The Wedding Website Checklist

What to put on wedding website pages becomes clearer once the site has one job. It is not there to tell your love story in six scrolling chapters. It is there to prevent 90 guests from asking the same nine questions by text.

That gives you a useful editing rule. Every page should help a specific guest make a decision, arrive at the right place or give you information you need. Anything else is optional. A handsome website with the wrong postcode is worse than a plain one with clear instructions.

This wedding website checklist covers the public information, the private details, the RSVP system behind it and the update schedule that keeps old answers from becoming new problems.

Start with the five questions every guest needs answered

Before choosing colours or uploading photographs, write the five answers a guest should find within one minute:

1. Who is getting married?
2. What is the wedding date?
3. Where are the ceremony and reception?
4. What time should this guest arrive?
5. How and by when should this guest reply?

Put the couple’s names, date and general location on the home page. Put exact venue and timing information in a clearly labelled schedule. Put the RSVP action in the main navigation and repeat it near the top of the home page once invitations have been sent.

Mobile matters because many guests will open the link from a message while travelling. Check the site on a small screen. The date, location and RSVP button should not sit beneath a large photograph, animation and three paragraphs of introduction.

Use ordinary labels: Schedule, Travel, Accommodation, FAQs, RSVP and Registry. “The Adventure” may sound charming to you and look like a travel page to everybody else.

Build a home page that works as a signpost

The home page needs a concise welcome, names, date, place and next action. It does not need to contain every detail from every page. Treat it as an index with enough context to reassure a guest that they have reached the correct wedding.

A practical order is:

• names and date
• city or region
• one short welcome sentence
• RSVP button after invitations are issued
• three prominent links: schedule, travel and FAQs
• one current notice, if something has changed

If you include a countdown, make it decorative rather than the only expression of the date. If you include a photograph, compress it and add alternative text that describes what it shows. Do not place important wording inside an image, where it becomes difficult to read, search or translate.

Keep the URL easy to type from a printed card. Read it aloud, check for ambiguous characters and test it without www. If you buy a custom domain, record the renewal date and login somewhere both partners can access. Losing the domain shortly before the wedding would be impressive in the wrong way.

Write the schedule for the person who knows least

Guests need an arrival time, not only the ceremony start. “Ceremony at 4:00 pm” leaves them to decide whether 3:30 is early, appropriate or impossible because the doors remain locked.

For each guest-facing event, include:

• event name
• date
• guest arrival time
• start and approximate finish
• full venue name
• street address and postcode or ZIP code
• transport or parking note
• dress guidance where useful
• whether food will be served
• accessibility contact

Separate events by invitation. If the rehearsal dinner is not open to everybody with the website address, do not list it on a public schedule and hope uninvited guests infer the boundary. Use private pages, guest-specific visibility or direct communication.

Check every address by opening it from the published page in more than one mapping service. Venues with multiple entrances, estates with long drives and hotels with several properties under one brand need a landmark or entry instruction. The pin should lead to the door guests are expected to use.

Build the public schedule from the operational wedding day timeline, but do not publish supplier arrivals, portrait calls or private buffer time. Guests need their version, not the production document.

Make travel advice specific enough to use

“Fly into the nearest airport and take a taxi” is technically information. It is not much help to someone comparing a 20-minute airport with a larger one offering direct flights.

List the realistic arrival options, approximate transfer time under ordinary conditions and where guests can verify live schedules. Date any price example because fares change. State whether a car is useful for the weekend, unnecessary once guests reach town, or essential because transport is limited.

For driving guests, include parking capacity, cost, payment method, overnight rules and what happens if the main car park fills. For organised transport, give pickup location, departure time, capacity rule and return options. “A shuttle will run” leaves five operational questions unanswered.

Do not publish a private relative’s phone number as the general travel desk without permission. Name one contact for accessibility or urgent day-of questions and define the purpose. Routine travel research should stay on the page.

If guests are travelling internationally, link to official government entry and passport guidance rather than summarising rules that can change. Ask travellers to verify requirements for their own nationality and itinerary. Your wedding site is not an immigration advisory service.

Explain accommodation without turning into a booking agent

If you have a room block, publish the hotel’s full name, address, booking link or code, rate description, booking deadline and cancellation terms. State which dates the block covers and whether the quoted amount excludes tax or fees.

Be precise about what the block means. A courtesy block may release unbooked rooms without charging you; a contracted block may carry commitments. Guests do not need the contract, but they do need to know whether rooms are guaranteed until the deadline and whom to contact when the booking page misbehaves.

Offer two or three alternatives at meaningfully different prices or locations when possible. Explain the trade-off: “This option is less expensive but is not on the shuttle route” is more useful than assigning hotels vague labels such as budget and luxury.

For rental properties, link to established booking pages rather than copying a listing or accepting payment for a stranger. The Federal Trade Commission’s travel guidance recommends checking addresses and terms, resisting pressure and avoiding sellers who insist on hard-to-recover payment methods. Guests should verify a property before sending money.

Remove expired block language promptly. A booking code that stopped working three weeks ago generates messages and makes the rest of the site feel unmaintained.

Use dress guidance to answer practical questions

Dress codes work best when the conventional label is followed by one sentence about the real conditions. “Cocktail attire; the ceremony is on grass and dinner is indoors” helps more than a collage of expensive outfits.

Mention surfaces, likely temperature, religious or cultural requirements and any substantial transition between spaces. If part of the day is outdoors, say whether there is shade, shelter or heating. Do not promise weather.

