How long does it take to build a wedding website?

A focused afternoon, if the information is gathered first. The platform is rarely the bottleneck. The bottleneck is sitting down with your partner to decide the schedule, the dress code, and the travel logistics in one sitting.

When should the website go live?

With the save-the-date, six to eight months before the wedding. The URL is the one piece of information that leads to everything else, so it needs to be ready when the first card lands in a mailbox.

Do we need a separate page for each event?

No. Most weddings need a single schedule that lists the rehearsal dinner, the ceremony, the reception, and the brunch in order, with arrival times and dress notes. A page per event is a maintenance burden you will regret.

Should the registry link sit on the home page?

Put it on its own page and link to it from a small, clearly labeled section. Putting it on the home page reads as the headline of the wedding, which is rarely the tone you want.

What is the single most important section to get right?

The RSVP. It is the only section every guest will use, and for many of them it is the only one. Make it fast, mobile-first, and free of account creation.

A simple wedding website checklist (12 things, in order)

Twelve items, in the order we recommend to couples on Simplyweds. Short enough to finish in an afternoon, small enough to maintain.

Evette Santos, Founding EditorJune 5, 20266 min read

A wedding website is one of the few projects in the planning process where the order of operations matters as much as the content. Start with the registry and you will end up with a site that reads like a gift list. Start with the RSVP and the rest falls into place around it.

The list below is the order we recommend to couples building on Simplyweds. Twelve items, no filler. If you can finish them in a single afternoon, the site is small enough to actually maintain.

The checklist, in order

Lock the four anchor facts. Date, ceremony time, city, and dress code. Everything else on the site reports to those four. If they shift, the whole site shifts.
Write a one-line welcome. One sentence, in your voice, that names the day and invites the guest. No proposal story, no scroll-triggered video. The welcome sets the tone for everything below it.
Publish a single schedule. List the rehearsal dinner, the ceremony, the reception, and the brunch in chronological order with arrival times. One page, not four.
Add a real travel page. Closest airport, realistic drive time, hotel block code, and the shuttle plan in plain language. Name the road if you can name the road.
State the dress code in a sentence. Formality, setting, and one practical note about shoes or layers. 'Black tie optional' on its own is a coin flip; add the context that resolves it.
Build the RSVP for a phone. Invitation code, household roster, yes or no per event, submit. Dietary notes and song requests go underneath as optional fields, never as blockers.
Set a deadline, and put it on the RSVP page. Six weeks before the wedding is the realistic floor. Anything later collides with catering counts, seating charts, and final venue numbers.
Give the registry its own page. Linked from a small, clearly labeled section. Off the home page, off the welcome, off the schedule.
Answer the obvious questions in a short FAQ. Plus-ones, children, parking, ceremony start time, and what happens if it rains. Five to seven questions, no more. The FAQ is for the questions you would otherwise field by text.
Add one photograph, not twenty. A single well-chosen image on the home screen does more than a gallery. Twenty photos slows the page and dilutes the moment guests are about to enter.
Send the URL with the save-the-date. The website should arrive the day the save-the-date does. A site that goes live three months later is a site half the guest list never sees.
Pick one person to maintain it. Shuttle times shift, the brunch venue moves, a hotel block expands. One named owner, one source of truth, no version drift.

What to leave off

A short list is a generous list. Cut the proposal story unless guests have asked to read it. Cut the wedding party bios. Cut the countdown timer. Cut the music. Every section you do not ship is a section you do not have to update the week of the wedding, which is exactly the week you will not want to.

Where to build it

Pick the platform that makes the RSVP feel native, because the RSVP is the one page every guest opens. Our live demo walks through what that looks like end to end. The pricing page covers what is included in the free tier versus The Celebration upgrade for larger weekends. For a longer take on the editorial side of the work, see building a wedding website guests actually use.

Common questions

How long does it take to build a wedding website?: A focused afternoon, if the information is gathered first. The platform is rarely the bottleneck. The bottleneck is sitting down with your partner to decide the schedule, the dress code, and the travel logistics in one sitting.
When should the website go live?: With the save-the-date, six to eight months before the wedding. The URL is the one piece of information that leads to everything else, so it needs to be ready when the first card lands in a mailbox.
Do we need a separate page for each event?: No. Most weddings need a single schedule that lists the rehearsal dinner, the ceremony, the reception, and the brunch in order, with arrival times and dress notes. A page per event is a maintenance burden you will regret.
Should the registry link sit on the home page?: Put it on its own page and link to it from a small, clearly labeled section. Putting it on the home page reads as the headline of the wedding, which is rarely the tone you want.
What is the single most important section to get right?: The RSVP. It is the only section every guest will use, and for many of them it is the only one. Make it fast, mobile-first, and free of account creation.

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