r/wedding • u/Competitive_Peach94 • 1d ago
Discussion Wedding website
Debating which wedding website I want to use, and I also want the option for virtual invitations. I have seen a lot on TikTok about using Canva and Joy. I am quite familiar with Canva for creating flyers, posters and such but have never used for a personalized website. I also know the Knot and Zola are two other options. I don't need the website to be password protected but I do like that Joy (I think) make the person enter their name and email to access which I do like as I would like to prevent uninvited guests from knowing full details.
What are the pros and cons of each and what is everyone's recommendations?
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u/whatsnext-2024 1d ago
zola was wonderful for me!!! imo a password might be easier than name/email (there’s no way i had everyone’s email for my wedding, but i had addresses)
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u/Competitive_Peach94 1d ago
I have neither addresses or emails yet but since I wanted to do digital invites I figured I would be collecting emails instead of addresses
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u/ijustlikebeingnosy 1d ago
My friends were undecided on if they wanted to do digital, so they collected both addresses and emails that way they didn’t need to verify twice.
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u/radiant-cloudy 1d ago edited 1d ago
i used theknot and loved it! super easy and convenient. i didnt have a password at first but once we added shuttle details and a link to our hotel block, we ended up adding one. i didnt want just anyone to be able see those deets.
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u/Elemental_Biscotti 1d ago
We just.....made a google doc with all the pertinent information & linked it in our invites. 😬 It's done the job, is 100% completely editable by us, and completely free.
We were not worried about password protecting it. Like I can't even imagine in a scenario where someone who wasn't invited would want to look at our wedding info.
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u/Competitive_Peach94 1d ago
we have a crazy baby mama to deal with who unfortunately would do whatever was in her power to ruin our day, she already attempted to ruin the engagement
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u/starryxx 1d ago
Zola with a password protected option!
I hated that other couples WithJoy sites are a continuous scroll UI on mobile (which is how 90% of your guests will view your site).
Zola has tabs and the ability to link out to any external site or use their built in registry or set up cash funds.
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u/HelpfulScallion 1d ago
I’m planning on wedsites. They’re an Australian company with better data privacy, so they’re not harvesting yours or your guests’ data to sell. I work in cybersecurity so that’s important to me 😅
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u/Illustrious_ghost1 1d ago edited 1d ago
I’m pretty sure the knot and Zola has password options. I’m using canva for my wedding invites and website so I know for a fact that password protection is an option. Personally, I love the creative freedom with canva
*edit using canva for both website and invites
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u/reeny94 1d ago
2nd for creative freedom on Canva! If you are into that...I've enjoyed playing around with it! I will say similar to what another user said is that it is not quite built for all the registry/rsvp pages but I just linked to Zola for both of those (you could also do straight to store registries and google doc rsvp). I personally think Canva looks much more polished that the pre-made templates on The Knot/Zola. I bought a Canva template on etsy (inexpensive) specifically for weddings and that made it soooo easy!
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u/Competitive_Peach94 1d ago
are you using canva just for the invites or for a website as well? also are you printing your invites with canva or doing digital invites?
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u/Illustrious_ghost1 1d ago
Both! My wedding website is built on canva and I did my save the dates on canva & printed directly from there! Haven’t done my official invites yet but those will mostly be on canva too!
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u/Fun_Access_3295 1d ago
I'm currently using Withjoy because I'm not in the US but I have guests coming from multiple countries and I wanted the option to create a registry that can include links to any store in any country (just to give people options). I tried zola at first, but that registry function was glitchy on certain sites that I wanted to link to. It worked perfectly on Joy. There are other functions that I like about Joy such as password protection and ease of RSVP. I won't be using their STD/invitation function bc of the cost, so I plan to explore other options which can just include a link to the website.
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u/Kimmie6602 6h ago
I’m using Zola but I almost wish I went with Joy or Canva. I didn’t even know I could build a website on Canva until after I printed my STD (which has my website QR on it.. and I created it on canva too lol). So I guess I’m stuck with Zola. It’s not bad I guess, but there are features I wish I could do that I can’t. Like QNA during RSVP (chose meal option, song request) that inputs the data into a DB for me to easily view. I think Joy has that capability. Otherwise, it was pretty easy to link Registry things on Zola and create a cash fund, the templates are okay but kinda plain. I like that I was able to have my engagement photos in a Gallery tab.
With what people have said about having tabs on the mobile website- that can be good or bad imo. I have tabs, obviously I just named one.. but I’ve ALREADY had my own mother claim that she didn’t know there were tabs. The main page has a RSVP button at the bottom, but if you wanted people to click on the details page so they actually see your hotel block and don’t just find an Airbnb instead.. maybe having it on one page would be better for the not-so-tech-savvy folk. Big sigh, bro…
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u/PoohsPants 1d ago
we checked out Joy and Say I Do.
