In this technologically focused day and age, it’s so necessary to have a clear, functioning wedding website to benefit both you as the happy couple and your guests.

Wedding websites like The Knot and Zola do so much more than announcing a date and location. Some weddings host sites are even connected to your stationary options like minted.com where you can capture a seamless aesthetic and theme from your website, save the sates and invitations even to your thank you cards post-wedding. According to Brides.com, this somewhat new online tool has only been around since the early 2000s, but is basically a necessity for modern weddings.

Although hard-copy save the dates and invitations are still popular for weddings, a website can help take on some of the necessary duties that hard-copy invites used to have.

For example, many people will receive an invitation in the mail and forget to mail back an RSVP. They also may quickly forget the date and time that the invitation stated. But a website holds all that necessary information and provides a space for people to digitally RSVP– making the process easier for both the couples and the guests.

In addition to providing a digital invitation and RSVP platform, a wedding website also has many other important capabilities.

Some of those are:

1. Wedding party introductions

A wedding website can host photos and short bios for the entire wedding party; both bridesmaids and groomsmen. This keeps potential wedding guests informed and gives them a bit more insight into the wedding that they’ll be attending.

2. Recommendations

An extremely helpful way to use a wedding website is to provide guests with recommendations for the wedding weekend. This may include hotels, travel, nearest airports, and things to do in the area. This won’t take long to put together, and your guests will be so thankful for the tips when planning to make it to your special day.

3. Registry

Add your wedding registry to your website and let your guests take it from there. This eliminates having to send this over separately to your guests and allows you to incorporate multiple links into one page on your wedding website in case you have a few different stores in mind for your registry.

4. Wedding details

Of course, your guests want to know all the details! This may include some information about the city your wedding will be in, how the weather typically is that time of year, if the event is rain or shine, and maybe some photos/ information about the venue itself.

5. RSVP list

Not only will your guests be able to RSVP for themselves on your wedding website, but many websites also allow guests to see who has already RSVP’d. This eliminates any additional, inevitable questions about who is coming to the wedding, and automatically updates with each RSVP.

If your wedding is a multiple-event celebration, you can also ask them which events, from the welcome party to the reception and a farewell brunch they plan on attending so you can have a better idea on your numbers for each affair.

6. Song recommendations

Guests LOVE to give their 2 cents about what songs they want to hear at your wedding! If you feel up to it, add a write-in option for guests to recommend or request a song they’d like to hear at the reception. Use your own discretion of course, but this is a fun, interactive way to get guests excited before the celebration.

7. FAQs

Perhaps one of the most important sections you can have on your wedding website is one where guests can go to find answers to questions that you don’t want to answer constantly. Popular questions to include on your FAQ include: what’s the dress code? Are kids welcome? When is the RSVP deadline? Is there parking at the venue? While many of these answers may be found elsewhere on the website, it never hurts to be extra clear in your communication to prevent confusion. An added plus? If you do get a text message question from one of your guests, instead of taking the time to answer you can reply with a simply “you can find that on the website!”

©CTW Features