorials became a way of paying tribute in a different way. Now that the pandemic is over, the benefits of these web pages have lived on.
Are you interested in exploring the world of online memorial web pages? Let us tell you a bit more about the services we offer here at Treasured Moments.
How we can help
At Treasured Moments, we take the idea of an online sympathy card one step further. Our memorial websites can include photos, text, songs, videos and more.
We go one step further when it comes to personalisation, too. All our tributes are tailor-made by experts, who'll work closely with you to make sure we create the tribute your memories deserve. This can include a professionally produced video slideshow, complete with narration from a UK voiceover artist.
Once online, your memorial site will stay there forever. It can be shared easily with friends and loved ones via a unique QR code.
This QR code can be printed anywhere – from the order of service at the funeral to a piece of jewellery.
Our memorial web pages combine all the advantages of an online sympathy card with a new level of detail, personality and professionalism. They can provide a moving and, above all, personalised tribute to a person that will last forever.
Learn more about our
online memoriam cards today. And don't hesitate to
get in touch with our UK team if you have any questions. We're always keen to help.
*Treasured Moments tribute pages are designed to remain online in perpetuity. However, in certain circumstances, such as cessation of business and takedown requests, this may not be possible.
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