Configuring homepage redirects

Set up automatic redirects from your homepage to another page or external URL.

Before your site is published, you can redirect visitors to a different page while you finish building. This lets you show a "coming soon" message, your save-the-date, or your invitation while your main site is under construction!

What homepage redirects do

Shows alternative content before your main site is ready.

Redirects automatically. Visitors go to your chosen page instead of your homepage.

Only works when site is unpublished. Once you publish, redirects are disabled.

Professional placeholder. Better than a blank or incomplete site.

When to use redirects

Building your site. You're not ready to publish but want something live.

Save-the-date first. Show your save-the-date while you work on the full site.

Invitation preview. Let guests see the invitation before the full site launches.

Coming soon page. Generic placeholder with your wedding date.

External link. Redirect to a temporary page elsewhere.

How to configure a redirect

  1. Go to Site in your main navigation
  2. Click on the settings icon to open Site settings
  3. Make sure Publish site toggle is OFF (redirects only work when unpublished)
  4. Below the publish toggle, you'll see Redirect to dropdown
  5. Select your redirect option from the dropdown
  6. If you chose "Custom URL", enter the URL in the Custom URL field that appears
  7. Click Save changes at the bottom

Visitors now see your chosen redirect page!

Redirect options

The Redirect to dropdown offers:

Coming soon
- Generic "coming soon" message
- Usually shows your wedding date
- Simple placeholder

Save the date
- Redirects to your digital save-the-date
- Requires you've created a save-the-date in Ecards

Invitation
- Redirects to your digital invitation
- Requires you've created an invitation in Ecards

Custom URL
- Redirects to any web address you provide
- Can be external (like a social media page, Google Doc, etc.)
- Can be internal (a specific page on your site)

Choose based on what you want guests to see!

Redirect to coming soon

This is the simplest option:

No setup required. Works immediately.

Generic content. Just says your site is coming soon.

Shows wedding date. If you've entered your wedding date.

No customization. Basic placeholder only.

Good for when you have nothing else ready yet!

Redirect to save the date

To use this option:

  1. Create a save-the-date in Ecards → Save the Date
  2. In Site settings, choose Save the date from Redirect to dropdown
  3. Save

Visitors see your save-the-date instead of your site!

Benefits:
- Beautiful, designed content
- Shares key wedding details
- Professional look

Requirements:
- You must have created a save-the-date

Redirect to invitation

To use this option:

  1. Create an invitation in Ecards → Invitations
  2. In Site settings, choose Invitation from Redirect to dropdown
  3. Save

Visitors see your invitation instead of your site!

Benefits:
- Formal, complete information
- Matches your printed invitations
- Includes RSVP details

Requirements:
- You must have created an invitation

Redirect to custom URL

For maximum flexibility, redirect to any URL:

  1. In Redirect to dropdown, choose Custom URL
  2. In the Enter custom URL field that appears, type the full URL
  3. Include https:// at the beginning
  4. Save

Examples:
- https://www.instagram.com/yourusername
- https://docs.google.com/document/...
- https://www.theknot.com/yourpage
- https://yourtemporarysite.com

Use cases:
- Redirect to social media
- Link to a Google Doc with details
- Send to a registry page temporarily
- Point to another website builder while you transition

When redirects are active

Redirects ONLY work when:

Publish site toggle is OFF

Once you turn Publish site ON, the redirect is ignored and guests see your actual wedding website!

The settings panel shows: "Visitors to your site will be redirected to this page until your site is published."

Publishing your site

When you're ready to show your full website:

  1. Go to Site settings
  2. Turn Publish site toggle ON
  3. Save

Your redirect is automatically disabled and guests see your wedding website!

You don't need to remove the redirect setting, it just becomes inactive.

Testing your redirect

Before sharing your URL:

  1. Make sure Publish site is OFF
  2. Visit your wedding website URL in a private/incognito window
  3. Confirm you're redirected to the correct page
  4. Check that the redirect works on mobile too

Always test before telling guests about your site!

Redirect timing

Immediate. Redirects happen instantly when guests visit your site.

No countdown. They don't see your site then get redirected, they just go straight to the redirect destination.

Clean experience. Looks professional, not like an error.

Changing your redirect

You can change the redirect destination anytime:

  1. Go to Site settings
  2. Change the Redirect to dropdown to a different option
  3. Save

The new redirect takes effect immediately!

Disabling redirects without publishing

If you want to disable the redirect but keep your site unpublished:

Unfortunately, there's no "disable redirect" option. Your choices are:

Publish your site (disables redirect automatically)

Or keep redirect active with one of the four options

The redirect is tied to the unpublished state.

Custom URL formatting

When using Custom URL, make sure:

Full URL including https://
- Correct: https://www.example.com
- Wrong: www.example.com (missing https://)

Valid destination
- Test the URL in a browser first
- Make sure it loads correctly

Public access
- Don't redirect to a private/password-protected page guests can't access

Redirect vs. password protection

Redirect: Sends unpublished site visitors elsewhere

Password protection: Requires code to access published site

These are separate features! You could:
- Use redirects while unpublished
- Then publish with password protection
- Or publish without password protection

Different use cases!

Communication with guests

If you're using a redirect, let guests know:

"Our website is coming soon! Check back later."

Or

"Visit [URL] to see our save-the-date while we finish our website!"

Set expectations so guests aren't confused!

After publishing

Once you publish your site, the redirect settings remain saved but inactive. If you unpublish later, the redirect becomes active again with the same settings!

Common workflow

  1. Start building site → Set redirect to "Coming soon"
  2. Create save-the-date → Change redirect to "Save the date"
  3. Create invitation → Change redirect to "Invitation"
  4. Finish website → Publish site (redirect automatically disabled)

This gives guests something to see at each stage!

Configuring homepage redirects lets you control what guests see before your full wedding website is ready, ensuring they always have access to important information!