I have prepared an example of making a wedding website to show you the exact steps in the process of making a website.
Compared to most other websites, wedding websites tend to be simpler and to the point. These days, there aren’t as many obstacles to creating a site, and there are solutions for every budget.
Of course, if you’ve never created a website before, even a simple site can seem daunting. That’s why we’re going to walk you through each step of creating a great wedding website, so you can save your “bridezilla” energy for the wedding itself.
Jimdo website builder customize your website’s look and feel and make changes any time. With jimdo built-in design features, you can upload your own logo and images, and tailor your website colors to match.
Step 1: Start with your wedding brand
Before you jump into creating your website, think about your wedding brand. You may find this odd, after all you are a couple, not a business! But a brand can be a way to conceptualize the personality you want to show through a design project. Companies, for example, use their brand to communicate their values and voice (among other things), and these qualities are expressed through writing style and visual design elements.
Similarly, a wedding can use branding to convey the desired mood (whether rustic, modern, classic, etc.). Because consistency is important for a brand that sticks, you can apply the visual direction to everything from your website to your invitations to your menus to your seating charts, etc. That’s why it’s helpful to establish your brand from the start.
For a website, the most common graphic design elements used in branding are fonts, color schemes and images. Different types of fonts can create an elegant or zany vibe, and colors can evoke emotions on a primal level. Imagery for wedding websites usually includes photos of the happy couple and/or the wedding venue. If you don’t feel comfortable making these aesthetic choices yourself, consider hiring a freelance graphic designer to create a wedding logo and develop your visual brand from there.
Step 2: Decide on the content of the website
The design of your wedding website will depend on what and how much information you need to include. And that content will depend on why you’re creating a website: do you simply want to create an online reference for wedding day details like parking, schedule and dress code? Do you want to give guests a place to access your gift registry? Do you want to tempt your guests with your wedding destination? Perhaps all of these things at the same time.
Determining this information ahead of time will help you determine the number and content of the website pages. To give you a starting point, here is a quick list of common wedding website content:
Date and times
About the couple
Location/venue information
Program
Register
Photo Gallery
RSVP
Step 3: Decide on website functionality
The content of a website is rarely static: most websites are designed to be interactive. This is the functionality of your website, where you think about what you want your visitors to be able to do with your website (beyond passive reading).
It’s true that wedding websites rarely need the high levels of complex functionality found in the latest Silicon Valley startup application. Nevertheless, it’s a good idea to review your options and what your wedding website will be able to accomplish, as well as decide on those features as early in the process as possible. That way, you can consider the additional cost up front, whether it’s the designer/developer’s work (if you’re having a custom website made) or the purchase of feature plugins (if you’re using a website builder).
Here’s a quick list of some common wedding website features:
Registry integration
Google maps integration
Social network integration
Email registration
Password protection
Guestbook
Calendar
Inserting guest photos
Step 4: Choose a method to create a wedding website
Creating a website may seem like a complex undertaking, but it is possible to create one without spending millions or being a computer pro. Your two best options are to go through a DIY website builder or hire a freelance designer. What follows is an overview of the pros and cons of each approach, but be sure to check out our in-depth comparison of website builders and website designers.
Website template builder
A website builder is a free or inexpensive solution that allows users to create functional websites without writing code. Users simply choose a template, customize it with their text and images, and then publish the site.
While most popular website builders, such as WordPress.org, Squarespace and Wix, offer wedding websites in their template library, there are also wedding-specific website services, such as The Knot.
Benefits
Inexpensive or free
Easy to learn and use. Made for non-designers
Often easy to develop and publish
Disadvantages
Even if the tools available make it easy, you have to create the site yourself
Site templates can have a generic look
Limited functionality
Prices increase with additional features such as unique URL, hosting and add-ons
Custom website design
To get a custom website, you’ll need a designer to create the visual presentation of the site and a developer to write the code, all from scratch. You will also need to purchase a unique domain address and hosting to store your site files.
Although creating a custom website involves more steps and costs, the unique design that results can be worth it. Often, it can even be cheaper than you think. A design platform like 99designs allows you to connect to a global pool of freelance designers, who charge much less than a full agency. Some designers can even act as developers, which reduces the number of subcontractors you’ll need to hire, but you’ll need to talk to the designer in advance.
Benefits
Unique website
Capable of a much wider range of functions than templates
Entrust the construction of your website to professionals rather than doing it yourself
Disadvantages
Higher cost, depending on the designer or developer. Minimum $800 and up
Custom websites can take longer to develop
It can be more difficult to make changes to content yourself after publication
Step 5: Create the website
In most cases, the website design will be largely handled for you. Either the designer will make the aesthetic choices themselves, or the template will pre-determine the layout. It’s a good idea to consider what goes into a quality wedding website design so that you can confidently choose the right template or give feedback to your designer.
The second goal is to generate excitement: a wedding website is meant to promote your big day, and the visuals should entice guests to celebrate months in advance. Of course, you should have plenty of high-quality engagement photos prominently placed on the site, but you can also use other graphic design techniques to foster a jubilant mood. A bright and vibrant color palette makes the design look warm and welcoming, which is why pinks, reds and pastels are common on wedding websites. Rounded shapes, whether font styles or abstract lines, can also convey a bubbly, happy energy, as opposed to hard geometric shapes. For a more formal approach, use neutral tones like white or black and use elegant, rounded script fonts.
Step 6: Launch your finished wedding website
Once you’ve built your website, all that’s left is to publish it on the internet. You’ll need to get a domain, which means buying a unique URL or website address from a company like GoDaddy for an annual fee. You will also need to purchase space on a host server to store your site files (many domain services also offer hosting). If you used a website creation service, some offer domain name and hosting through their platform. Once you’ve done these two things, you simply connect your domain to the host server (your developer or the hosting platform’s support department can help you do this) and the website will be up and running.
Be sure to test the website to ensure that the layout works on multiple browsers and devices and that the interactive features work as intended. If you need to make changes or simply update information, a good content management system will allow you to do so easily. Ideally, you should research CMSs ahead of time, but WordPress is usually the most common. And there you have it, you now have a wedding website that your guests will fall in love with.
Find the right wedding website designer for you
While an invitation is a one-time correspondence, your wedding website is where your guests can look for updated information and photos: the party before the party. While it doesn’t have to be the most complicated or expensive element of your wedding preparations, it also shouldn’t be substandard to your other wedding elements. It should be a beautiful page that informs your guests while celebrating you and your partner. And the best way to ensure that your wedding website will make you swoon is to work with a talented designer.
