An honest comparison
Free or professional wedding website: when each one makes sense
Some platforms give wedding websites away for free. For certain weddings they are perfectly sufficient — and it costs us nothing to say so. Here is the comparison without the spin.
What you get with a free wedding website
Wedding-planning platforms offer free websites as part of their service. In exchange for filling in a template you get a working page with the date, the venue and, in many cases, an RSVP.
For a local wedding of 60 or 80 guests who all know each other, with no complex logistics, that can cover 100% of what you need. If that is your case, go ahead: save the money for the flowers.
Where the limits start
The limitations show up as soon as the wedding gets more complex. These are the ones couples tell us about after trying a free option:
- The address is platform.com/your-names, not yours
- The design is a template: you change the photo and the colour, not the structure
- Adverts or platform branding on your invitation
- One language only, or machine translation
- The RSVP collects attendance, but not always allergies, shuttle or named plus-ones
- Exporting the guest list is limited or unavailable
- If the platform closes or changes terms, your website goes with it
What changes with a bespoke website
The difference is not 'prettier': it is that it is designed around your specific wedding. If you have three shuttles, the transport section is built for three shuttles. If you have German guests, the site genuinely speaks German.
And the RSVP adapts to what you need to ask, not to what the template allows. That is the difference you feel in the final dashboard, when the allergy list has to go to the caterer.
Point by point
No marketing: this is how it is.
| Free website | Bespoke website | |
|---|---|---|
| Price | €0 | From €290 |
| Design | Template with your photos | Designed from scratch |
| Web address | Platform subdomain | Your own (domain included from Signature) |
| Third-party adverts | Common | Never |
| Languages | One, or machine translation | Up to unlimited, human-reviewed |
| RSVP | Basic attendance | Allergies, shuttle, plus-ones, song |
| Guest list export | Limited | Filterable Excel/CSV |
| Last-minute changes | You, in the template | You write to us and we do it |
| Time it costs you | Several evenings | A 10-minute questionnaire |
Frequently asked questions
So do you ever recommend the free option?
Yes: local wedding, few guests, no organised transport, no international guests, and you enjoy building it yourself. In that scenario a free website does the job and paying makes no sense.
Can I start free and switch later?
You can, but if you have already shared the link you will need to communicate a new address. If you suspect you will need more, starting with the final one works out better.
Is a bespoke website harder to manage?
The opposite: you do not manage it. You send us the changes and we apply them, last-minute ones included.
What happens to our website after the wedding?
It stays live, and you can add the post-wedding gallery. If you want to keep it as a keepsake, that can be arranged.
Other guides
Not sure which case you are in?
Tell us how many guests you have, where they come from and whether there are shuttles. We will tell you honestly whether you need a bespoke website or a free one will do.