Building your wedding website isn’t a quick task. While you should start the process 8-10 months before the Big Day, the actual completion will take a few weeks. This is totally normal, because you’re still finalizing all the little details, like how many bridesmaid bouquets you need, or what color mixing bowls you want. The bare minimum information (think date and location) should be live before save the date’s are sent. But everything else can be added before you mail the official invites. You’ve already got so much on your plate—so choosing one of the best wedding websites will make the process fun and easy.
To make even part of your job a little easier, our team created a site with each of the best wedding websites. We used some engagement shots from Brooke Cagle on Unsplash, picked fake names and crafted a modern-day love story. (Who doesn’t meet online these days?) So while we list the pros and cons for each of the best wedding websites, you’ll be able to poke around on one yourself, without even signing up!
Basic Features
There are some basic features that all four of the best wedding websites offer. (And most other platforms offer, too!) They’re expected for any wedding website, so these elements aren’t factored into our pros and cons lists. But because they’re still super helpful features, we wanted to call them out.
Each website includes:
- Free accounts to use all website creation features.
- Online RSVP capabilities, including meal preference.
- Ability to change font style, size, and color for any selected theme.
- Custom URLs and password protection. Those custom URLs have the company name in them (e.g. www.eventective.com/us/millerdavis2023), but you can purchase your own domain sans marketing info on most of the platforms (e.g. www.millerdavis2023.com). Prices range from $14.95 for two years (Zola) to $48 for two (WeddingWire).
Eventective
Okay, we may be a little biased on this one, but our wedding website stacks up nicely against the competition. Founded in 2003, our vision to easily connect planners with venues and vendors grew into a collection of tools designed to make your planning life easier. Including (surprise!) event websites. Eventective allows you to create wedding, party, and meeting websites. That means your bridal shower can have its own website (because is everyone really invited to that?), and so can your baby shower!
Eventective Pros:
- Photo integration: Along with a basic upload-photos-from-your-computer album, you can also import photos from Facebook or Instagram, too. On top of that, you can create a shareable album where friends and family can upload photos. No more hunting down pictures or saving one-by-one on social media!
- Easy-to-Use Dashboard: The no-frills dashboard is simple to use, and easy to navigate, so you can get to the page you want without having to hunt for it.
Eventective Cons:
- Theme Selection: While the selection isn’t lacking, websites like The Knot and Zola have 100+ options that we don’t match (yet!). Our three different website types do all have unique themes, though, so your bridal shower design doesn’t have to be identical to your wedding’s.
- No App: If you’re looking to make frequent changes on the go, we don’t have an app to support that. You can certainly still log in from your phone’s browser, but that isn’t always as convenient.
Zola
Like us, Zola didn’t start in the website business. Their roots are in wedding registries, but in 2017 they launched Zola Wedding services, which included a lot more planning tools, including one of the best wedding websites in town.
Zola Pros:
- Theme Variety: Fair is fair, and we have to admit they have a wide array of themes, both in style and layout. This is hard to find in a free service, because the really fancy websites are offered by, well, website creators.
- Demo Pages: If you’re uninspired by your Schedule page, you can view a demo Schedule page in your chosen theme. This applies for all pages—which is helpful for the not-so-creative bride or groom.
Zola Cons:
- Photo Cropping: At least for the theme we chose, we had to crop every photo—including the ones in our generic photo album. The album photos needed to be square shaped, not horizontal or vertical. And that definitely compromised the quality of some of them.
- Unclear Set-Up: There was a handy page set-up checklist at the beginning, so when we checked them all off, we thought we were done. But key pages (like the dreaded Schedule page) weren’t on the list. So we had to go back and add it in.
The Knot
Founded back in 1996, The Knot currently has a worldwide presence (known internationally as the The Knot Worldwide). This larger company includes other known wedding brands, like WeddingWire, Bodas.net, and The Nest. Their planning dashboard is what makes them one of the best wedding websites around.
The Knot Pros:
- Planning Dashboard: Creating a wedding website includes wedding planning checklists, budgeting tools, and even exclusive offers. (Plus fun “What Should You Wear on Your Wedding Day” quizzes!). If you’re a digital guru or need the extra support, it’s a great add-on.
- Custom Registry: Most platforms let you link a registry from a well-known chain, or add a registry link directly to your site. But The Knot gives you a browser add-on, so when you’re cruising the web, you can add a bag of the world’s strongest coffee, or the perfect stemless wine glasses. Don’t go too crazy, though—you have to manually type in the price and quantity yourself.
The Knot Cons:
- Photo Sharing: While Facebook is still supported on their website, you can no longer import photos from Instagram—which is a shame considering the rising popularity in wedding hashtags. Their solution is an automatic photo-sharing app that friends and family use at the wedding. The catch? Every photo taken during a set time-frame is added to a shared album. No funny business—or everyone sees!
- Cluttered Dashboard: While there are plenty of helpful tools on your dashboard, the website isn’t the main focus. That makes it hard to find, and a multi-step process to get to a specific page for editing.
WeddingWire
The middle child, founded in 2005, is WeddingWire. They’re more recently part of The Knot Worldwide, and also have international recognition. And they, too, started as online resource for engaged couples looking for vendors. (Are you starting to see the theme here!) Let’s see what they have to offer.
WeddingWire Pros:
- Add Partner: You can link the account with your partner, so the two of you can split the workload or plan on-the-go. We didn’t see this with any other platform!
- Download Website: Keeping your wedding website active for about two years is common. That’s enough time for you to create it, get married, and not rush home from the honeymoon to deactivate it. But they go a step further and give you the option to download—so you always have it as a keepsake.
WeddingWire Cons:
- Too Much Help: Just like The Knot, you get a bunch of planning resources on your dashboard. But they go one step further and plug in some sample information. For example, their budgeting page shows a sample budget with average costs. That’s super helpful, until you realize you have to delete or edit all that information one-by-one if it doesn’t match your own budget. There’s no “clear all” option.
- Tricky Themes: They offer plenty of themes, but they only show you about 40 that fit into your pre-set color palette. On the one hand, that’s helpful to stay on-theme. But on the other, you have to change your color palette to view different options.
The Bottom Line
At the end of the day, you know your needs best. Do you need a little more creative help with your website, or with your planning? Do you have a complicated wedding planned, that one website can’t handle? Or are you concerned with splitting the workload with your partner? Ask yourself these questions to help choose the wedding website that’s best for you—not just the best on paper.