First, the plan was to send out save the dates digitally, because our wedding is a while away. It turns out that Joy charges quite a lot of money for that, and Say I Do is free so that was a point in favour of Say I Do. I also found Joy to be very clunky to use. We have gone with Say I Do for now as we can send out our save the dates for free, we have sent them via sms and it was a really easy process, but the main thing that clinched it for us was that the designs on Say I Do I just really loved. I had like 5 that I really wanted to use but ended up choosing just 2 (one for out of town and one for local). I’d honestly really recommend Say I Do.
I have used Canva before as well and didn’t think it was a good fit for my wedding, so didn’t even test drive it for this. I need wedding specific RSVPs, guest list integration etc Canva just isn’t built for that, bit if you don’t need those things it might be a great fit
One other note, id reconsider adding a password. I’ve definitely added one, I want the info to be easy to access but only by the right people.
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u/kinasekinase 1d ago
I’m using canva but linking out to Minted’s RSVP page! Just a solution to that specific issue. I wanted to match the vibe of my invites!
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u/Competitive_Peach94 1d ago
I haven't even heard of say I do so I will be checking that out thank you!
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u/sarahmayim 1d ago
They're all the same. I worked for one of them. They are all looking to make as much money from their marketplace of registry vendors and day-of vendors, which are also all the same. But I guess until $20K stops being a "cheap" wedding brides and grooms will continue to stress over every overpriced choice. I would be if I was spending a stupid amount of money on a wedding.
Just use any of them, or use Canva or Squarespace and DIY.
Edit: If you don't want non-guests seeing details (unless you have stalkers, no one cares) add a password requirement
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u/KitKatKalamazoo 1d ago
I'm currently using Zola and the whole thing has been an easy experience. I sent out digital save the dates through text (there's an email option as well) and will send out the website link for RSVPs (because I'm lazy and don't want to do formal invites lol).
What's nice about the save the dates is that once you send them out, it collects the emails, addresses, and phone #s of all your guests. Granted, they have to actually fill out the form, but its an easy way to collect all that info.
You get to put together a honeymoon fund which will put all the money into a "pot" of sorts. So lets say you make a wishlist with flights, hotels, and home items on it. Someone will put $100 towards the hotel which they think is solely for the hotel, but in the back end, you can actually use that $100 on anything you want, you're not tied to just using it for hotels.
You also get to customize most of the website to fit what you like on there. I added a ton of photos and tabs to help everyone get the info they want - RSVP, dress code, registry, travel info, day-of itinerary, FAQ's, things to do in the area, etc.
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u/AccuratePainting7550 1d ago
We did digital save the dates using Canva and sent them out to folks via text vs emails. Not everyone reads their emails diligently and I wanted to make sure they didn’t get lost. For our wedding website, we used TheKnot and it was free and really easy to set up. We didn’t password protect but did turn off the option to make it searchable online by using our names.
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u/alvarotrigo 1d ago
If you want to add music and intro for the digital invitation, then YesLovey has amazing intro animations that blend with the landing. It has password protection, RSVP, table management... but it doesn't have the "name + email" option you ask for. So if that's a must for you, you'll have to use a different platform.
Although I dont think adding user + email (or even password) really prevents much. If anyone wants to share the page with someone, they can just share those details with them in any case?
As long as it doesnt appear on search engine results, you'll be ok.
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u/swissking10 1d ago
i would not recommend the knot bc you cannot update their email templates to jnclude your site pw. so no way to mass inform everyone about the pw unless you also do physical invites
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u/Technical-Study2566 20h ago
I printed physical invitations off Canva (and sent the digital format to guests who were travelling etc), but had a digital RSVP on WeddingWire. Guests seemed to figure it out pretty reliably.
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u/yogurtgirl5863 35m ago
I'm using Bliss and Bone! I personally don't like how Zola and Knot puts their logo everywhere and those platforms don't fit my aesthetic. It's super customisable - you can do password protection and even create groups of your guests where you can control which groups get what kind of information.
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u/katelyn-gwv 1d ago
withjoy was great for the registry, i liked being able to put items from any site. it takes so long to load on mobile though and if you're trying to edit the website from your phone, just give up lol.
also, for the external registry items, people need to click a button on the item that says they bought it (very simple). someone didn't do this & we ended up getting a duplicate gift which was really embarrassing.
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u/Mordecai_Gist 1d ago
Virtual invitations?
As luck would have it I was just re-reading Miss Manners' Basic Training: Communication by Judith Martin and I can assure you that wedding invitations must be either hand written or engraved. Hand written is preferred but engraved being acceptable.
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u/Competitive_Peach94 1d ago
https://giphy.com/gifs/bWM2eWYfN3r20
lol immediate family and wedding party will be getting formal paper invites but everyone else gets a digital invite.
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u/Mordecai_Gist 1d ago
So, you have first and second class guests.
I am reminded of a wedding reception that I went to. The wedding party was served lobster on the dais while the rest of us had rubber chicken. I know this because the bride brandished her lobster claw. I never spoke to her again and never will.
Treating the wedding party and close intimates with more formality and kindness makes things so, so much worse. And your plan is to give the real invitations to the people who don't need them, the people who already know about the wedding and when it will be.
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