Your wedding website is the perfect place to share your love story, provide information about your ceremony and reception, and announce all the details you want to share with your guests. It’s also a good way to get everyone excited for the big day!
The thought of creating a wedding website might seem daunting. There are so many things to think about: What will we put on our site? How do we create an attractive design? How can we make it easy for guests to RSVP to events?
The site should tell your story and inspire others with images that speak to who you are. Here are some tips on how to make your site the perfect place for everything from RSVPs to planning activities. It’s not as hard as you might think!
1. Choose Your Platform
The first step is to decide which platform or website builder you’ll use. There are a growing number of website builders that allow anyone to create a website without the need to do any coding. There are also a few platforms specifically for creating wedding websites.
Our favorite option is Wix. They have several beautiful templates that enable you to create a wedding website that’s sure to impress your guests. Thanks to the templates, it’s quick and easy to set up your site. You can also fully customize the site (without any coding) however you want.
Here are preview images of a few wedding website templates from Wix:
2. Set Up Your Website Early
It’s ideal to have your website set up as early as possible. If the site goes live before you mail invitations to guests, you can include the URL of your website on the paper invitation so guests will know about the website.
If your site isn’t live in time to include the URL on the invitation, spreading the word to your guests will be more difficult and the site won’t be able to serve its full purpose.
3. Consider Password Protection
A password-protected site ensures that only those who have permission will be able to see your website. Your wedding website includes some details (like the time and location of the event, and possibly your mailing for RSVPs) that you might prefer to protect.
Wix makes it easy to password protect your site (see the video below). You’ll just need to make sure to provide guests with the password by including it with the URL on the invitation.
4. Don’t Forget Any Important Details
The purpose of your website is to provide detailed information about your wedding, so don’t forget anything important! Here are some of the things you’ll want to be sure to include:
- Time and location
- Dress code
- Hotel information
- Your love story
- Registry info
- RSVP instructions
- Your contact info
- Transportation details (if applicable)
- Password to your website (if applicable)
5. Add Quality Photos
While the design and layout of your site will certainly contribute to the overall look, the photos of you and your fiancé are equally important. To get the best results, hire a professional photographer for an engagement photo session. You can use the photos for your website, save the date cards, invitations, and your wedding album.
6. Provide Detailed Travel Information
It’s likely that many of your guests will be traveling from out of the area to attend your wedding. Be sure to include any information that might be needed, like directions to the ceremony, directions to the reception (if it’s not at the same location), and directions to the hotel.
If some guests will be flying, it will be helpful to include details like the nearest airport and the amount of time it will take to drive from the airport to the hotel.
7. Offer Online and Offline RSVP Options
Digital RSVPs can be easy and convenient for you and the guest, so it’s a good idea to offer this option. However, some guests will prefer the more traditional approach of mailing in the RSVP. Older guests may not feel comfortable using an online RSVP system, may not understand how it works, or may not have internet access. It’s best to offer both options so your guests can use whichever approach they prefer.
8. Layout the Timeline of Events
Use your wedding website to show how the events of the day or weekend will be scheduled. For example, include times and locations for things like the ceremony, cocktail hour, reception, and after-party.
Generally, it’s best not to include details on invite-only events that will be limited to smaller groups of people, like the rehearsal dinner or a family breakfast. Including details about these events may be inconsiderate to those who are not invited or included.
9. Suggest Local Activities
Since many of your guests will be coming in from out of town, it may be helpful for them if you suggest some things to do in the local area during their visit. This could include things like shopping, restaurants, museums, outdoor activities, or whatever local attractions you think your friends and family might enjoy.
10. Include Registry Details
It’s generally not considered good etiquette to include your wedding registry details on the invitation, but the wedding website is an ideal place to provide these details. You can also link to the websites of any stores where you’re registered, making it easy for guests to access.
11. Create a Frequently Asked Questions Page
You may want to create a page on your website to provide answers to common questions people ask, or questions that you anticipate guests will have (see a list of FAQs). Providing answers on the website will help guests and it will also save some of your time since you won’t need to answer each person that has the same question.
12. Keep it Concise
We’ve covered a lot of details and information that can be included on your wedding website, but be sure to keep it as concise as possible. Guests want to come to your site to get the information they need and see a few pretty pictures, but they don’t want to spend hours on the site. Keep it short and to the point.
Final Thoughts
It’s definitely a good idea to create your own wedding website and use that as your primary source for information about your upcoming nuptials. If you’re in the early stages of planning, then we’ll recommend going the DIY route and creating your own personalized website.
