Weddings are stressful enough as they are without the additional task of having to manage your guest list and informing and reminding everyone of pertinent details about the wedding. A wedding website can free you from this unnecessary stress, and the best part is, unlike other details in your big day, this doesn’t have to cost you anything.
Strikingly is a great platform for building a free wedding website. The user-friendly interface, feature-rich editor, and collection of responsive templates let you create a free wedding website in no time.
Start building your free wedding website.
Making a free wedding website is easier with Strikingly’s quick sign-up feature. All you need to do is open a free account with the platform and choose from our collection of website templates. Our collection spans different design genres from modern contemporary to rustic and vintage themes so you’re sure to find a template that suits your taste. The templates are all mobile responsive so that your site’s design remains consistent on all screen sizes.
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You can preview the template before making a selection so you get a feel of how your website might look like on this design. Once you’ve made your selection, the real work begins.
Building the content
After deciding on a template, you want to sit down and decide what information your free wedding website should contain. Do remember that you’re creating this site for your guests so you want the content to be as informative as possible for the people who are coming to your wedding.
Standard information that the free wedding website contains includes the date of the event, venue, and time. Use Google Forms to create your RSVP form and embed it to your site through the Strikingly App Store.
If you’re expecting guests from out of town or if you’re getting married in a different city or country, you want to include travel information on your wedding website. People will look forward to attending your big day more if you give them detailed tips on the local sights that they might want to check out during their stay. Recommend local activities and attractions that might interest them. Play the role of the tour guide through your free wedding website and include other details such as directions to these sights from your hotel and contact information for reservations as applicable.
Share your story but don’t write a novel
A timeline of your love story would be good to have on your wedding website. Include details such as how you two met, your first date, and when you got engaged, for example. This will help guests connect more to your story and is particularly great for big weddings where the couple does not necessarily know everyone who’s invited.
Sharing your story adds a more personal touch to your website but take care not to make it too long. Photos from your engagement or other notable moments in your relationship can help break the text in this area of your site.
You can cover tricky subjects on your wedding website
A website is a good way to inform your guests about things that may be awkward for you to do in person. Do you have a limited budget and will not be doing an open bar, or are you making it an adults-only affair, and children may not have sufficient entertainment on-site during the day itself? Maybe you’d rather receive cash gifts instead of presents? You can devote a section on your wedding website for this information and avoid awkward conversations about these.
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Make sure the site is searchable
Many event planners suggest having the website up at least a year before the big day to give the guests enough time to find the site and get a gift, especially if you have a wedding registry. Strikingly has SEO apps to help you get started on optimizing your website. It also comes with a social share feature so you can share your page on Facebook and other social networking sites.
After the wedding
You can still keep the wedding website up after your big day. You can just change the content to contain “what happened” during the big day. Images and videos taken during the event can be posted up here. It’s also a good way to thank your guests for sharing this special day with you.
Wedding Website Dos And Don'ts
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Setting up a free wedding website is actually the easy part of the job. The wedding itself is the hard part. And in this hustle and bustle, you never know what can go wrong and when. So just to be on the safer side and keep everything in order, we’ve put up a list of Do’s and Don’ts from some of the best wedding websites that’ll help you build a smashing wedding website.
1. Password protection is a must
Though this is not essential, it just ensures that no one unintended will show up on your special day. It's also always advisable to keep your information from prying eyes on the internet. You never know who can use it. With Strikingly, you can password protect your free wedding website and more. Get unique codes and share them with guests and keep your wedding website personal and safe.
2. Wedding websites must be sufficiently informative
A simple way to do this is to just brainstorm all the possible questions that guests might ask you about the wedding. You could also check out some common wedding faqs to help you get started. Some of the most basic information that wedding websites must-have is the timings for all the ceremonies, location, travel and lodging logistics, directions, and points of contact. Guests love hearing all this and more so don't worry about what to not include. You can also add links to your registry, your couple story, wedding party details, any dress code that you might want to have or any special conditions or unexpected things that guests might want to keep themselves ready for, etc. All this information will just make your free wedding website more appealing.
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3. Add links for Lodging and Food services
Guests love being pampered, some more so than others. And to avoid any mixup about the lodging options or food services provided, you can just mention them on your website or add in a link. Give clear instructions on how they need to go about settling down for the wedding and directions to reach the locations that you’ve listed. Don't hesitate to suggest other lodging accommodations in the area, too. A list of local attractions and places they can visit while in town can just boost the reputation of your wedding.
4. Inform guests of any social media restrictions
If you don't mind people randomly posting pictures of your wedding at the wedding, or have planned how you want to tell the world about your wedding? Remember to inform your guests. You can add in the things that you’d want guests to follow during the reception. Whether you want restricted phone usage or want guests to use certain wedding hashtags or social handles to post, be sure to mention that.
5. Attach Or Link Your Registry
Get your registry linked to your website so that guests can access it with minimum hassle. Strikingly’s website builder lets you integrate your registry to your site so guests can find it with ease.
An add-on is that you can send your wedding registry on your RSVP response card. You can do this if you want your wedding guests to RSVP via your website and not with the physical response card.
6. Let guests RSVP through your wedding website
Putting your RSVP online can make things a lot easier for you and your guests. This way you’ll have a better idea of who’s coming and who’s not. You can add this feature to your site through Strikingly and just forget about the guest list. Strikingly will show you a combined response of the guest list so that all you have to do is plan the wedding seating. This way you don't have to keep checking for mail or keep worrying about who you’ve missed.
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7. Do not list events that aren’t open to all
When you’ve planned a range of exclusive events either leading up to the event or have post-wedding celebrations, be sure to know which one’s to list on the website and which one’s to leave out. These events, like your bachelor or bachelorette party, wedding rehearsals are personal and it's best that you have a separate channel to communicate. Putting up this info on your free wedding website can lead to confusion and unexpected arrivals.
8. Don’t Be Inappropriate
Wedding websites are a great opportunity to introduce your better half to the world. That being said, know what to include and what to leave out. While it’s nice to include some romance, be mindful as to not go overboard. Keep the extra cheesy stuff off the wedding website.
9. Keep it short and sweet
No one wants to read your whole life's journey with your partner. You can add some interesting events that might have occurred but leave every minute of detail. Wedding websites are meant to be a fun and efficient means of gathering information, not an autobiography.
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10. Avoid using Language that People May Not Know
Keep those wedding abbreviations at bay. Not everyone gets it and it might create confusion among guests as to what you're trying to say. This is especially important when you're talking about locations and venues. Wedding websites must be direct and to the point.
Building a free wedding website is not the same as planning for the wedding. In fact, it’s a lot easier. Some of the best wedding websites have been created using strikingly’s collection of free wedding website templates you can sign up with strikingly and get a free wedding website template that you can use to set up a free wedding website.
Templates are pre-designed, so you just choose the style and design that suits your wedding plan and just edit away. Keep in mind all the points mentioned here. It’ll guide you to avoid some of the major goof-ups that usually occur on wedding websites and give that professional touch to your website.
So come join Strikingly! Because you deserve an awesome wedding!
