Getting married is one of the most exciting times in life. Planning every part of the wedding is exciting. One important part of planning your special day is your wedding website. Today, everyone has a smart phone in their pocket, so building a wedding website is an important way to keep each guest updated and share your special love story. To help with your wedding planning, here’s a checklist to help get your wedding website built easily.
Choose a website venue
The first part of choosing your website venue is choosing your domain name. This is the name that visitors will use to view your website. A domain will usually be something like JackAndSara.com, JackLovesSara.com, or JackSaraWedding.com.
Tip: If you want to blog and share about your lives together after you are married, consider a domain name that includes your last name (example: JSJohnson.com).
Before registering your domain, you’ll want to choose a hosting plan. Hosting is where all of your website files are stored. Without hosting, your website can’t be published live. Our Shared Hosting plans are perfect for your wedding website. They provide power and incredible speed, all while still being affordable.
Great job on choosing the perfect website venue for your wedding.
Install WordPress, your wedding website coordinator
WordPress is a content management system used to build websites. It organizes and makes publishing your website a breeze.
Installing WordPress is easy and included is a step by step guide to walk you through the process. Install WordPress. If you have questions regarding this installation, don’t hesitate to send us an email, open a chat, or give us a call and we’ll be happy to assist with getting WordPress installed.
Choose a wedding website theme
Once WordPress is installed, it’s time to choose a wedding theme. There are hundreds of themes to choose from. We recommend X Theme. View the demo. X Theme is a powerful theme and allows you to easily make changes to your wedding website using a drag and drop builder. You can also view hundreds of other wedding themes on ThemeForest.
Tip: When choosing a wedding website theme, look for a theme which matches your wedding colors and style.
Once you choose a theme that you like, purchase the theme, download it, and install it on your WordPress website. Learn how to install a theme on WordPress.
After installing your theme, we recommend that you import the theme demo. This will allow you to replace the demo content with your real wedding details easily.
Tip: When importing the demo content, sometimes it is a seperate file that you will need to upload. For other themes, there is a button in the main settings where you can import the demo.
Password protect your wedding website
Password protecting your wedding website can be a wise decision as it prevents wedding crashers and protects your information. WordPress has a plugin which allows you to easily password protect your full wedding website. Install the Password Protected plugin. Learn how to install a WordPress plugin.
Tip: Make your website password easy to remember and don’t forget to include it on your wedding invitations.
Let your guests RSVP online
Save your guests the cost of mailing RSVPs back to you and have them do it on your wedding website. Simply install the RSVP and Event Management Plugin and place the shortcode where you would like the RSVP form to be displayed.
Link to your wedding gift registry
Make it easy for guests to view and purchase from your registry. Brides.com states “While you shouldn’t list where you’re registered on your invitation, your website is the perfect place to do so — along with links straight to your registry pages.”
Simply download the retailer’s logo(s) and upload them to a section on your website. Lastly, find the URL to the specific registry page, and then add that link below the retailer’s logo.
Tip: Make the retailer’s logo link to the registry page. Link the image.
Share your love story
With most wedding themes, there is a page to share your love story. Brides.com says, “Wedding websites are a fun peek into the couple, their love story, and who’s in the wedding party, but keep it short and sweet. …skip the nitty-gritty!” Don’t overload your guests with every fact of how you met, but rather just the highlights.
Tip: Mix some photos of your relationship highlights throughout your love story.
Introduce your wedding party
Most wedding themes also include a section to introduce each member of your wedding party. This allows your guests to meet and get to know each person a bit further before your special day. Similar to sharing your love story, don’t go in-depth on how you know each member of the party, but rather just the highlights and maybe a fun fact.
List Nearby Accommodations
Make it easy for your guests to find hotels nearby. Contact the closest hotels and ask if they’ll give a discounted rate for wedding guests. Most hotels will offer some type of discount. The hotel will usually give a phrase that guests will need to mention to get the discount. Add these hotels to your website and be sure to include the phrase that guests need to mention.
Building a wedding website is an exciting part of your special day. It not only allows your guests to be connected with you and your fiance, but also is a fun way to document your special day. Use this checklist to launch a beautiful website for your wedding website.
Still have questions? Submit a ticket in AMP, start a chat, or give us a call.
This wedding website checklist from InMotion Hosting is a fantastic resource for couples embarking on their wedding planning journey. It covers all the essential elements to include on a wedding website, ensuring that couples can share important information with their guests conveniently. A well-organized and comprehensive guide!