So much has changed technology-wise over the past few years that it can be hard for wedding websites to keep up! But some new and not-so-new wedding websites have launched and re-launched with some great designs and tools that are way cooler than we could have ever imagined. And while we’re pretty sure we’ll see more and more wedding websites and technologies arrive in the very near future to make not only planning your wedding easier but make the experience fun for guests, we wanted to review what’s currently available so you can pick the best, cheapest, and easiest-to-use wedding website out there.
What Do You Need a Wedding Website For?
Wedding websites are the best way to keep guests informed of all your wedding details. While that used to be what wedding invitations were for, to be honest those have really just become a formality. Don’t get us wrong, we still love invites. But most wedding guests aren’t using them for information anymore. And this is where your wedding website comes in!
When looking for a wedding website, there are a few key items you want to make sure yours has:
Easy to navigate:
When a guest goes to your site, it should be clear WHERE they should go on it. A menu with tabs you can create for your Hotels, Ceremony + Reception, Our Love Story (aka the story of how you two met), Registry, and RSVP will help guests get the information they need for your wedding and the events surrounding it. And speaking of easy, make sure you’re able to get an easy-to-remember url if you can. If a website offers a short and sweet domain name, that’s what you want.
Online RSVP:
While you’ve no doubt spent at least an hour putting stamps on those tiny RSVP reply cards, having an online option means guests can choose which method they prefer. Alternatively you could opt for online-only RSVP, and just send reply cards to your older relatives who might not be as computer-savvy as others.
Guest List Manager:
Wedding websites have thought of practically everything, including ways to make managing your guest list feel less like getting your hair pulled out strand-by-strand. Most of our choices below have great management tools (though some are definitely better than others).
The Best Wedding Websites We’ve Tried
While we sampled and reviewed dozens of wedding websites, only five (YES, 5!!) made our list of favorites. That seems like a really low number to us, but there were only five that we felt offered the best of design, functionality, and pricing. While we’re talking about pricing…there used to be a few sites we liked that charged a monthly fee (like Appy Couple), with so many great free options out there it doesn’t really make sense to pay anymore.That’s not to say you shouldn’t check out the other wedding websites we’ve reviewed over the years (also listed below), it’s just we felt like there was some work that needed to be done (either design or price-wise) before we could truly recommend them! Without further ado, below are the wedding websites that we think are the best options out there today.
TIP: Once you’ve set up your wedding website, make sure you stay on track with our SUPER helpful Wedding Checklist.
1. Joy
Price: Free
Features: Joy wedding websites feature a sleek design, highly-functional interface, and accompanying app that will make managing your guest list waaaay easier.
- 100+ themes to choose from that you can also coordinate with environmentally-friendly Paperlust and Paperculture Save the Dates and wedding invites
- Use it to stream virtual wedding events
- Allows multiple admins
- Digital RSVPs
- Global guest list tool allows you to manage and tag guests (including +1’s) all in one place. (You can also import your any guest list spreadsheets, too).
- Tags make it easy to filter by groups such as where you know them from (“high school friends”), dating status (“single”), or whether they’re bringing kids.
- See which guests have opened their invites. Plus, ask guests everything from their meal choices to their travel plans
- Notify guests of upcoming events or changes, and message them directly from your guest list. You can even send them digital Save the Dates and invites
- Collect guest photos and showcase them in live slideshows (and decide if you want guests to be able to share them on Facebook and Instagram)
- Create or link your wedding registries, including retailers and cash funds
- Share your love story and introduce your wedding party with photos and bios
- Guests can book travel directly via your wedding website
- Password protect your entire site and specific pages (like one for your bachelorette party) that only guests invited to that particular event can see
Woman Getting Married Says: Joy might be a relative newcomer on this list, but they have quickly become a favorite. First, you can’t beat the price (it’s free), and two, their site design and functionality is simple, easy for you and guests to use, and feels fresh and modern. I also really like that Joy is constantly working on new tools and functionality, and is looking for ways to help couples create a wedding website that works for them with all the features they’re looking for. If Apple had a wedding website builder, this would be it.
