Wix vs Squarespace vs WordPress for Wedding Websites — Pros & Cons

Choosing the right website platform for your wedding business or personal celebration can feel overwhelming. With dozens of options available — each touting beautiful designs, powerful features, and accessible pricing — identifying the best fit takes careful consideration. Wix, Squarespace, and WordPress are three of the most commonly recommended platforms for building wedding websites, ranging from boutique wedding planner businesses to individual couple event sites.

This article offers an in-depth comparison of these three platforms. We’ll explore their respective pros and cons with a focus on the needs of wedding professionals, couples, and small businesses in the wedding industry.

If you need help with your website, app, or digital marketing — get in touch today at info@webmatter.co.uk or call 07546 289 419.

Understanding the Choices: Wix, Squarespace, and WordPress

Before drilling into the details, let’s clarify what each of these platforms actually offers:

• Wix: A fully-hosted, drag-and-drop website builder, popular for its ease of use, designer-made templates, and integrated features for both novices and pros.
• Squarespace: Also fully-hosted, Squarespace has built its reputation on elegant, modern templates and a streamlined editing experience. It’s widely used for creative portfolios, small business sites, and personal projects like wedding websites.
• WordPress (specifically WordPress.org): Unlike Wix and Squarespace, WordPress.org is a self-hosted, open-source content management system. It offers nearly endless flexibility, but requires separate web hosting and is more hands-on in terms of setup and maintenance.

What to Look for in a Wedding Website Platform

When choosing a platform for a wedding website — whether you’re a wedding professional, vendor, or couple — the following considerations are especially important:

• Design Flexibility & Aesthetics: Can you easily create a visually stunning site that fits the event’s tone or your brand as a wedding business?
• Ease of Use: Is it beginner-friendly? Or will someone with limited web experience struggle?
• Features for Weddings: Does it support the specific features you need (RSVP forms, photo galleries, event schedules, gift registry integration)?
• Cost: What is the real-world cost of building, launching, and maintaining your wedding website?
• Scalability & Ownership: Will the site scale with your needs? Do you truly own your content and design?
• SEO & Marketing: How well does the platform support Google rankings, analytics, and integrations?
• Support & Community: What kind of support and learning resources are available?

Wix for Wedding Websites

Pros of Wix

• User-Friendly, No Coding Needed: Wix’s intuitive drag-and-drop editor allows users to place elements anywhere. Most wedding sites can be designed without ever touching code.
• Huge Template Library: Wix offers dozens of professionally-designed wedding templates, including RSVP-centric designs and vendor portfolios.
• Built-In Features: Features like contact forms, RSVP management, photo galleries, social media widgets, and even event calendars come built-in or as easy app integrations.
• Fully Hosted, All-in-One: Hosting, domain registration, SSL security, and maintenance are handled for you. No technical setup required.
• Affordable Entry Pricing: Wix plans are competitively priced, with many relevant features covered on basic tiers for modest sites.

Cons of Wix

• Template Lock-In: After your site goes live, you cannot switch templates without rebuilding your content. This can be limiting if you change your mind about design down the road.
• Limited Scalability: Wix is ideal for small-to-medium sites, but larger, more complex wedding business sites may outgrow its capabilities.
• Wix Ads on Cheaper Plans: Unless you upgrade to a paid plan, Wix will place branding ads on your site.
• Less Control Over SEO: While basic SEO is possible, advanced optimization is more limited compared to open-source platforms.
• App Market Limitations: While expansive, some app integrations (e.g., custom RSVP systems, registries) may require extra monthly fees or only basic customization.

