The question has been popped, you’ve started flicking through magazines or Pinterest boards and you’re ready to get planning underway! Now it’s time to begin creating your wedding website! This will be an essential online resource for your guests, where they can find all of the information they need in one place.
A wedding website is a great tool to have and is recommended for any wedding. It’s easy and straightforward to set up! Follow our tips to help guide you on how to create a wedding website and what to include. You’ll find recommendations and advice to surprise your guests and to make sure that all of their questions are answered in one centralized platform. The aim is to make your site informative but also stylish and fun!
10 Tips for Creating Your Wedding Website
1. Keep it Stress-Free
Don’t feel overwhelmed! It can be a daunting task to think about creating a wedding website alongside all of the planning you already have going on, but a wedding website is much easier than you think, and there are so many templates and online tools to help you out! You can find an endless amount of templates on sites such as Squarespace, where you can create a simple yet beautiful website that has your own custom domain, galleries to chronicle your memories and examples of couples that have used the site before. The site Colorlib also offers carefully designed template packages that are easy to use. Another option is Zola, which offers a stunning range of templates to match any wedding theme and even provides matching wedding paper. The majority of these sites that provide templates will also offer free trials for you to have a look around before committing. Once you’ve got the foundations of your website, you just need to keep updating it as new information comes in. If you’re super detailed from the start, this will help you in the long run and will prevent unnecessary phone calls or messages from your guests asking for information. They should be able to find everything they need on your wedding website, keeping you stress-free!
2. Think About Your Design
To begin with think about what design will work with your wedding theme and colors, do you want something vibrant and fun? Or do you prefer a more minimal and classic aesthetic? If you’re planning a destination wedding, then your wedding website design could be inspired by your wedding location. There’s an endless amount of templates online that will match your theme. At Minted you can choose different colors and beautiful minimal themes, or there are fun templates that you can discover at Wix. Spend time looking through and selecting which ones reflect you as a couple. This will be the first impression your guests get of your special day!
3. Customization is Key
You’ll want your wedding website to align with your style, so make sure that colors and fonts match up. You can even upload your own fonts. Popular websites like Squarespace, Zola and Wix will give you step by step guides for uploading fonts to make it super easy and hassle-free. Add a personal touch to your website by including photos, these could be from holidays together, your engagement photoshoot or family reunions. These small customizations will go a long way to making your wedding website unique.
4. Include All the Essential Details
There are several pieces of information that you’ll need to include. The first basic points your guests will need are your names, contact information and wedding date. You can post this once your save-the-dates are ready, but make sure that this information is in a prominent part of your website. Then you need to add the location, including the venue address. Consider helping your guests further by including a Google Maps link. Also, add any relevant travel information such as nearby train stations, airports, taxi numbers and local points of interest.
Another essential point to add is the dress code. Your guests will need as much help as possible with this and ahead of time, so go into as much detail as you can including any colors on your no list. Also, make sure you’ve listed any events planned around the big day so that your guests are fully prepared. Give your guests a full timeline of events, so that they avoid messaging you the days leading up to the wedding.
5. Don’t Forget Your Wedding Hashtag
A recommended detail is to include your wedding hashtag on your website. Make sure to add this to the header or footer to make it as visible as possible. This way your guests can use it on the day, and you’ll be able to find everyone’s social media posts easily! You can even include a section for guests to make song suggestions. You’ll surprise them when their favorite song suddenly comes on!
6. Add Your Gift Registry
A wedding website is a perfect place to add your gift registry. You can easily add a button that links to retailers such as Amazon, Bloomingdales, Bed, Bath and Beyond or Williams Sonoma, so your guests can buy presents with a few simple clicks! In fact, most wedding website builders will have this section incorporated into their templates, to avoid you needing to get tech-savvy. It might help your guests to include a small summary, or explanation for any donations to funds such as your honeymoon or a new house. You can also add a PayPal button to make contributions secure. You just need to open a Paypal business account, set up your payment preferences, and choose whether you want to allow guests to send donations without a Paypal account.
7. Manage Your Guest List
You’ll be able to keep track of your guest list and RSVPs through your wedding website. Most websites have tools that allow you to automate lists and send out invites, so guests can RSVP by email or directly on the site. Joy offers a smart RSVP feature to track all of your guests’ responses, including multi-event RSVPs and custom RSVP questions. This is useful if you’re planning several events, such as bridal showers, wedding rehearsals or family reunions, as you can have a separate and organized list for each event.
8. Consider Your Privacy
Keep your site exclusive and avoid any wedding crashers! You can set up privacy barriers by disabling search engines from finding your wedding website. The only downside is if guests forget the URL and want to find your site quickly, they won’t be able to. But you can remedy this by making the URL as easy as possible to remember, for example just your names. You also have the option of adding a password to your website, which you can include in your save the date cards. In most cases, couples won’t need to have passwords or too much privacy, but if it’s in an exclusive location or exclusive guests are attending then you might not want the whole world wide web knowing!
9. Add an FAQ Section
Make sure that you provide answers to common topics on your wedding website. A lot of your guests might end up having similar questions, so it’s easier to have these all in one place. You don’t want to be dealing with hundreds of calls! You can also continue to add to your FAQs as more questions pop up. For example, is parking available at the venue? Are children welcome? Is the venue wheelchair accessible? Can I take photos during the ceremony? It’s also handy to add a contact number, that isn’t yours in case any questions are unanswered. This could be a relative, bridesmaid or best man.
10. Tell Your Story
Your wedding website needs to be about you and your special day. So make sure to include a section about the happy couple, it adds a sentimental touch to the website. Explain your story, how you met, and the highlights of your relationship so far. You can also add photos to complement these short texts. Don’t forget to share details about the engagement! Your guests will love to know about the cute moments you’ve shared, and get them more excited to celebrate your love! It’s also useful to include an outline of your wedding party. Introduce the main members, so people have an idea of who’s-who.
After the long-awaited day has arrived, your wedding website can still be of use to collect all of the special memories that were made and can even become a virtual log of what happened on the day. You can upload your wedding photos so that guests can click through, especially those who couldn’t attend, or you can sync your social media feeds to your website to see any extra photos that your photographer didn’t capture. Finally, consider creating a guestbook for guests to write any special notes to the couple. There are so many different ways to make sure you capture all the precious moments of your wedding day so don’t hold back!
In the meanwhile, if you’re looking for more wedding tips and guides, head over to WedBoard to check out our tips on How to Create a Wedding Budget and How Long it Takes to Plan a Destination Wedding. Happy wedding planning!
Featured image: Mara Brioni