2. Minted
Price: Free. You can also select a premium wedding website upgrade for $15 that lets you pick a custom url and add a photo gallery.
Features: With gorgeous designs from their collective of independent artists, you can create a wedding website that feels bespoke yet still manages to be easy-to-use for both you and guests.
- Hundreds of website designs with matching stationery options from your invites to your menus.
- A simple dashboard that guides you through the website creation process, with a live preview of any changes you make.
- Add pages for multiple events (such as your Bridal Shower, Rehearsal Dinner, etc.) and assign guests to each.
- Create custom RSVP questions for every event (like whether they want chicken or fish).
- Universal Guest List will help collect addresses with matching Digital Address Cards. Plus, Minted will track RSVPs and then address your wedding envelopes for free. (We’re obsessed with their font options for this, BTW.) Bonus? You’ll now have those addresses ready for Minted holiday cards later on.
- Option to work with your own Minted designer on a completely custom design. (The current price is $270 and includes an upgrade to a Premium website.)
Woman Getting Married Says: Minted is the most popular choice for wedding invitations, so it makes sense to take advantage of their artist-designed wedding websites and easily match all of your wedding products. If you don’t need a ton of wedding planning tools (like checklists, etc.) and wedding invites are your main focus, this might be your best, easiest option.
3. Zola
Price: Free. If you want a custom domain you can add one starting at $14.95.
Features: Zola’s free wedding websites offer pretty much every tool under the sun, including tons of designs, integration with their wedding registry, one of the best guest list managers we’ve seen, and a wedding checklist tool that will basically plan your wedding for you. It will also:
- Collect addresses by sending guests e-mail and track RSVPs in real-time
- Format addresses for printed save the dates and invitations
- Manage plus ones and meal preferences
- Integrate your Zola wedding registry and any other stores you might be registered at
- Change your wedding website design at any time and re-order your pages including your Home, Schedule, Travel, Registry, Wedding Party, Photos, Things to Do, FAQs, RSVP
- Enter your wedding date and their free checklist tool will create due dates (they’ll also incorporate any cultural or religious traditions)
- Password protected site
- Wedding website and registry apps
Woman Getting Married Says: One thing we REALLY love about using a Zola wedding website is that you can seamlessly connect your Zola wedding registry to your site, meaning guests never have to be directed off of it. That’s a huge bonus IMO. Other than that we found the interface super easy to use and overall we liked the designs, though we do wish they would offer a broader selection when it comes to layout. All in all this definitely tops our list!
4. The Knot
Price: Free. If you want a custom domain name it’s 19.99/year.
Features: There are a ton of great-looking themes to choose from (which you can change at any time), and you can organize your guest lists, add addresses, as well as track invites and RSVPs for multiple events. While they give you suggested pages and sections to use, you can also create as many unique website pages you want in addition to these features on your Knot wedding website:
- Choose from multiple themes and colors
- Synced registry options that allow you to add anything from a honeymoon fund to department store
- See which hotels offer discounted room blocks near your venue right on your website dashboard
- Guest list manager that allows you to add guests to multiple events, assign a household, and help you collect guest addresses via a secure url you can e-mail them
- A combined wedding checklist and budget tool that helps you stay on track
- Create a photo album, share a Facebook album, or enter your wedding hashtag and pull in Instagram photos from guests
- Import your guest list or add it manually to the ‘Guest List’ section
Woman Getting Married Says: This free wedding website has improved SO much since we last reviewed it that it’s nearly perfect. Some of the features feel a bit sales-y and clunky to me still (I actually think they’ve put TOO much stuff on the dashboard area), BUT this has definitely become a great option on our list. And the Instagram hashtag album is pretty awesome.
5. Wedding Wire
Price: Free. Plus the option to add a custom domain for $24/year.
