Exactly How and When to Share Your Wedding Website

Congratulations, you're engaged! Before you dive into the nitty gritty of wedding planning, it's important to share the happy news with your friends and family—via the internet, that is. Custom wedding websites are a great way to house and display important information about your wedding and related events. That way, your loved ones have a go-to resource (and answers to those commonly asked questions, like ceremony start time or dress code info). Once you've created your free and personalized website with The Knot, you might wonder, "What now?" Here's how to build and share your wedding website with your guests.

In this article:

• When to Make a Wedding Website
• How to Share Your Wedding Website
• How to Get Guests to Use Your Wedding Website
• How Often to Update Your Wedding Website

When to Make a Wedding Website

There's no such thing as creating and sharing your wedding website too soon after getting engaged. Making your own site is the easiest way to clue guests in on every wedding detail as you go along—so the earlier you spread the word, the better. You'll want to give guests access to your wedding registry as early as possible, especially since some will want to buy gifts from the registry for your engagement party and/or shower. (Hint: The Knot Registry makes it easy as can be to compile all of your registries in one shoppable place on your site.) Since registry info shouldn't go on your save-the-dates or formal invites, your wedding website is the best place to share your wishlist.

Your wedding website is also the perfect place to display dozens of your favorite couple photos (or your favorite shots from your engagement photoshoot) along with the true-to-you story of how you met and got engaged. You can even write an engaging wedding website welcome message that'll set the tone of your nuptials.

Generally, you can think of your wedding website as a supplement to your save-the-dates. Technically, the only information you need to put on save-the-dates is your actual date, right? The same goes for your site (at least in the beginning). Once you've locked in a wedding date (time and location too), create your wedding website. Then, include the link to your site on your save-the-dates and pop those bad boys in the mail. (Psst: As a reminder, these should go out six to eight months before your wedding date). You can even design your wedding website on The Knot to match the style of your save-the-dates.

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Along the way, you'll want to update your wedding website as more details come together, like your venue, wedding party members, wedding weekend events and dress code—but the basics are all you need to start. And remember, if you want to purchase a custom website domain, avoid confusion by making sure your custom URL is finalized before it's sent to friends and family.

How to Share Your Wedding Website

If you're wondering what the proper etiquette is for putting your wedding website on your invitations, there are a few guidelines to follow. Along with your save-the-dates, you can share your wedding website on any pre-wedding event invitations, like bridal shower or engagement party invites. Avoid printing your wedding website URL on your formal invitations, but feel free to slip an additional insert with website info into your invitation suite. And while posting your wedding website on social media seems like the easiest way to debut your site, it could likely cause more harm than good—non-invited friends could feel left out or someone could offer unsolicited commentary. If you're going to take the social media route, like Facebook, consider sharing all wedding-related details in a private message or group.

How to Get Guests to Use Your Wedding Website

Since you're putting in the work to make a wedding website, you'll want guests to actually use it. To ensure guests stay on the site and use the helpful tools you've enabled, you'll want to make it as user-friendly as possible. We love the idea of using a custom URL; that way, loved ones aren't stuck typing a string of letters and numbers into a search bar. (Even your most tech-savvy guests will appreciate having easy access.)

Another tactic is to incentivize your guests by making your site interactive. There are many creative ways to personalize your wedding website. For starters, engage your guests with a personalized welcome message. Infuse your personality across various aspects or include details of your love story with an interactive map of first date, kiss and proposal spots. Share your favorite engagement photos, introduce your wedding party, and let the design speak to your personalities. You can also get them to use your site frequently by setting up a photo sharing wall or sending them on a scavenger hunt of local hotspots during your wedding weekend. Finally, make sure your site covers all the FAQs guests may have. Building a site that's helpful and interactive will ensure that guests stop by your page multiple times before you say "I do."

How Often to Update Your Wedding Website

You should continually update your wedding website as you finalize new details to keep guests in the loop (fortunately, The Knot Wedding Planner App makes it easy to edit your site on the go). Seriously, don't be shy! It's a long time between when they receive your save-the-dates and when you say "I do," so they'll welcome the (occasional) reminder as you add new information—like if you've blocked hotel rooms or chosen a backup venue.

One of the key points of a wedding website is to help your guests with the gifting process too. Once you link your wedding registry to your website, your guests will periodically check back to see what's been purchased and what's still on your wishlist, so it's important to keep that portion up-to-date. Think of your wedding website as a one-stop shop for all nuptial-related FAQs. Your guests can use the link as a resource especially with their many burning wedding questions (and you can bypass them calling and texting you with the same set of questions).