It should come as no surprise that creating a wedding website is an important part of your nuptial planning and that your site will serve as a valuable tool to communicate with your guests. However, when it comes to including all the needed elements, be it the time and place you’ll be married to links to nearby hotels, you may be unsure of how to effectively arrange it all. 

A good way to approach the task is to keep your guests’ wedding-related needs at the forefront of your mind. After all, they will use the site to access the details they’ll want about your big day, including the itinerary, local attractions, and your registry to name a few, so you want to take care not to forget any critical elements.

To make it as simple as possible, we’ve compiled a list of dos and don’ts for creating your website.

• Do create a beautiful welcome page, complete with your engagement photo or some other pic of you and your intended, with your names and a message welcoming folks to your site and telling them how much you’re looking forward to seeing them when you walk down the aisle.

• Don’t clutter your site or the homepage with too many details. Keep your website clean, informative, and to the point.

• Do make sure the most important details, such as the day, time, location, and parking information for your wedding are easily accessible, either on the home page or via clearly marked instructions on how to find them. It might even be a nice idea to include a digital map of your venue where guests can spot it quickly.

• Don’t forget about those who likely won’t access your website. Many of your older guests, including important ones like grandparents, may not think (or would not like) to view a website to garner information about your wedding. For these people, make sure to reach out personally or send a save the date card in the mail with all your pertinent information.

• Do include some fun “how you met” and “how he/she proposed” details on your site.

• Don’t include overly personal or private memories that may cause some of your guests to blush when they read it. Keep it classy!

• Do include your registry information, complete with links for online shopping. It’s generally accepted etiquette that including such information on your invitations is in poor taste, but your website is a great spot for it.

• Do have a page dedicated to wedding events and clarify dates, times, locations, the parking situation, and dress codes for each.

• Don’t include events that are meant only for certain guests, such as wedding showers and bachelor and/or bachelorette parties. You wouldn’t want to make some people feel left out if you listed your after-wedding lunch on your website as a featured event but they weren’t invited.

• Do suggest hotels where your guests might stay and include the phone number, address, and website of these establishments. You might also make it easier on your out-of-town guests by conducting research beforehand on pricing and local sites close to different hotels to include. Details on local airports, routes into town and car rental agencies are a nice touch, as well, with links to all.

• Do recommend some fun activities for your guests, particularly those who aren’t familiar with the area where your wedding is set and especially for those who are staying in town for a few days.

• Do include information about how and when people have to RSVP. Experts are split on whether you should accept digital RSVPs via your website or stick to traditional RSVP cards included with your invitations, but, either way you go, the deadline should still be on your website.

• Don’t print your website address on your invitation. No matter how modern and tech-savvy we have become, there are limits. Most etiquette experts would agree that listing your web address on your paper invitations would sully the effect. Instead, direct folks to your site via an email blast or on a specially printed card tucked into the invitation envelope.

• Don’t use your website as a substitute for thank-you notes. Of course, you can add a note to your site after the wedding to thank everyone for attending and sharing in the festivities, but that is no substitute for hand-written notes to all who came and brought a gift.

• Do make use of your site to post wedding photos and perhaps even honeymoon pics. Guests would love to see some of the best from the ceremony and reception, and sharing photos on the site gives them a fun way to remember the event.

Building a website for your wedding can be a fun task, but, remember, the goal is to create an online resource that keeps your guests abreast of what’s going on with your nuptials and gives them the information they need to make the most of attending. Keep your site simple, welcoming, and loaded with the ins and outs of your big day. Your guests will thank you for it!