The Best Wedding Website Platforms

Once you’ve nailed down the basic details for your wedding, an important next step is creating your wedding website! Your wedding website will be the home for all the important details for your wedding and other wedding weekend activities. It also helps provide helpful information for guests on finding accommodation, transportation, things to do, etc.  Basically, it will help spare you a bajillion questions from guests about your wedding logistics. 

There are lots of awesome wedding website platforms out there to consider. But having so many options can also make it hard to choose one!

To make the decision easier for you, I’ve broken down some of the most popular wedding website platforms and listed some of their pros and cons. (According to me, at least!)  If you’re still struggling to choose, you can always experiment with multiple platforms to find the best one for you. Most platforms let you sign up with a free account so you can test them for yourself.

Joy

Pros:

• Flexibility in choosing fonts, colors, and graphics, to customize your site
• Options for different website layouts 
• An RSVP system that actually makes it easy to manage the guest list and RSVPS!
  • I liked the flexibility and robustness of the guest list platform – it was easy to totally customize the RSVP questions for guests 
• Option to send digital invitations
• Customizable digital “change the date” cards
• Option to provide virtual event information with any streaming platform

Cons

• More limited number of website designs compared to other platforms
• Not all website themes have matching paper stationery
• The platform felt a little bit less intuitive than others. (But it got easier once I overcame the learning curve!)
• Registry does not integrate into the actual wedding website, guests will have to visit external links

Best for:

• Guest list and RSVP management
• Couples (and control freaks like me) who want a bit more flexibility in customizing their website template
• Couples who want to send digital save the dates or invitations

Zola

Pros

• All website themes have matching paper stationery (plus there is the option to use recycled paper for any of the stationery)
• The platform is intuitive and easy to use
• More than 300 website designs available
• A very easy to use registry platform with added features
  • Registry items can be integrated right into the wedding website
  • There’s the option to list larger ticket items as “group gifts” that multiple people can contribute to
  • Easy to set up funds for cash gifts for as many different purposes as you want (e.g. different funds for honeymoon activities, Airbnbs, a puppy…etc.)
  • There’s also an extremely helpful tool to guide you on how many gifts you should include based on your guest count (including how many gifts in different price ranges.)
• The option to send messages to guests digitally requesting their address
• Currently offering free “change the date” cards with save the date and invitation cards purchase
• Ability to integrate Zoom virtual events into the website 
• Seat chart manager that integrates with guest list

Cons

• Cannot customize the layouts of the website; no real options to change website design components 
• No option to send digital invitations

Best for:

• A great registry platform!
• The couple that wants a comprehensive and easy-to-use website with a few advanced features

Minted

Pros

• One of the most extensive selections of designs (for website and stationery) that I’ve seen (plus the option to use recycled paper for the stationery)
  • Stationery includes menus, table cards, thank you cards, etc. that all coordinate
• Offers a feature to digitally request addresses from guests
• Several options for different website layouts 

Cons

• The website builder didn’t feel quite as intuitive as other sites
• You have to pay for a “Premium” site to receive some additional features such as photo sharing, custom URLs, and password protection (which other sites offer for free)
  • If you don’t upgrade, your website URL will be a bunch of random numbers and letters (which can make it more difficult for guests to access the website)

Best for:

• Beautiful designs for websites and stationery all around! (Plus, Minted truly spotlights the artists behind each of the designs.)

The Knot

Pros

• Drag and drop website building tools make it easy to customize your website (and are easy to use)
• Plenty of website themes to choose from
• All website themes have matching paper stationery that can be added
• The registry tools offers integrations with multiple popular stores, plus the ability to link registries from other stores and platforms
  • Easy to set up funds for cash gifts
• Ability to send messages to the entire guest list (a good feature for communicating with guests around Covid safety cautions, potential changes, etc.)
• Access to a variety of planning tools on the platform 

Cons

• No option to send digital save the dates or invitations
• Lack of option to use recycled paper in matching stationery

Best for:

• The couple that wants a platform that is easy to use and has a really good range of features overall!

Riley and Grey

*You have to pay to access the website features; so the pros and cons below are based on what I was able to explore without paying the full cost

Pros

• Very modern and design-forward website themes
• Ability to create websites that feel custom and high-end

Cons

• Costs $35 per month or $240 per year (no free option)
• Higher costs for paper goods
• Not all website themes have matching paper goods
• Registry does not integrate into wedding website

Best for:

• The couple that wants to make a statement with their website

Appy Couple

*You have to pay to access the website features; so the pros and cons below are based on what I was able to explore without paying the full cost

Pros

• The most advanced wedding app builder 
• Offers mobile and desktop website platform with many customizable features
• Ability to send digital invitations
• Most designs have matching paper goods via their print partners
• Customizable RSVP management system

Cons

• One time fee of $49
• Guests have to download the app to take advantage of the mobile features
• May require a bit more tech-savviness than other platforms

Best for:

• The tech savvy couple that wants a personalized wedding app