Wedding website questions, answered

For most couples the best wedding website builder is a free, wedding-specific one: Zola if you want the registry and website in one place, Joy if you want the most flexible RSVPs and guest app, The Knot if you are already planning with it. Choose a general builder such as Squarespace only when design matters more than RSVP tools.

Yes, most are. Zola, Joy, The Knot and Minted all let you build and publish a wedding website with RSVPs for free. What costs money is optional: a custom domain (about $18 to $40 a year), premium designs, and add-ons such as guest texting or seating charts. General builders such as Squarespace are the exception, with no free plan.

To make a wedding website, pick a builder (Zola or Joy for built-in RSVPs, a general builder for design control), gather the facts guests need, write a home page with the date and place, add schedule, travel, FAQ and RSVP pages, check it on a phone, then share the link on your save-the-dates. Most couples finish in an afternoon.

Put what guests need to show up on time and dressed right: your names, the date and venue on the first screen, the schedule of every event, travel and hotel details, dress code, the RSVP with its deadline, registry links and an FAQ. Leave off anything you would not want a stranger to know, such as your home address or when your house is empty.

A wedding website FAQ should answer what guests would otherwise text you: whether kids and plus-ones are invited, the dress code, the RSVP deadline, parking and transport, whether the venue is outdoors, gifts, and whether phones and photos are allowed. Write each answer in one or two plain sentences, and put the touchy ones, such as no children, kindly but clearly.

Have your wedding website live before the save-the-dates arrive, and share it on them. Save-the-dates usually go out four to eight months before the wedding, so most sites launch six to eight months out; for destination weddings or guests who must fly, launch nine to twelve months out. You can launch with the basics and add details later.

You do not strictly need one, but most weddings benefit from it. A website puts the schedule, travel, RSVP and FAQ in one place, so guests stop asking you. Skip it for a small local wedding where everyone knows each other, or where older guests will not use one, and send the details by message or on paper instead.

All three are free. Pick Zola if you want the website and registry in one account, Joy if you want the most flexible RSVPs (no guest account, per-guest events) and a guest app, and The Knot if you are already using its vendor marketplace. Design and price are close; the deciding factors are registry, RSVP flow and advertising.