You can build a complete wedding website on a phone in an evening if you prepare the details first. Most of the time goes into decisions (which photos, which reply-by date, what to tell guests about parking) rather than into the website itself. This guide works whichever platform you use; where our own product does something differently, we say so.
Before you start: what to prepare
Collect these in one note on your phone before you open any website builder. It saves you from jumping between apps and half-finished pages.
- Your names exactly as you want them shown, and how you want them joined ("Clara & Julian" or "Clara and Julian")
- The date, the ceremony start time and the time zone of the venue (important if guests travel)
- The venue name, full address and a map link copied from Google Maps or Apple Maps
- The order of the day: ceremony, cocktail hour, dinner, dancing, with times
- Three to five photos you both like, including one portrait that crops well
- Your RSVP deadline (see when to set it)
- Links you want to share: registry, hotel block, transport
- Answers to the questions guests always ask: dress code, parking, children, plus-ones
Step 1: Choose a platform or a design
The right choice depends less on looks than on where you will edit and how replies reach you. Compare options on the points below.
| What to check | Why it matters | Question to ask |
|---|---|---|
| Editing device | Most planning happens on a phone, between other tasks | Can I change everything from my phone, without a laptop? |
| RSVP | Replies scattered across texts, emails and forms are hard to count | Do replies arrive in one list I can download? |
| Link preview | Guests decide whether to tap from the preview | Does the shared link show our names and date? |
| Cost | Some tools are free but sell upgrades; others charge once | What do I pay in total, and for how long? |
| How long it stays online | Guests look for photos and details after the day | Until when will the site stay up? |
| Accounts | Some builders need an account for you, some for guests too | Do my guests need to sign up to reply? |
Free platforms such as large wedding registries, design-tool templates and hosted designs like ours all answer these differently. Open a demo on your phone before you decide; it shows more than any list of features.
Time: 30 to 60 minutes of looking, mostly on your phone.
Step 2: Add the essentials first
Start with the information every guest needs, and only then add the extras. The essentials are:
- Your names and the date
- The ceremony time with its time zone
- The venue name and address, with a map link
- The schedule of the day
- How and by when to reply
If you stop after this step, your website is already useful. Everything else is a bonus. Our guide on what to put on your wedding website has a full checklist of must-haves and extras.
Time: 15 minutes, if your note from the preparation step is ready.
Step 3: Write a short welcome and your story
Guests read the first lines, then scan. Keep the welcome to two or three sentences and the story intro to one or two. If you are not sure what to write, our wedding website wording guide has examples for every section in three tones, written to fit short text fields.
A good welcome says who you are, that you are glad guests are coming, and where to find what they need:
"We're so happy you're here. Everything you need for the day is on the Details page, and you can reply on the RSVP page by April 3."
Time: 15 to 30 minutes. Write it in your notes first, read it aloud once, then paste it in.
Step 4: Add your photos
Choose photos for the frames they go into, not only for how much you like them.
- Portrait frames need a photo where both faces are in the middle third. Wide group shots rarely crop well into a portrait.
- Story photos work best with a little variety: one close, one wide, one with a place you love.
- The venue photo should show the building or the setting, not the guests.
- Use photos taken in good light. A clear phone photo looks better on a website than a dim professional one.
- Check that everyone in a photo is happy to be on a website your guests can share.
Most builders let you crop each photo to its frame. Crop on the phone you will share from, so you see what guests will see.
Time: 20 minutes, most of it choosing.
Step 5: Set up RSVP
Decide what you need to know before your caterer and venue ask for numbers, and ask only that. Typical questions:
- Attending or not, and how many people in the party
- A meal choice, if your caterer needs it in advance
- Dietary needs or allergies, as a short answer
- Optionally, a song request or a note to the couple
Keep custom questions to two or three; every extra question lowers the chance that guests finish the form. Set the reply-by date about two to three weeks before the wedding, or a few days before your caterer's final-count date. Our timing guide explains how to work backwards from that date.
Time: 10 minutes.
Step 6: Preview every page on your phone
Open the preview on your phone and read every page as a guest would. Check:
- Are the names, the date and the time correct and the same everywhere?
- Does the map link open the right place?
- Does each photo crop show faces, not foreheads?
- Do long words or names fit without breaking strangely?
- Is the RSVP deadline correct, and do the questions make sense?
Then ask one person who does not know the plans to read it. They will spot the missing parking note.
Time: 10 minutes.
Step 7: Publish and test the link
Publish, then test the link exactly as guests will receive it:
- Send the link to yourself by text and by email, and open it from both.
- Check the preview card in your messaging app: does it show your names and date?
- Submit a test reply, then check that it arrives where you expect.
- If you will print a QR code, scan it from a printed proof with two different phones.
- Remove your test reply, or note it so you do not count it.
Time: 10 minutes.
Step 8: Share it at the right time
Many couples share the website with or soon after the save the date, and again with the invitation. The guide on when to share your wedding website has a full timeline, and our guide to digital invitation etiquette has message wording you can copy.
How this works with our wedding websites
If you choose one of our wedding website designs, the steps above map like this: you try the live demo on your phone, buy the design on Etsy, start your website with your Etsy order number, and edit it in a private panel designed for phone screens. Replies arrive in your panel with a CSV download. See how it works and the full list of features. Other platforms are good choices too; the checklist in step 1 works for all of them.
FAQ
How long does it take to make a wedding website?
With your details collected in one note, most couples can finish the essentials in about an hour and a complete site in an evening. Photo choices and wording usually take the longest, so prepare them before you start.
Can I make a wedding website without a computer?
Yes. Many builders work in a phone browser, and some, including ours, are designed for phone screens first. Check that you can edit photos, the schedule and RSVP questions on a phone before you commit.
Should we put our wedding website on the invitation?
Etiquette advice differs: some guides suggest an enclosure card or the reply card instead of the main invitation. A QR code or a short link on a details card is a common middle ground. Never put registry information on the invitation itself.
What should we not put on a public wedding website?
Avoid your home address, the address where gifts should be sent, details of private events not everyone is invited to, and anything personal you would not want shared. The Emily Post Institute's website tips make the same point about keeping intimate details off the site.