In today’s world, it is nearly impossible to plan a wedding without the help of a website. Wedding websites in many ways have stolen the spotlight from planners, as every aspect of the special occasion can be carefully managed by you at any time from the comfort of your home or the palm of your hand.
Wedding websites allow you to build your own website using a predesigned template, which can be customized by color, font, and layout based on your desired theme. Once you’ve got the layout of your website down, you can match digital and print invites to your site’s theme, manage guest lists and RSVPs, create itineraries, set up a registry or cash fund, and add hotel, restaurant, or sight-seeing recommendations near your venue. While some wedding websites have a monthly or annual fee for their services, most are actually free to use.
As online wedding planning has grown in popularity over the years, so has the number of wedding websites. Whether you’re a novice that needs step-by-step help with planning, or a detail-oriented, soon-to-be newlywed, here are the best wedding websites that will help you curate a cohesive, personal, and memorable wedding experience.
Best Wedding Websites of 2023
Best Overall: Joy
Key Specs
- Price: Free
- Custom Domain? Yes ($20)
- Wedding Invites? Yes, digital and print
Pros & Cons
Pros
- Website customization includes advanced CSS coding
- RSVP tracking gives real-time updates
- Detail-oriented mobile app
Cons
- Limited template and customization options
Why It Made the List
From its selection of polished design themes to free planning tools, Joy ranked number one on this list as the best wedding website. From the beginning, Joy offers a premium website-building experience by giving you hundreds of templates to choose from, with themes that include botanical, classy, rustic, and floral. Templates are completely customizable, and if you want to add your own flair, the site’s advanced CSS customization tool is there to help you modify all your website’s details. In addition to Joy’s design options, you also have access to a helpful set of organizational services.
For starters, you can easily match save-the-dates and invites to your website theme, which is available in digital and print formats. From there, you can personalize your website with a handy Q&A/FAQ section, build a schedule for important dates, and help guests with travel accommodations. RSVP tracking automatically updates based on guest information, and guest lists can be modified at any time. In terms of gifts, Joy makes linking your registry a breeze, and you can organize your wish list items by category, like kitchen, bed & bath, home, etc. One of the stellar features of the site is the option to collaborate on design and event specifics with your partner, friend, or family member without sharing passwords.
Best for Wedding Planning: The Knot
Key Specs
- Price: Free
- Custom Domain? Yes ($20)
- Wedding Invites? Yes, digital and print
Pros & Cons
Pros
- Extensive wedding planning tools
- User-friendly vendor marketplace
- Match paper suite to website theme
Cons
- Website customization is limited on mobile app
- Not ideal for smaller-scale weddings
Why It Made the List
While The Knot has solid wedding website designs, it stands out for its noteworthy and extensive set of wedding planning tools. Like its competitors, the site allows you to customize your website from hundreds of templates to fit your specific theme and style, and a custom domain costs an additional $20. The templates, which can be matched to your paper suite, range from classic to floral and even include styles designed by Vera Wang. Website design is secondary to The Knot’s comprehensive planning tools, which include a budgeter, interactive checklist, RVSP management system, registry, and vendor marketplace.
Planning your wedding can be done on your desktop or from the convenient companion app. With the site’s budgeter, you can manage your wedding expenses and get insider tips for extra help. The interactive wedding checklist also allows you to modify and update your schedule, while the RSVP system effortlessly imports guests from your contact list or spreadsheet. Along with guest RSVPs, you can track gift purchases from your registry, and even manage communications with desired vendors through The Knot’s vendor marketplace. Given its range of services, the site’s wedding website builder is ideal for those planning a large wedding event.
Best for Matching Invitations: Minted
Key Specs
- Price: Free
- Custom Domain? Yes ($15)
- Wedding Invites? Yes, digital and print
Pros & Cons
Pros
- Build a cohesive wedding theme with matching invites
- Discounts on wedding stationery with your website
- Style quiz helps you find your perfect theme
Cons
- Extra site customization costs $15
- RSVP system not as robust as competitors
Why It Made the List
Minted is an expert in delivering quality invitations to customers ready to say “I do.” While invitations are Minted’s bread and butter, the site also has an easy-to-use wedding website builder that can match your desired theme to all of your wedding stationery like invitations, save-the-dates, and thank-you cards. The site’s designs are specifically created by independent artists, and templates are categorized by season, location themes (beach or city-specific), design themes (geometric, rustic, etc.), and even heritage. Building a website is simple with the site’s style quiz, and once you’ve found the right theme, you can get discounted matching stationery.
Along with the beautiful selection of template themes, Minted’s guest manager tool allows you to collect guest information from your contact list, emails contacts for you, and gathers address information for invitations. For $15, you can make a custom URL and add extra site pages, great for photo galleries and videos. If you need help along the way, the site offers a 30-minute complimentary appointment with a concierge or a $49 paid appointment that includes an automatic custom URL upgrade.
