Website invitations, e-invites, paperless: the same thing, six names
Website invitations, e-invitations, digital invitations, paperless invitations, online invitations, e-invitation cards. Six phrases, and for the most part they describe one thing: an invitation that lives on a link rather than on paper. Two of them do mean something genuinely different, though, and knowing which two saves you from buying the wrong thing.
Invitation formats4 min read
The four phrases that mean the same thing
Website invitations, e-invitations, digital invitations and online invitations all describe an invitation hosted on a link that guests open in a browser. There is no technical difference between them. Which phrase somebody uses tells you where they are from and roughly how old they are, and nothing else at all.
In the Philippines e-invitation is the one most people reach for, and it is by a wide margin the most searched. Website invitation tends to come from people who have seen an American wedding site and are describing the shape of it. Digital invitation is what the studios and suppliers say to each other.
| The phrase | Who says it | What they mean |
|---|---|---|
| E-invitation, e-invite | Most people here | An invitation on a link |
| Website invitation | People who have seen one abroad | An invitation on a link |
| Digital invitation | Suppliers and studios | An invitation on a link |
| Online invitation | Usually written, rarely spoken | An invitation on a link |
| Paperless invitation | People making a point | An invitation on a link, and no printing |
| E-invitation card | People picturing a card | Often a single image, not a page |
The two that do mean something different
Paperless invitation carries a decision rather than a format: it means nothing is being printed at all. E-invitation card usually means one image, sent once, with no reply built in. That second one is the difference worth understanding, because an image and a page do not do the same job.
An image is a picture of an invitation. You export it, you send it, and from then on it is a file sitting in forty different chat threads. It cannot take a reply, it cannot be corrected, and when the venue moves you send a second image and hope people kept the right one.
A page sits on a link. It takes replies, it can be changed once for everybody, and it can hold the programme, the map and the photographs. If somebody quotes you a very low price for an e-invitation, an image is almost always what is being quoted.
Worth asking outright
Ask a supplier one question: is this a file I send, or a link I send? Everything else about the deal follows from the answer, and it is the question that most often goes unasked until after the money has moved.
Which one you actually want
Want an image if the event is small, the details will not change and you do not need a headcount. Want a page on a link if you need replies you can count, a programme people will check, or the photographs afterwards. Most Filipino celebrations past about fifty guests want the page.
- Fewer than about thirty guests, one venue, no programme: an image is genuinely fine
- You need a number for a caterer by a date: you want a page with a reply on it
- Ceremony and reception in different places: you want a page, for the directions alone
- A binyag with twenty-four ninong and ninang: you want a page, for the list
- You want the photographs from every table afterwards: only a page does that
If you would rather make one yourself, either shape is doable in an evening or two and the guide on how to make digital invitations walks through it honestly, including where the free tools stop.
Would you rather hand it over?
What each one tends to cost here
A single image from a freelance designer usually runs a few hundred pesos to about PHP 1,500. A hosted page with a reply on it runs from roughly PHP 1,500 to PHP 8,000 done for you. Ours start at ₱999 and go to ₱4,999 for a wedding.
The gap between an image and a page is mostly hosting and the machinery for replies, which somebody has to keep running for the year or so that the link matters. Anybody selling a hosted page for the price of an image is selling you an image.
We have written up what the market charges for a wedding specifically, with the ranges broken out, and every one of our own prices sits on one page.
Asked about this
Is a website invitation the same as an e-invitation?
Yes. They are two names for an invitation that lives on a link and opens in a browser. In the Philippines e-invitation is the phrase almost everybody uses, and website invitation is usually said by someone describing one they have seen abroad.
What is the difference between an e-invitation and an e-invitation card?
An e-invitation card usually means a single image you send once. An e-invitation more often means a page on a link that can also take replies and hold the programme. The image is cheaper; the page is the one that gives you a headcount.
Does paperless mean I cannot print anything?
No. It describes an intention rather than a restriction. Plenty of families send the link to most of the list and print a small batch of cards for the lolas and the principal sponsors, which is still paperless for ninety percent of the guests.
Which phrase should I search for to find suppliers here?
E-invitation, or digital invitation. Those two turn up the most Philippine suppliers. Searching website invitation mostly returns American template builders, which are fine tools but priced in dollars and built around wedding customs that are not ours.