Features:
- Choose from over 30 designs and customize your page layouts and colors
- Digital RSVPs
- Preview the way your wedding website will look across all devices (desktop, phone)
- Add fun survey and quizzes
- Out-of-town guests can browse nearby hotels or add Airbnb options all within your personal website
- Connect with various online wedding registries
Woman Getting Married Says: This is another wedding website tool that has gotten so much better since we last did our update. You can do pretty much everything you need to do along with other cool planning features such as adding maps for each event location, or the ability for guests to message you directly with any questions. You can even download your website to keep forever if you opt for the premium package. While I think they’re definitely worth checking out, I found myself wishing for a few more features like the other options on this list have. But if you’re looking for something a bit more simple, this could be a good in-between choice.
Looking for free options? Here’s a look at our Top 5 Free Wedding Websites!
Wedding websites that have come off our list since the update…
Our reviews for these websites, below, are still here so you can see what they offer, but given the launch of several sites above as well as the updates and improvements on the others, I no longer think they stand out as a top choice.
Appy Couple
Price: $49 for the Boutique Collection; $149 for the Luxury Collection. You can use both of these for an unlimited amount of time.
Features: Appy Couple has always stood out as the wedding website with the most interactive features and best designs, and recent updates have made their websites and apps even better. Their wedding website includes:
- Personalized wedding app that guests can use to RSVP (they can do it on your wedding website of course, too).
- Guest list management
- Get real-time alerts when guests RSVP
- Guests can take photos from the app and they automatically go to your gallery (the app is free for guests to download)
- Travel concierge widget that allows guests to book discounted rates on hotel rooms and other services on your site
- Instant messaging and e-mail communication with guests
- Send out digital Save the Dates, Invites, and Thank-You’s coordinated to your theme.
- Match your website theme to invitations available at retailers like Katie Fischer Design, Citrus Press, and Real Simple.
- Only invite certain guests to specific events (like the Rehearsal Dinner)
Woman Getting Married Says: You get an amazing slew of features as well as designs, and their one-time pricing model means you only have to pay once (vs. an annual fee). I don’t know how often guests are going to download and use the app, but the fact that it’s an option is nice. I would get this just so guests have a way to share their photos without tagging you on Facebook or Instagram! While this used to be our #1 pick, other websites are catching up with the features they offer so the fee does take it down a notch. (Though we DO still really love the designs and innovative widgets. If you have the budget we say go for it!).
eWedding.com
Price: Free or premium version for $9/month; Premium plus for $27
Features: The “Freemium” version gives you access to their website builder, standard themes, 10 free text notifications, and a basic Instagram integration. The premium version is $9/month and in addition to the features below you get to add your own custom domain name (like LindsayandCoryGetMarried.com), an advanced RSVP texting, a site without ads, and unlimited photos. The premium includes advanced features such as white labeling and email forwarding.
Woman Getting Married Says:
They don’t have a TON of themes (which they admit), but they have a well-designed crop to choose from. I think the Avery one is clean and laid out well so your family and friendly will be able to find out the information they need easily. While their website builder is not the most modern looking, they actually have a good selection of helpful tools (like a seating chart, task list, and budget spreadsheet). I also really like that they let you add music. Believe it or not I kind of miss using MySpace and being able to pick out a song for your page…it’s fun to be able to choose a song that kicks off your wedding day early! By the way we used Wreckless Eric’s “Whole Wide World” on our wedding website, and then again as our recessional song. I heart this song so much.
Other wedding websites that didn’t make the list:
While a lot of these have beautiful designs and functionality, in my opinion they either offer too much, too little, are too pricey, or the above options simply have them beat.
Riley & Grey: Pretty? Yes. But at $35/month or $240 year you’re much better going with one of the free options above.
Wedding Window: I actually used this for our wedding website 10 years ago and liked it…but I feel like a lot of their themes/formats haven’t changed all that much since then! The free version features 13 website pages and limited access to themes, but you have to upgrade for other items. A premium version will get you online guest RSVPs, e-mail blasts, and more themes and pages for $14.95/month or $79/year. Custom domains will still cost you $19.95/year.
Wedding Woo: While I like the concept of Wedding Woo, I found the backend to be a bit clunky when it was time for me to customize the look and feel of my sample wedding website. They do offer some cool features though, such as online RSVP’s and a Soundcloud widget to play music. However, it’s not cheap. Pricing is $49 for one year of $69 for two years.
