4 Things To Consider When Choosing Your Wedding Website

These days, a wedding website is a must-have. Not only does a wedding website make it easy to collect wedding RSVPs, but they also help you manage wedding guests too. These kinds of platforms, along with modern-day digital invitations, help your guests plan their schedules for your big day. Whether you're enlisting the help of a wedding planner or have decided to take on the task yourself, there's no denying that wedding planning can be stressful, but a centralised website can be a great way to keep everything running smoothly and moving in the right direction.

Why have a wedding website?

A wedding website is a contemporary and convenient way to manage your wedding throughout the wedding planning process, and going paperless is a little more eco-friendly than paper invitations of the past. Traditional wedding invitations can also end up being more costly than going digital and take more time to organise, ship out and collate as you wait for the RSVPs to be returned. Your guests will no doubt appreciate having access to one key place with all the information they need about the day. What’s not to love?

The main purpose of your wedding website is to share all the details of the day with guests and to collect those all-important wedding RSVPs. It's recommended to have all the essential details, such as the wedding date, wedding venue and timings, on the homepage so it's clear and concise for your wedding party to find the important information quickly and easily.

It's up to you how much additional information you want to include on your wedding website. Details such as dress code, registry information, and the wedding itinerary are also really helpful, as well as creating wedding website FAQs. The more information you provide, the fewer additional questions you'll be asked in the run-up to the big day.

Destination weddings

Wedding websites are especially useful if you're hosting a destination wedding, as they can come with additional logistics to navigate. You can share all sorts of information on your chosen location; don't forget your guests are on a mini holiday too, so they might want to explore the local area meaning any recommendations will be greatly appreciated. Having a wedding website makes it super simple to communicate details to all of your guests in one go, especially if you need to update them with extra information or any changes to the proceedings. When you're providing the ceremony and reception locations, it can be useful for guests to have access to a map so that they can easily locate wedding venues.

Destination wedding or not, some couples decide to go ‘all out’ on their wedding website and post engagement pictures that contain their love story and how they met, along with pictures of the bridal party and information about whether or not they will be using a personalised wedding hashtag. It's your call regarding what to include on your unique website, but enter all the essential information first, and the rest can come after if there's time and space!

It’s good to remember that most wedding websites are highly security conscious and will encrypt your data. You can also password-protect the site, so there’s no need to be concerned about any wedding photos or sensitive data showing up on search results! However, before choosing the right wedding website provider for you, here are our 4 top considerations to keep in mind when choosing your wedding website platform.

1. Design

It’s best to make sure your wedding website’s design aligns with the theme of your wedding. Most wedding website providers will be able to provide something that gets close to your chosen theme. You could make this happen by building the site from scratch or customising an existing template.

Building a site from zero can be a very time-consuming (and potentially frustrating) process. A simpler option would be to select an appropriate template and change the pictures, fonts and colours to fit your theme. Before committing to a provider and template, explore your options to find one close to what you’re looking for to save precious time. Need some inspiration? Get some wedding website design inspiration here.

2. Guest list manager

It can be a big logistical hassle to manage your guests, particularly if you’re planning a wedding with lots of invitees. There are many important details, such as plus ones and meal choices, to get right. Your website’s guest list manager is a feature that’s easy to overlook but is very important.

There are many potential features to consider:

• Allow guests to add a plus one and add their names
• Be able to group your guests into friend groups, households or table groups
• Track RSVPs to see who you need to follow up with easily
• Import and export attendees into a spreadsheet
• Allow guests to leave notes around topics such as food requirements or any other requests

Before your website goes live, make sure inputting data is simple and effective. Test and see how the system functions before investing too much time into trying to make it work. You may be better off switching to a different provider that better suits your needs.

If you're hosting multiple wedding events, such as a welcome dinner or rehearsal dinner, or post-wedding events, such as an after-wedding brunch, some wedding websites allow you to invite certain guests to particular events. Having this feature will make life easier when you're working out numbers and if you want to communicate details to a certain group of guests but not others.

3. RSVP experience

One of the key functions of your website is to collect wedding RSVPs, so it’s important to make sure that the process is smooth and pain-free. You don’t just want the platform to hold all the data but also be simple and easy for those using it. This is especially important for older guests who might not be so tech-savvy.

Before committing to an RSVP manager, upload a range of different types of guests. Test out the user experience for single people, those with a plus one, a family etc. Check both yes and no, and make sure that the system works smoothly in all instances.

Make sure you remember to add RSVP questions. These can be anything from asking about dietary preferences, song requests, travel plans, or their best marriage advice! These are often cute little details that can help you plan a great night and are unique to you.

4. Guest communication

As the weeks, days and even hours count down to your wedding, there will likely be some unexpected changes. These changes might affect the schedule, the menu, the venue, or anything else. One of the great things about a wedding website is how easy it becomes to communicate with your guests about these things.

Whilst your website provider may let you post updates on the page, it’s best to use a provider with built-in email communications. This way, if you need to let your guests know of any changes, they’ll get an email notification. This makes it far more likely that your guests will get your memo and know what to do instead of contacting guests individually and muddling up who knows what.

Choosing the right wedding website for you

Planning a wedding can be overwhelming, but a well-designed wedding website eases some of this stress. There’s no denying opting for a wedding website is a fantastic and modern way to manage wedding guests. It streamlines the process of collecting wedding RSVPs and can be a great hub for photos and stories after the big day.

When choosing your wedding website, make sure it has all the functionality you need. It should be easy to communicate with your guests by email and collect their RSVPs or any details you need from them. Plus, make sure your wedding website fits the design of your wedding and provides a simple, easy user experience for your guests. A wedding website is the perfect way to keep your exciting day running as smoothly as possible. Create one for free on Say I do.