Moving Your Wedding Website Off The Knot or Zola

The Knot and Zola both give you a free wedding website, and for a lot of couples that's where the site stays. Some couples change their minds halfway through planning, though. Maybe half the family reads Spanish and the site needs to work for them too. Maybe you want guests to upload their photos to the same link they used to RSVP. Or you just like another builder better.

Moving a wedding website is mostly a guest list problem. The pages take an evening to rebuild. What takes care is getting your guests across without losing anyone, and making sure the link people already saved doesn't leave them stranded.

This guide walks through the move in order. We checked The Knot's and Zola's own help pages on October 18, 2026, and we link to them so you can check them again before you start.

TL;DR:

• Export your guest list first. Zola exports to CSV or Excel from a desktop computer. The Knot's help center documents importing a list but not exporting one, so check your Guest List Manager on a computer before you commit.
• Rebuild the site, then send the new link before you hide the old one.
• Hiding or deactivating the old site sends anyone with the old link to an error page, so add the new link to the old site first.
• You don't have to move your registry. Keep it where it is and tell guests where to find it.
• Moving before invitations go out is much easier than moving after RSVPs have started.

When moving is worth it, and when it isn't

Be honest with yourselves about the reason, because both platforms do a lot well.

Stay put if your registry is the center of your planning, if you want a large US vendor marketplace in the same account, or if you've bought a custom domain through them and love it. Zola's custom domains start at $17.99, and The Knot sells one as an optional add-on. WhiteClover doesn't offer custom domains: every site gets a free whiteclover.io address built from your names.

Moving makes more sense when the website itself is what's not working for you, usually for one of two reasons:

• Language. Zola's help center says it is "not able to support special characters on our wedding websites", and that fields such as "the clickable buttons on the website" stay in English. The Knot's help center says you can change most titles and text except for special characters, and that some text, like the RSVP page, can't be changed. If your grandmother reads Spanish with every accent in place, that matters.
• Guest photos. You want one link that does the RSVP before the wedding and collects guests' photos after it.

For a feature-by-feature view of the big three, see our The Knot vs WeddingWire vs Zola comparison.

Step 1: export your guest list

Do this first, before you touch anything else.

From Zola

Zola's help center says to "head to your desktop computer and then go to your Guest List, and click dots in the top right-hand corner and select the format you'd like to receive." You get a CSV or Excel file. Replies are a separate download: on the Track RSVPs page, "Export RSVPs" gives you everyone's answers. Zola notes that export "isn't available from the app", so use a computer.

From The Knot

The Knot's help center explains how to import a guest list into its Guest List Manager. We couldn't find a help article that explains exporting one. Open your Guest List Manager on a computer and look for a download option before you plan the move around it. If there isn't one, copying the table into a spreadsheet by hand is tedious but works, and it's a good moment to clean the list anyway.

Step 2: tidy the spreadsheet for import

WhiteClover imports a CSV or Excel file. Columns are matched by their header name, in any order, and a guest needs nothing but a first name. Every other column is optional.

The phone rule trips up American lists most often. US numbers are usually written with brackets and dashes, and a spreadsheet can't tell what country they belong to. Add +1 and strip the punctuation before you import, and the importer will tell you about any row it can't read rather than guessing.

There's no column for an RSVP someone already gave on the old site. If replies have started, keep the RSVP export from Step 1 to hand, and use a tag like said yes on Zola so you can see who you're asking a second time.

Step 3: rebuild the site

Start with your names and your date. That's enough for a first version, and the rest can follow:

• The schedule. Each event gets its own date, time and location: the rehearsal dinner, the ceremony, the reception, Sunday brunch. Guests RSVP to each one separately, and you get a headcount per event.
• The FAQ section. Parking, the hotel block, dress code, whether kids are invited. It's free text, so copy across what you'd already written.
• RSVP questions you write yourself, like a dropdown for the entrée or a free text box for allergies. There's no fixed meal field.
• Languages. You can run the site in more than one language, including Spanish, and it opens in whichever of your languages a guest's browser already uses. Nothing is translated for you: you write each version, so the Spanish says exactly what you meant.