Best Wedding Registry: Zola.com
Key Specs
- Price: Free
- Custom Domain? Yes ($15)
- Wedding Invites? Yes, digital and print
Pros & Cons
Pros
- Registry partners with over 1,000 popular brands
- Integrate registry with your website
- Control when your registry gifts ship
Cons
- 2.5 percent fee for cash gifts
- Gifts outside Zola registry must be added manually
Why It Made the List
Zola.com originally launched as a registry site but has since grown to include services like wedding websites, invitations, and planning. The website is completely free to use but will cost you $15 for custom domains. You can start your website process by choosing from Zola.com’s many themes, which include bohemian, water, vintage, elegant, and more. Once you pick a theme, there are over 600 customizable options, like color, text, and layout, to personalize your website. From there, you can utilize the site’s many planning tools, like the guest list manager, invitation maker, and vendor marketplace to make your process a breeze.
What sets Zola.com apart from competitors, though, is its comprehensive registry. For all of your registry wants and needs, the site partners with over 1,000 brands like KitchenAid, Le Creuset, Crate & Barrel, SONOS, Lenox, YETI, and more. Creating your registry is simple and can be done right on the Zola.com website; and as you build your list of desired gifts, you also get access to exclusive Zola curated collections. The registry is user-friendly for guests as well, as the site does not link out when a product is bought. One of Zola.com’s greatest features is the option to control when you want registry gifts shipped — gifts can be shipped now, later, or even converted to credit. Though there is a 2.5 percent fee for cash gifts, guests can save 20 percent on items left on your registry after your wedding day. Plus, shipping and returns are free!
Best for RSVPs: Riley & Grey
Key Specs
- Price: $35/month or $240/year
- Custom Domain? Yes, included with paid plan
- Wedding Invites? Yes, digital and print
Pros & Cons
Pros
- Personalized, fun RSVP management system
- Guest-oriented information sections
- Mobile-friendly wedding website
Cons
- Music is not supported on site
- $35 cost to build a website
Why It Made the List
Unlike other wedding websites, Riley & Grey creates a fun, interactive way to collect guest information and manage RSVPs with its unique tracking system for $35 a month or $240 for the year. The website template designs are created by graphic designers from brands like The New York Times and Marie Claire, and can match digital and print invitations. You have the option to adjust the colors and fonts in each template, but you first have to sign up with an email to view all the designs.
Though Riley & Grey offers premium website designs, it will wow you with its guest management system. The RSVP tracking system features a Mad-Lib-style questionnaire that transforms answering necessary questions into a lighthearted, engaging activity. Guests can fill in info like name and address, then answer questions with a drop-down bar to indicate food choices, song recommendations, and plus ones. Outside of the standard RSVP questionnaire, you can customize guest access to events and add or remove questions specific to your theme, destination, or event as well. For a complete guest-oriented experience, Riley & Grey has the option to include personalized restaurant, bar, and shopping recommendations in an elegantly displayed section on your website. Plus, the site’s mobile-friendly wedding website means that no guest has to download an app to access your event information.
Best Design Options: Bliss & Bone
Key Specs
- Price: $12/month standard plan; $18/month premium plan
- Custom Domain? Yes, included in plan
- Wedding Invites? Yes, digital
Pros & Cons
Pros
- Large assortment of elegant template designs
- Option to create your own monogram and logo
- Choice to build your own website from scratch
Cons
- Limited planning tools available
- No free option
Why It Made the List
Bliss & Bone offers a luxurious website-building experience for those focused on aesthetics. The site’s $12-a-month standard plan and $18-a-month premium plan include a sleek assortment of website templates that provides you with access to thousands of design options, including a variety of colors and font choices to customize your site to your specific preferences. For the tech-savvy user, the site also gives you the choice to ditch a predesigned template and build your website from scratch. In both scenarios, you can also personalize pages and posts by adding your own photos, graphics, videos, and art. A unique feature of Bliss & Bone is its option to create your own logo or monogram, which can match your website as well as wedding products like invitations, save-the-dates, and more.
Outside of its design capabilities, the site provides a few wedding planning tools to streamline your planning experience, although they are not as comprehensive as competitors. Bliss & Bone’s RSVP tool helps you manage and track guest information, and gives you the ability to add events, meal choices and dietary requirements, custom questions, and contact forms. In addition to the RSVP management system, the site additionally offers foreign language support, password protection, and email analytics. Though the site’s services are not free, you can test the waters with a seven-day free trial.
Best for Multilingual Weddings: WedSites
Key Specs
- Price: Free; $99 standard plan; $199 pro plan
- Custom Domain? Yes, included in plan
- Wedding Invites? Yes, digital
Pros & Cons
Pros
- Translate your wedding websites into any language
- Invitation and RSVP translation available
- Comprehensive planning tools with paid options
Cons
- Small pool of design templates
- Access to planning tools limited to paid options
Why It Made the List
A wedding is an event that should be enjoyed by people across multiple countries and languages, and WedSites makes the process of building a website and creating invitations seamless for multilingual weddings. Wedsites has a lot of free offerings, like a wedding website with free hosting and access to template designs, but the site’s extensive and noteworthy features are only available with its two paid options — the $99 standard plan includes a guest list database and RSVP tracking, but the $199 pro plan has the most services.
