How to Keep Your DIY Wedding Website Running Smoothly 

Hello friend! If you’re looking for kick-butt wedding website design for beginners, you’re in the right place. I’m Kelly, and this is Kelly Ryann Co., home of individual, expressive website design for wedding vendors and beyond. If you’re in the wedding industry and tired of low-quality, DIY web design… Welcome. You have found your people. 

(It’s me. I’m people.) 

And today, I’m going to give you the ultimate website planning checklist (for FREE!) so you no longer need to second guess your wedding website design, SEO, or branding. 

Ready? 

Let’s   f r e a k i n g   go. 

Why Do I Need Professional Wedding Website Development & Design?

Alright, listen. Chances are, you are a wedding photographer, planner, florist, or another creative, passionate wedding business owner. I’m willing to bet that you have stunning photos of your work and that your Instagram is poppin’. (People still say that, right?) 

Well, hate to be the bearer of bad news, but Instagram isn’t enough. I don’t care how good it looks. I don’t care how many followers you have. Having a social media account is not enough to establish your wedding business. 

In the Weddings for Real podcast, pro wedding planner Megan Gillikin interviewed couples getting married in 2024 and 2025 to find out what wedding vendors really need to know. She found that most couples will find a wedding vendor through Instagram, but then immediately check out their website. 

If the website looked outdated or poorly designed, they left the website.

If the website looked more like a sales brochure, they left the website. 

So even if you’re gaining traction on Instagram, a poorly designed website will lose you business!

Plus, Meta shut down last week. Like, it was gone. No one could access it. No one could answer DMs. And unfortunately, that happens all the time! 

(Oh, also. Things just disappear sometimes. The text on the last reel you made. Your latest post. Your whole account. If your business is entirely dependent on social media, you run the risk of losing all your hard work in a single instant. Having a professional website protects you from Mark Zuckerberg’s shortcomings.)

Not convinced yet? Well, in addition to protecting your hard work, a professionally designed wedding website gives you: 

• Credibility 
• Brand Recognition
• More Leads 
• Organic Traffic

This is even more important for the wedding industry than it is for any other industry! As a wedding vendor, you’re asking to be part of someone’s BIG DAY. This is the one day in their lives when they need things to run smoothly. 

You need to show your clients that they can trust you! From the very first impression, you need to display your credibility, expertise, professionalism, and trustworthiness. 

And beyond this, you need to form an immediate, genuine connection with your clients. 

Let’s face it, the wedding industry is oversaturated. There are estimated to be around 100,000 wedding photographers – just in the United States! But this shouldn’t scare you. 

Why? 

Because, with professional web design and intentional branding, you can stand out to your unique clients. Knowing who you are and who you serve will help you have a backlog of people who fit your vibe, connect with you, and want you to be part of their wedding day. 

So let me show you exactly what to do to create a professional wedding website design that will get you in front of your ideal client! Keep reading for all the website planning tips for beginners and beyond. 

The Best (and Simplest) Wedding Website Checklist for Beginners 

7 Frontend Website Design Tips

When you hear a web designer talk about the “Front End” of a website, we mean the stuff everybody can see. This is the website you present to the world: home page, about page, services, yada yada yada. This is also called the User Side. 

Here’s what to do to make it look like something you’d be proud of. Something your mom would want to hang on the fridge. (Can you tell I have toddlers?) 

1. Clarify Your Branding 

This means colors. This means fonts. This means knowing who you want to work with and establishing the vibe. This means creating something that clients can recognize and associate with you. 

2. Check the Flow 

You want your website to be easy to navigate. Each section needs to connect to the next to create a seamless experience for the reader. This often means leaving lots of white space (to let our eyes breathe!) and creating distinct sections that complement each other. 

3. Include Allllll the Buttons 

Put. Them. Everywhere. Buttons are very obvious prompts that say “Schedule A Call” or “Get on the Waitlist” and direct your site visitor to the correct page to do so. 

You want to have multiple opportunities for your site visitor to take that next step! Whether that’s getting on a call, filling out a form, or signing up for your email list. 

4. Follow the Client Journey 

Take a step back and put yourself in your client’s shoes. If you were to land on your website, what would you notice first? Is that what you want your client to notice? If not, change it. 

Create a fluid client journey that guides your clients to exactly where you want them to go. 

5. Make it appealing 

I mean, this should be obvious. But uh… I’ve seen some pretty bad websites. 

Your website is your first impression. It’s your storefront. You want it to be pretty! You want your clients to enjoy their time there and remember it fondly. So think about your ideal client and think about their tastes. 

Do they like pastel colors and delicate designs? Or are they into bold, unapologetic experiences? Craft your website to their tastes so they relate to you as soon as they click on your page. 

6. Make Sure Your Photos Are High-Quality

I *cannot* stress this enough. Images are the best way to show your clients that you know what you’re doing. If your photos are low quality, your client will assume your work is, too. 

7. Make Sure Your Fonts & Colors Are Readable 

If they’re pretty but unintelligible, change them. (Not gifted in color theory? No worries. This website helps you pick colors that work well together!)

5 Backend Website Development Tips 

As you probably guessed, the “Back End” of web design includes the stuff nobody sees. Things like keywords, alternate text, meta descriptions, and links. This is the stuff that Google sees. When you optimize the back end of your website, you’re telling Google who you want to see your website. This helps you end up in the right searches. 

So here are a few things you can do on your own to help Google promote your business! 

1. Check What Keywords You’re Currently Ranking For 

I recommend using Ubersuggest, a free tool that shows you what searches your wedding website is showing up in! You can use this information to adjust the terms you use and either expand or niche down your keywords. 

2. Utilize Google Tools 

Use Google Search Console and Google Analytics to measure your site’s traffic and gain customer insights. (Bonus Points: if you have a Google Business Profile set up, you look extra legit). 

3. Fix Broken Links 

Check every place on your website where you link to another page. Google really hates broken links, and they make you rank lower in search engine results. 

4. Remove Hidden Pages

You probably have a hidden or blocked page on your website right now. Most business owners do, and they don’t even know it! Log in to the back end of your website and delete those pages! They negatively impact your ranking. 

5. Compress your Photos 

Lots of photos means slower loading speed. Slower loading speed means fewer site visitors. (Seriously, people will disappear if your site takes longer than 5 seconds to load. I wrote a whole other blog post about this stuff! Check it out here.) 

Download the Free Wedding Website Planning Guide

Okay, that was a lot. And honestly, it’s hard to cover everything that goes into high-quality branding and web design in a single blog post. 

Which is why I created this FREE download! Inside, you’ll find everything you need to know to start designing your wedding website. 

I include the 3 main things you need to plan out your website, an outline (with examples!) of a cohesive wedding pro website, and a content collection checklist to make sure you don’t miss a thing. 

Did I mention that it’s free? Because it’s free. 

Want in? Click here to download! 

Till next time, 

XO, Kelly