The website, RSVP, guest list and email invitations are free, with no charge per guest. The one paid extra tied to the website is a fully custom design builder at a one-time €15, charged in euros by Stripe, so your bank converts it.

Step 4: switch the link over

The order here matters more than anything else in the move.

1. Publish the new site and test it on your own phone.
2. Add the new link to the old site. Put a line at the top of your Zola or Knot homepage, something like "We've moved! Our wedding website is now at...", and leave it up for a few weeks.
3. Send guests the new link (see Step 5).
4. Only then hide the old site.

Hiding works differently on each platform:

• Zola: in your Manage Website dashboard, the toggle next to Visibility makes the site private. Zola says guests who try to visit it after that "should land" on an error page, and that it can take up to 30 days to drop out of search engines.
• The Knot: under Manage Website, then Privacy Settings, "Deactivate your wedding website" removes the content. The Knot's help page says: "Your URL will now point to an error page." You can reactivate it later.

Check whether hiding the website affects your registry before you do it. Both platforms run the website and the registry in the same account, and you probably want the registry to stay visible.

If you own a custom domain that you bought from a domain company yourself, its forwarding setting can point at any address, including your new site. If you bought it through Zola or The Knot, ask them what happens to it before you hide the old site.

Step 5: tell your guests

Send the new link by email. WhiteClover sends email invitations free, and each guest's reply lands in your list against their name. Send to everyone, including guests who already replied on the old site, with a short note so nobody thinks they've been invited twice:

"Quick update from Ana and Marco: our wedding website has moved. Same date, same plans, new link. If you already RSVPed, thank you! Please tap the link and confirm once more so we have everything in one place."

A US-specific note: WhiteClover's text messages reach US and Canadian phone numbers, and you can also share the link by email or paste it into your own texts and group chats. It's one ordinary web link, so it works anywhere you can paste it.

If you'd already mailed printed invitations with the old web address on them, the note on the old site from Step 4 is what catches those guests. Leave it there until your RSVP deadline has passed.

Step 6: keep the registry where it is

WhiteClover doesn't run a registry, and there's no reason to move yours. Keep your Zola or Knot registry open and tell guests where to find it in your FAQ section, for example "Our registry is on Zola under Ana Ruiz and Marco Bell." If you'd rather have cash or honeymoon gifts, the website has a gift section for bank or PayPal details if that suits you better.

What you gain, and what you give up

Moving without losing anyone

Switching wedding websites mid-planning sounds riskier than it is. The pages are quick to rebuild. The care goes into the guest list, the order you switch the links in and one clear message to your guests. Do it before invitations go out and your guests only ever see one link.

If the website is the part that isn't working for you, see what a WhiteClover wedding website includes, or start building yours free next to the old one and only switch when you're happy with it.

Frequently asked questions

Can I transfer my wedding website from The Knot or Zola?

Not in one go: neither help center describes exporting a whole site. You export your guest list, rebuild the pages on the new site and copy your text across. Rebuilding the pages is usually the quick part.

Will my old wedding website link still work after I move?

Only while the old site is visible. Once you hide it on Zola or deactivate it on The Knot, both platforms say the old link goes to an error page. Add the new link to the old site and leave it up until your RSVP deadline has passed.

Can I keep my Zola or Knot registry if I move my website?

Yes. Keep the registry where it is and tell guests where to find it in the FAQ section of your new site. Check that hiding the old website doesn't hide the registry too.

Do my guests have to RSVP again?

If they replied on the old site, yes, because their answers don't transfer. Keep your RSVP export so you know who already answered, and ask them once, politely, with a note explaining why.

Is there a cost to moving my wedding website?

Not on our side. The WhiteClover website, RSVP, guest list and email invitations are free. If you'd paid for a custom domain on your old platform, check what happens to it before you hide the old site.

Recommended

• The Knot vs WeddingWire vs Zola: Honest Comparison
• Best Zola Alternatives for Wedding Planning
• How to Share Your Wedding Website With Guests
• What's the Catch With Free Wedding Websites?
• Wedding RSVP Wording: 30+ Examples