Still can’t find a wedding website you love and want to do it yourself? These wedding website builders are also worth checking out:
YOU MIGHT ALSO LIKE: 30 Unique Wedding Favors Guests Will Actually Appreciate.
Amazing work done.
Using Wedding Wire’s website builder makes me want to elope.
Amazing post
Nice list. Good job!
Another one we have been seeing more lately has to do with the honeymoon and gift registry. http://www.wanderable.com
Very informative article! As a photographer, I’ll also like to suggest Pixpa as one of possible addition. it’s a super easy platform to create a wedding website, having features like client proofing and e-commerce store.
Thanks
Your site is great!
This is an awesome list! Thanks so much.
I just wanted to add another site here: http://unveilevents.com/ is fun and easy to use, plus you can upload files and take notes on it. It’s totally free to use too! Super helpful for planning my wedding.
Great blog, nicely put together & breaks down all really well! I wish I came across this blog before I put together my website as it would have saved me tons of time researching! 🙂 After reviewing all we ended up going with http://www.weddingpixie.com as they were easy to set up a website with. Found a lot were overly complicated while theirs took just a few minutes to set up…happy days!
We used the website OurBigDayInfo Wedding Sites. It should really make this list by the way! One of their things we really liked was their ‘RSVP Reports’ feature. Every week you receive (to your email) a spreadsheet of all RSVPs submitted. It was a great for getting a bird’s eye view of who is going, what their contact number/email is etc. Their live chat customer service is also super and they great at helping get your RSVP form setup with your own question – we collected our guest’s wedding meals on our RSVP. I would highly recommend them. Good luck! Babs x
We signed up for Joy and it has been great so far. I love that we could import our already-existing excel spreadsheet of guests so easily to the online platform, and use that to track the responses! We have also gotten a lot of compliments on the website appearance. The only downsides are a few operational glitches they are still ironing out, and the website does not have the same functionality as the app. Still very happy with it, overall!
Great post!
I just joined up to Joy and it’s fabulous! I love the interface and the app is so handy that my friends have already joined up. There are some teething issues that I’d like to see improved (such as images being cut off on the app) but aside from that, I think it’s an excellent product, userfriendly and free! The best thing is that you can customise fonts, colours and images and make it a real personal site. All in all – highly recommend to my friends 🙂
I just want to say I love your blogging and Im following it now :). Greetings from Denmark
I have been using Joy for my wedsite and I love it! The web and app functionality are both very good. I have found it very easy to tailor all sections to meet our needs and have been able to personalise everything we want. The ability to determine which parts of the site don’t require an event code means key information can be easily accessed by guests but more personal items, such as photos on the day can be restricted. There are some clever little features throughout such as when entering accommodation the site automatically finds the hotel and links useful information such as website and phone number. Also it’s possible to communicate announcements on the app which could prove very handy on the day to let people know when we need them to be available for pictures etc. I’ve also found the site administrators incredibly helpful and responsive when I accidentally sent out save the dates with the wrong event code on!
I highly recommend this wedsite!
For all those brides out there, looking for wedding websites. JOY is amazing, so easy to use and really helpful for organising and sending out invitations or Wedding related information. Our guests are absolutely loving our app which they can download through Joy that displays all your custom designs and information. From WEDDING party profiles and contact details, to modern interfaces and photos.
And it’s all Free!!!!. I’m really happy and would not have it any other way.
Do yourself a favor, go and have a look at Joy you won’t go wrong.
What didn’t you include Weebly on this list? It has a free version that is easier to use than any other website builder out there (it has a drag and drop feature that can even be used by kids). The paid option is also very good and they have paid plans for every budget. Wix is also good (just the paid version, the free one shows some ads and I’m not a fan).
Not a happy bride with the Minted wedding websites. Although beautiful, they don’t have the basic functionality that other platforms have. I ended up spending lots of time via email and on the phone trying to get simple options like larger font for older guests or multiple choice options for entree so guests don’t have to type it. I think I am going to have to pay for a different host and transfer the domain name.
Oh and the $50 credit can only be used on orders of more than $100! S