Squarespace for Wedding Websites

Pros of Squarespace

• Sleek, Cohesive Templates: Squarespace is renowned for polished, elegant templates that look “expensive” with minimal effort — particularly effective for wedding planners and creatives.
• Integrated RSVP and Forms: Built-in form builder allows for RSVP forms, guest book, and contact inquiries with easy data export.
• Mobile-Responsive by Default: All Squarespace templates are fully responsive on mobile devices, ensuring guests have a great experience regardless of device.
• Good Image Display and Galleries: High-quality photo galleries and image layouts are central. Ideal for sharing engagement shoots, portfolios, or event highlights.
• All-in-One Solution: Hosting, SSL, analytics, and updates are included. E-commerce functionality (e.g. ticket sales, branded wedding merchandise) is available on higher plans.
• Decent Marketing Tools: Email campaign tools, basic SEO, and simple integrations with social and registry platforms come standard.

Cons of Squarespace

• Learning Curve for Advanced Features: While basic editing is simple, advanced tweaks sometimes require custom code blocks or CSS — particularly if you want unique layouts or functions.
• Fewer Niche Integrations: Squarepace’s third-party app/store (Extensions) ecosystem is smaller than Wix or WordPress. Some popular registry services or RSVP management platforms may not integrate directly.
• Limited Customization Beyond Templates: For entirely custom layouts, you’ll need coding knowledge or the help of a specialist—which can undercut the point of a website builder.
• Slightly Higher Entry Cost: Squarespace’s monthly cost is typically higher than entry-level Wix plans if you need full branding and custom domain support.

WordPress for Wedding Websites

Pros of WordPress

• Unlimited Flexibility: Anything you want—from RSVP management to booking calendars, multilingual sites, or advanced gift registry plugins—can be created using plugins, custom code, or third-party themes.
• Truly Own Your Site and Content: Self-hosted WordPress means you own your site, can move it to any host, and have full control over the files, database, and data.
• Vast Theme and Plugin Library: Thousands of free and premium wedding-focused themes are available, supporting unique design and all kinds of wedding business models.
• Powerful SEO and Analytics: WordPress aligns with best practices for Google indexing; plugins like Yoast SEO enable granular control.
• Scalable for Vendors & Businesses: Whether you start as a personal wedding site or grow a wedding planning agency, WordPress can scale to meet vast, evolving needs.
• Community Support: With millions of users worldwide, help is available via forums, articles, and professional experts.

Cons of WordPress

• Requires Hosting and Setup: WordPress.org is not an all-in-one solution. You’ll need to choose and pay for web hosting, domain, SSL, and regularly update software.
• Steeper Learning Curve: While easy with some hosting providers’ installers, customizing themes, adding plugins, and adjusting settings can be intimidating for non-tech-savvy users.
• Maintenance Responsibility: Security, backups, updates, and troubleshooting are your responsibility (unless paying for managed WordPress hosting, often at a premium).
• Quality Variance: Free themes and plugins vary in quality, can create conflicts, or lead to security vulnerabilities if not managed carefully.
• Upfront Costs Can Add Up: While technically free, costs for a premium theme, plugins, and reliable hosting can surpass the price of a Wix or Squarespace subscription.

Head-to-Head Comparison

Here’s a quick overview comparing Wix, Squarespace, and WordPress for typical wedding website use:

Conclusions and Recommendations

• If you want the fastest and easiest route (perfect for couples or busy planners who need ‘something beautiful’ fast): Wix may be your best choice. The templates get you up and running quickly, with all the basics included.
• If presentation and aesthetics are your top priority and you’re comfortable with a slight learning curve: Squarespace gives a premium “look” without needing design experience. Ideal for wedding vendors and planners needing a portfolio that stands out.
• If you need full ownership, customization, and scalability (you’re a growing business or want your site to evolve): WordPress.org unlocks nearly endless possibilities. Factor in the cost of setup and ongoing maintenance, but you’ll have total control.

Each platform comes with trade-offs. Prioritize your needs: time to launch, long-term flexibility, design, or hands-off management. No one platform is “best” for all situations — make your selection based on your unique goals and resources.

If you’re unsure or need expert assistance with your wedding website, app, or digital marketing, get in touch today at info@webmatter.co.uk or call 07546 289 419.