Guide

How to make a wedding website, step by step

What to put on it, when to send the link, how to set an RSVP deadline you can hold, and how to keep the details private. Most of the work is gathering information you already have.

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A sample site in the Verso art direction.

Step by step

Eight steps from a blank page to RSVPs

In roughly the order you'll do them. None of them takes long once the facts are settled.

  1. Decide what the site has to do

    If it only needs the date and an address, almost any tool works. If it should collect RSVPs, meal choices and plus-ones, pick one that handles them properly, or you'll be copying replies into a spreadsheet. Compare the options.

  2. Gather the facts first

    Date, ceremony and reception times, venue addresses, dress code, hotels, and whether kids are invited. Settle these before you write anything. They're what guests come to the site for.

  3. Pick a design that matches the invitation

    Guests see the site right after the invitation, so match its colours and type if you can. Start from a theme and adjust it. Don't spend a week here.

  4. Write the sections guests actually use

    Schedule, travel and hotels, FAQ and a registry link come first. Your story and photos are nice to have. Answer the questions you'd otherwise get by text.

  5. Add your guest list

    Import your spreadsheet and group people into parties, so a couple or a family gets one invitation and replies together.

  6. Set up the RSVP

    Decide who gets a plus-one, add your meal options, and only ask questions you'll act on, like the shuttle or which events someone will attend. Set a reply-by date. Here's how online RSVPs work.

  7. Decide how private it should be

    Choose whether anyone with the link can read it, or only guests with a code. More on that below.

  8. Publish and share the link

    Put it on the save-the-dates and the invitations. A week before the deadline, remind the people who haven't replied.

Content

What to include on a wedding website

The first five are what guests look for. The rest is up to you.

  1. Date, times and places

    With an address and a map for each venue.

  2. The schedule

    Every event, including ones only some guests are invited to. Show those only to the people they're for.

  3. The RSVP

    With a clear reply-by date and the meal options, if you're offering a choice.

  4. Travel and hotels

    Room blocks and book-by dates, the nearest airport, parking, and any shuttle.

  5. An FAQ

    Kids, plus-ones, dress code, the gap between ceremony and reception, dietary needs.

  6. Gifts

    A registry link, or a note if you'd rather have cash or an e-transfer.

  7. Your story and photos

    Optional. Guests enjoy it, but nobody needs it to show up on time.

Timing

When to launch it

A typical timeline, if your caterer wants a final count two weeks before. Your dates will move with your venue's deadlines. The RSVP deadline calculator works them out from your wedding date.
Wedding website timeline
WhenWhat to do
8 to 12 months outPublish the site with the date, the venue and hotels, RSVPs switched off. Send save-the-dates with the link.
2 to 3 months outSend invitations and open RSVPs. Go earlier if most guests have to fly or book hotels.
About 4 weeks outRemind everyone who hasn't replied.
About 3 weeks outRSVP deadline. Call or text the last few.
About 2 weeks outGive the caterer your final count and finish the seating chart.
After the weddingLeave the site up for photos and thank-yous.

RSVP deadline

Setting an RSVP deadline you can hold

The deadline isn't for the guests who reply on day one. It's for the last ten.

  1. Work back from the caterer

    Ask when they need the final count, then set your deadline a week before it. That week is for chasing people who forgot.

  2. Give guests at least three weeks

    Less than that and you'll be chasing more of them.

  3. Put the date everywhere

    On the invitation, on the site and in the reminder.

  4. Remind once, a week before

    Send it only to the people who haven't answered. It works better than a second deadline.

  5. Decide about late replies in advance

    Most couples take a late yes if the count allows. Decide before someone asks, so you're not deciding at 11 pm.

Privacy

Keeping a wedding website private

Your schedule and addresses don't need to be on an open page.

  1. Keep it out of search results

    Ask search engines not to index the site. WedKit does this for every wedding site.

  2. Require a code or a password

    A password is one word shared by everyone. A personal invitation code belongs to one guest on your list, so the site knows who's visiting and shows them their own RSVP.

  3. Show events only to the people invited

    If the rehearsal dinner is family only, tag those guests and keep it off everyone else's schedule.

  4. Think before you post the link

    If it's on Instagram, assume anyone can open it unless it needs a code. More on private wedding websites.

Free tools and related guides

Questions couples ask

How long does it take to make a wedding website?
An evening for a first version, if you have your dates, venues and hotels ready. Most couples come back to it a few times as plans firm up.
When should our wedding website go live?
In time for the save-the-dates, usually 8 to 12 months before the wedding, so the link can go on them. You can publish with RSVPs switched off and open them when the invitations go out.
Should the website go on the invitation?
Yes. Print the address, or a QR code that opens it, and keep the invitation itself short. The site holds everything that doesn't fit.
Do we have to pay for a wedding website?
No. Zola, The Knot and Joy all have free ones. Paying makes sense when you want RSVPs with meals, seating and reminders handled from the same guest list. WedKit is $49 CAD once, after a 7-day free trial.
What should go in the FAQ section?
Whatever you'd otherwise answer by text: whether kids are invited, plus-ones, dress code, parking, what happens between the ceremony and reception, dietary needs, and gifts.

Make yours with WedKit.

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