Creating A Wedding Registry Website: A Step-By-Step Guide

Creating a wedding registry website is a fun step in the wedding planning process. It's a chance for couples to share their style and must-haves with guests who want to shower them with love. While it can be thrilling, setting up a wedding registry can also be overwhelming.

A wedding registry is essentially a wish list of items the couple would like to receive as gifts for their wedding. Guests can purchase items from the registry, and the couple will receive them either before or on their wedding day.

There are a few ways to create a wedding registry: in-store, online with registry websites, or online at different stores connected to a wedding registry website.

1. Determine what you want: This could be home goods, appliances, or even unique items like camping gear or a dog bed. Knowing what you want will help you choose where to register.

2. Decide where to register: Research and choose stores that offer the items you want and suit your needs. You can register at multiple stores to give guests more options and variety.

3. Make your registries: Start adding items to your registry! Include a mix of items at different price points so guests have options. You can also add non-traditional items like honeymoon experiences or charitable donations.

4. Add them to your wedding website: Create a wedding website to share information about your wedding with guests, including hotel accommodations and your wedding day timeline. You can add a registry page to your website, providing links to your registries at different stores.

5. Share with your guests: Include the URL of your wedding website on save-the-dates, bridal shower invitations, or wedding invitations. You can also share your registry information on social media or via text message.

Now you're ready to start building your dream registry and website!

Choose a web host and domain name

Choosing a web host and domain name is the first real step of building your wedding registry website. This is a crucial choice as it directly determines the performance of your website. A web hosting company rents out servers to customers to store or host their website. They also monitor and maintain this server to ensure that it is running 24/7.

The web hosting industry is extremely competitive, which means you will get great service at an affordable price. However, not every web host is the same. Look for a company with excellent customer support and well-maintained, SSD-equipped servers.

You also need to pick a domain name, which is the name of your website. This will usually be the name of the couple and details of the event. Some web hosting companies provide a free domain name for the first year.

When choosing a web host, also consider their environmental impact. Some companies buy three times the amount of clean, renewable energy they use in energy to power the websites they host.

Select a platform (e.g. WordPress)

WordPress is a great platform to build your wedding registry website on. It is the most popular CMS in the world, accounting for over 40% of all websites. It is extremely versatile and does not require any coding knowledge.

WordPress has two secret tools: plugins and themes. Plugins are like apps for your smartphone, adding specific features to your website in just a few clicks. Themes are a collection of templates that dictate the appearance of your website. Both have thousands of free and paid options, so the possibilities are almost endless.

For a wedding registry website, you can use the NM Gift Registry and Wishlist Lite plugin to assemble a wishlist and display it within WordPress. This plugin allows you to add images of the gifts, direct links to stores that sell them, and even the quantity you need. Guests can interact with the wishlist to say what they are bringing, helping to prevent duplicate gifts.

For your theme, you could choose something wedding-themed, like the Nikah Wedding theme. This theme is stylish, looks great, and is fully responsive, with plenty of room for images.

Other plugins and themes you may want to consider include Events Made Easy, an RSVP tool, and VW Event Planner, a theme dedicated to planning events.

Pick plugins and a theme

Now that you've decided on the type of website you want to build, it's time to pick a content management system (CMS) and start adding the features you want.

WordPress is the most popular CMS in the world, accounting for over 40% of all websites. It's extremely versatile and doesn't require any coding knowledge, making it perfect for beginners. With WordPress, you can easily install plugins and themes to customise your website.

Plugins

• NM Gift Registry and Wishlist Lite: This plugin is perfect for building an online wedding registry or any other kind of registry. It allows you to assemble a wishlist, display images of the gifts, provide direct links to the stores that sell them, and even track the quantity of each item you need. Guests can also interact with the wishlist to indicate what they plan to bring, helping to prevent duplicate gifts.
• Events Made Easy: This plugin includes an RSVP system and allows you to send event reminders to guests. While it has many features tailored for paid events, it can still be useful for managing your wedding registry website.

Themes

• VW Event Planner: This theme is highly customisable and can be adapted to match any occasion, including weddings. It offers plenty of room for images, which are often a key focus for weddings and other events.
• Nikah Wedding: This stylish and responsive theme is a great choice for a wedding website. It has ample space for images and will ensure your website looks modern and sleek.

Share your registry with guests

Sharing your wedding registry with guests is the final step in the process. This is best done by including the URL of your wedding website (and therefore registry) on any save-the-dates, bridal shower invitations, or wedding invitations you send out. That way, you know every guest you're inviting has the information.

It is considered an etiquette faux pas to include your wedding registry on the invitation or on invitation enclosure cards. Instead, list your registry information on your wedding website, along with links to the stores you've selected items from.

Some people might also choose to share registry information on social media, via text message, or in a wedding announcement. The goal is to make it easy for your guests to find your registry and know what you want. Consolidating your registry and website makes it easy for both you and your guests to keep track of it all.

If you are sending out paper invites, it is also considered good etiquette to include a link to your wedding website.

Plan your event

Planning an event is the first step in building a gift registry website. The website should reflect the type of event you are hosting. For example, if you are building a wedding registry site, your website might request goodies for your new home. It is important to start thinking about what gifts you would like to receive as soon as the event is in the early stages of planning.

It is also important to note that your wedding registry website should be fully operational when invites are sent out so that guests know what to bring and can coordinate with other guests to avoid duplicate gifts.

The next step is to pick a web host and domain name. A web host rents out servers to customers to store or host their website and directly monitor and maintain this server to ensure that it is running 24/7. Picking a web host is an important choice as it directly determines the performance of your website.

After you have chosen a web host, you will need to pick a CMS (Content Management System). For a wedding gift website, you are not looking for anything complex, so WordPress is recommended. WordPress is extremely versatile and doesn't require knowing a single line of code. It also has thousands of free and paid plugins and themes available.

Once you have chosen your CMS, you can start to pick plugins and a theme. For a gift registry website, the NM Gift Registry and Wishlist Lite plugin are perfect for building an online wedding registry site or any other kind of registry layout. This plugin allows you to assemble a wishlist and display it within WordPress, including images of the gifts and direct links to the stores that sell them.

You can also add an RSVP tool such as Events Made Easy, which will enable you to set up a full RSVP system on your website and send out reminders to guests about the event.

For the theme, VW Event Planner is a good choice as it is very customizable and can match any occasion by changing a few colours and adding images.

Finally, send out the link to your website to your guests via social media or traditional paper invites.

Frequently asked questions