Examples include:

• “Black tie optional. The ceremony and reception are indoors.”
• “Cocktail attire. The ceremony is on a lawn, so block heels or flats may be easier.”
• “Smart casual welcome dinner on a covered terrace; bring a layer after sunset.”

Avoid using colour restrictions unless they are genuinely important, and explain unfamiliar cultural terms without turning guests into scenery. The goal is comfort and respect, not perfect visual coordination in photographs.

Build an FAQ from decisions, not internet templates

An FAQ should contain answers that apply to your wedding. Copying 25 generic questions creates the appearance of completeness while burying the fact that your venue does not accept cash at the bar.

Useful topics include:

• Can I bring a guest?
• Are children invited?
• Is the ceremony unplugged?
• Is the venue accessible?
• Is parking available?
• Will transport be provided?
• Is the bar hosted, limited or cash?
• Can dietary requirements be accommodated?
• Are events indoors or outdoors?
• Who should I contact on the day?

Write boundary answers from the invitation data. For example: “Your invitation is addressed to everyone included in your party. If a named guest can no longer attend, please contact us rather than substituting another person.” That is clearer than “No plus-ones, sorry.”

For children, state the rule and any exception plainly. “Our reception is for named guests only” is enough. Do not write an essay explaining the budget, venue capacity and the behaviour of children you once encountered elsewhere.

Update the questions when real messages reveal a gap. Three guests asking about taxis is evidence that the travel page needs an answer, not that three guests failed a reading test.

Make the RSVP form match the guest list

The RSVP page should collect information you will actually use and attach it to the correct household. Build the wedding guest list first; the form is an interface to that list, not a separate collection of names.

At minimum, record:

• household or invitation identifier
• each invited guest’s name
• attending or declining for each person
• meal selection if required
• dietary or accessibility needs
• attendance at any invited secondary event
• contact detail for updates
• optional song request or note, if you will use it

Do not use one empty “name” box and expect consistent answers. You will receive nicknames, one partner answering for two households and messages such as “we’ll all be there” without a count.

If the platform supports guest matching, test spelling variants, shared surnames, different surnames and apostrophes. If it uses a universal form, include an invitation code or household ID and reconcile entries manually.

State the RSVP deadline on the invitation, website and form confirmation. Choose it by working backwards from the venue’s final-count deadline, giving yourself time to chase missing replies and resolve meal details. The full RSVP wording and tracking system explains the fields and follow-up sequence.

Keep private information private

A wedding website feels personal but may still be publicly discoverable. Use the platform’s password or guest privacy controls when available, especially when the site contains exact private-event locations, guest names or travel patterns.

Do not publish:

• a private home address unless the people who live there agree
• guest lists or visible RSVP responses
• personal phone numbers without consent
• travel confirmation numbers
• access codes that should be sent only to attendees
• registry account details beyond the provider’s official link
• children’s full names and schedules without parental agreement

Share the password in a way guests can retrieve, such as the details card or a direct message. Do not make the password so decorative or case-sensitive that relatives need technical support to type it.

Review what a stranger can see in a private browser window. Search the couple’s names and the URL. Privacy settings differ by provider, and a toggle labelled “private” may mean hidden from search rather than inaccessible without the link.

Add registry information without making it the home page

Place registry links on a dedicated page or in a restrained navigation item. Many guests will look for them; nobody needs a pop-up before they can find the ceremony address.

Use a short introduction: “Your presence is enough. For those who have asked, our registry is linked below.” If you prefer cash gifts, explain the purpose without implying a required amount. Keep transfer details within a trusted registry or payment provider rather than posting bank information directly.

Check each registry link on mobile and from a signed-out browser. Mark fulfilled items where the service does not do it automatically, vary price points and review shipping settings. Remove old placeholder text before invitations go out.

Gifts should not be a required RSVP field. Attendance and giving are separate decisions, and the website structure should treat them that way.

Give the site an update schedule and an owner

A website is a small publishing system. Assign one person to approve factual changes and keep one master record for date, time, address, transport, accommodation and RSVP wording. This prevents one partner updating the FAQ while an old time remains on the home page.

Use four review points:

Before save-the-dates: names, date, general location, travel overview and a note that details will follow.

Before invitations: complete schedule, exact venues, accommodation, transport plan, dress guidance, RSVP form, deadline and privacy review. Follow the save-the-date and invitation timeline so the website and paper pieces agree.

Two weeks before the RSVP deadline: test every form and link, remove expired lodging offers, add confirmed transport and answer recurring questions.

Wedding week: publish only final guest-facing changes, add the day-of contact and check the site from a phone on mobile data.

After the wedding, remove private logistical details. Add photographs later only with appropriate permission, and decide whether to retain or cancel the domain before it renews.

Run a five-person test before sharing the link

Ask five people with different needs to complete one task each: find the ceremony arrival time, book a room, identify the dress code, submit an RSVP and locate the transport pickup. Include at least one person who did not help build the site and one who will use a phone.

Do not coach them. Record where they hesitate, what they misunderstand and which labels they try first. If two people cannot find the RSVP button, moving it is more useful than explaining where it was.

Then perform the dull checks:

• every date uses the correct day of week
• every map opens the correct entrance
• every external link works
• event visibility matches invitations
• contact details have permission
• spelling of names and venues matches contracts
• RSVP submissions reach the tracking sheet
• the site remains readable without images

A wedding website is finished when a guest can act without asking you to translate it. Keep it brief, current and exact. The reward is not the site itself. It is a quieter inbox and a room full of people who arrived at the correct door.