What to put on a wedding website: the complete checklist

A wedding website exists to answer questions before guests ask them. Every question it answers is one fewer message in your inbox in the month before the day. Here is what to put on it, roughly in the order guests will look, and a few things that are better left off.

The essentials, above everything else

These are what a guest opens the page to find. Put them at the top, in big type, before any photos or stories.

Your names. Both of them, the way you want them read out.
The date, written in full with the day of the week.
The venue, with its full address and postcode, and a map that opens directions in one tap.
The start time, and a note on when to arrive. "Ceremony at 2pm; please be seated by 1.45" is clearer than "2pm".
The RSVP, with the reply-by date. On a good wedding website the reply form is on the same page; on an older style site it is a separate tab, which is where replies go missing.

If a guest only reads this far, they have what they need to turn up at the right place at the right time.

The order of the day

A simple timeline, with times, saves more questions than anything else on the site.

1.30pm Guests arrive · 2pm Ceremony · 3pm Drinks on the lawn · 5pm Wedding breakfast · 7.30pm Evening guests arrive · 8pm First dance · 11.30pm Carriages

Add a line about anything unusual: an outdoor ceremony (and the wet-weather plan), a gap between the ceremony and the reception, a second venue.

Travel and parking

Guests who have never been to the venue want to know how to get there and where to leave the car.

Parking: where, how much, whether cars can be left overnight.
The nearest station and roughly how far the venue is from it.
Taxis: a local firm's number, because rural venues and Uber do not mix.
A coach, if you are running one: where it leaves from and when, and whether guests need to book a seat (which is a good RSVP question).

Where to stay

List two or three places at different prices, with a line on each. If you have held a block of rooms, say so, give the booking reference and the date the hold ends. Mention the walking distance or taxi time back from the venue; that is what guests actually decide on.

Dress code

Two words are enough, but add a sentence of translation because "cocktail attire" means five different things to five people.

Garden formal: summer suits, long or midi dresses, and shoes that can cope with grass.

Say if the ceremony is outdoors, if there are stairs, if it will be cold in the evening. Guests dress better when they know.

Gifts

Most couples want to say something and feel awkward saying it. Keep it short, make the ask gentle, and link straight to the list or the fund so nobody has to search.

Your presence is the gift. If you would like to give something, we have a small honeymoon fund here.

Children

If children are invited, say so and mention whether there will be children's meals or a quiet room. If they are not, say so once, kindly, and do not explain at length. Our RSVP wording guide has lines that work.

Plus-ones

If some guests have a plus-one and others do not, the website is not the place to spell it out; the invitation and the RSVP form should already make it clear who is invited. A line like "we have invited the people named on your invitation" on the FAQ is enough. See the guide on plus-one etiquette for the awkward cases.

A short FAQ

Every wedding generates the same handful of questions. Answer them once, here.

Can I take photos during the ceremony?
Is there somewhere to leave a coat and a bag?
What time does it finish?
Is the venue step-free?
Can I bring my dog? (If the answer is no, say it here, not at the gate.)
Is there a hashtag?

Your story and photos

Guests like a photo or two and a paragraph about how you met. Put them below the practical sections, not above them. A website that opens with a 2,000-word love story and buries the postcode under it gets more phone calls, not fewer.

Contact details

One name and one phone number or email for questions on the day, ideally someone who is not you: a best man, a sister, the planner. Say that on the page.

What to leave off

The full guest list. Nobody needs to know who else is coming, and some guests would rather others did not.
Anything you would not say to a guest's face. The website is public to anyone with the link.
Your home address or anything that identifies when the house will be empty.
Long apologies. "We're so sorry we can't invite everyone's children" once is kind; three paragraphs reads as a row waiting to happen.
Countdown widgets, guestbooks and quizzes unless you genuinely want them. They date quickly and distract from the RSVP.

Keep it current

The website is the one place you can update after invitations have gone out: the coach time changes, a hotel sells out, the forecast turns. Put the important changes at the top with the date, and resend the link to anyone it affects.

The checklist

Copy this, tick it off.

Every one of these sections is a box to fill in on RSVP Websites: names, date, venue with map, timeline, dress code, gifts, where to stay, travel, your own questions and answers, and the RSVP form, all on one page your guests open from a link. The design takes care of the layout.