With all tiers, you can choose from over 30 predesigned templates, which can be customized by color, font, accents, etc. Along with the design options, Wedsites’ pro plan not only offers event planning tools, which include a checklist, budget calculator, seating chart builder, and vendor payment reminders, but it also simplifies translating your website with easy navigation tools. As you build your website, you can switch its language according to the country or countries your guests are traveling from with the click of a button. The multilingual services don’t stop there; in addition to the website language switcher, you can also assign preferred languages to guests and translate digital invites and RSVPs. The best part? There is no limit to the number of languages you can translate to.
Best Online Tools: WeddingWire
Key Specs
- Price: Free
- Custom Domain? Yes ($24)
- Wedding Invites? Yes, digital and print
Pros & Cons
Pros
- Free communication, budget, and planning tools
- 100+ design templates to choose from
- Companion app convenient for event management
Cons
- Invitation design separate from website building
- Custom URL costs $24
Why It Made the List
When it comes to free wedding websites, it doesn’t get any better than WeddingWire. The site has extensive planning tools that help guide you through every step of your wedding journey. Building a website with WeddingWire is free, though you can opt to get a custom domain for $24. With over 100 custom templates to choose from, you can modify your website theme, color style, font, header and footer, and more to your liking. The site does not match your website to invites or stationary, though, but this small letdown is outshined by the number of free planning tools it offers.
If you need help with finding a vendor or managing your seating chart, WeddingWire has a tool for that too. The site’s interactive checklist tool builds a schedule for any events surrounding your wedding, which you can edit along the way. For anything involving your guests, the guest list manager imports contacts and updates RSVPs as reservations are made or canceled, and even syncs your list to a floor plan to build a seating chart. Tracking your budget is easy with the WeddingWire budgeting tool, which estimates category costs based on the budget you provide, and tracks services you’ve paid for. While you have to manually add accommodations like travel and local to-dos, WeddingWire does give you the option to unlock special hotel rates for guests.
Final Verdict
Joy stole the show as the best wedding website for its variety of design templates, customization options, and planning tools. With over 100 website templates to choose from, Joy gives users a personalized website-building experience, which is only made better by its comprehensive set of organizational services. From the detail-oriented guest management system and RSVP tracking tool to the user-friendly schedule builder and simple registry guide, Joy provides the ultimate all-in-one wedding website for soon-to-be newlyweds.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do you have to pay for a wedding website?
Depending on the site you settle on, you may or may not have to pay to make your own wedding website. Many sites have free website builders, which will typically come with free designs and templates, tools, and more. Other sites, like Riley & Grey, require a monthly or yearly payment for website-building services. Custom domains, however, will always need to be purchased even if a wedding website itself offers a free plan.
When should you set up a wedding website?
Generally speaking, it is a good idea to start setting up your wedding website at least six months before your wedding date, though some experts recommend starting as early as nine to 12 months ahead of your special day. Having your website up and running months ahead of your wedding gives your guests enough time to RSVP and plan for the event, which subsequently helps you better plan for the ceremony, reception, and everything else.
How can I make my wedding website unique?
There are endless ways to personalize your wedding website. While many websites have predesigned templates, you can go the extra mile and customize your website by changing the theme colors and fonts, adding sentimental pictures and videos, and posting a time line of your relationship journey in a heartfelt text post. For the tech-savvy soon-to-be newlyweds, some sites offer CSS customization for advanced site-building.
What is a good wedding URL?
Ideally, you want your wedding website URL to include specifics, like your and your partner’s names, a surname, both surnames, and so forth. If you or your partner have common names, the URL you want might not be available. In this case, opt for a nickname or a play on one of your names, include keywords like “wedding” with your first or last names, or add the destination of your wedding with a surname. A good rule of thumb is to keep your URL short and simple (no symbols or intentional misspellings).
When should you share your wedding website?
You should share your wedding website as soon as you have finished adding your desired information and customizing it to your liking. The sooner you can do this, the better, but it should be no later than six months before your wedding date. If you can plan ahead and share your live website nine to 12 months before you say “I do,” even better.
Can you have guests RSVP on a wedding website?
Most wedding websites offer a free RSVP management tool with your website. With this type of system, guests can send in contact information like an address, phone number, and email, as well as dietary preferences/restrictions, and names of plus ones. You can view and manage guest information, including reservation decisions, as they input these details on your site.
Methodology
To compile this list, our team carefully researched over a dozen wedding websites. The following factors were considered to find the best options on the internet:
- Price
- Planning tools
- Invitation options
- Site customization
- Custom domain availability
- Mobile app
Wedding websites that are free or charge a low service fee had a step up on competitors, but we also compared online tools (like RSVP management, budget trackers, vendor marketplaces, etc.), invitation options (digital and print), site customization, and companion mobile apps to determine which services to recommend to readers.
