5 Online Wedding Registries That Help You Put Together Your Wish List Without Leaving Home

Browsing for gift ideas for your guests has gone virtual. Today, website services that offer everything from dishes to linens and even honeymoon funds enable one-stop shopping that you can take care of from the comfort of your couch. Here, what to expect and how our favorites stack up through different tech tools, perks, and present options.

Each online wedding registry service differs, but there are common features:

They're Free: Go ahead and get started; it won't cost you a penny to gather your ideas.

The Sky's the Limit: There is no cap on the number of items you can add to your registry, nor the number of stores from which you can choose.

Time Is on Your Side: You can add and update items on your registry after the initial wish list is created, although the cutoff for changes varies from site to site, with the shortest time frame being up to the wedding date.

Wrap It Up: Sometimes complimentary gift-wrapping can be arranged through the store from which the item is purchased, but the services themselves do not offer it.

Why You Will Thank Them: Each service has a gift-tracking method that notifies you of what has been purchased and who purchased it. The tracking includes the buyer's contact information to facilitate writing thank-you notes.

Get Creative: All sites support "experience gifting," allowing buyers to contribute cash toward cooking and art classes, honeymoon activities, charity donations, down payments on a mortgage, and anything else you might dream up.

Banking On It: All services charge a transaction fee for cash-registry gifts that ranges from 2 percent to 5 percent, depending on the site used and the third party processing the cash.

MyRegistry is best known for its partnerships with popular gift retailers, like Amazon, Anthropologie, Bloomingdale's, CB2, Crate & Barrel, Nordstrom, Pottery Barn, REI, Sur la Table, and Target. In 2015, even more retailers are expected to be added. Using its signature "sync feature," you can participate in department store registry completion discounts and merge existing store registries into one master MyRegistry wish list without any headaches.

Year Established: 2005 

Where to Register: Online retailers (including synced partners), physical storefronts, and small shops

How to Register: By visiting MyRegistry; taking advantage of the mobile app by scanning an item's bar code and uploading it to the online registry; using the "offline gifts" function; or adding gifts through the "Add to MyRegistry" button, which can be bookmarked on an Internet toolbar to easily upload products while online shopping.

Ordering and Shipping Information: Gifts are shipped as they are ordered, rather than in groups or by request; the store from which the item is purchased manages the sales tax charged, shipping and handling fees, and all returns and exchanges.

Specialty Items: You can register for food and wine.

Tracking Tools: Guests are prompted to mark the gift they selected as "fulfilled" when completing the transaction. Purchases from sync partner stores are updated automatically. Members have a "manage gift list" section that allows them to monitor the total number of gifts and the list of purchased items. 

Partial Gifting: You can collect funds for big-ticket items by requesting contributions from multiple guests. The fund is ultimately paid out to you, and you make the purchase on your own. 

Expiration Date: Your registry never expires, so you can turn it into a Christmas, birthday, or anniversary wish list to use long after your wedding date.

NewlyWish partners with almost 60 boutiques, including tabletop and china destinations such as Kate Spade New York and Waterford Wedgwood, charity organizations, and jewelry retailers. Charming mom-and-pop shops and storefronts with a local focus round out the anything-but-cookie-cutter list.  

Year Established: 2011

Where to Register: Any one of the nearly 60 online NewlyWish boutiques, online retailers, and any physical storefront, using the offline registry tool

How to Register: By visiting NewlyWish. 

Ordering and Shipping Information: Gifts are held and shipped only once requested by you, rather than as they are ordered or in groups. The store from which the item is purchased manages the sales tax charged and shipping and handling fees. You can return undamaged items (at your expense) up to 30 days from the purchase date and be issued a full refund. You have up to six months after your wedding date to return any NewlyWish registry item in exchange for NewlyWish credit.

Specialty Items: You can register for food and wine.

Tracking Tools: NewlyWish notifies you when gift options are running low and recommends additional items. It also notifies you each time a gift is purchased online, unless you opt to disable the function. 

Partial Gifting: Any item that costs more than $150 is eligible for "group gifting," meaning multiple guests can contribute to a pricier present, while all-cash and honeymoon funds are automatically set as a group-gifting item.

Cost-Cutting Components: If you choose to convert cash gifts to NewlyWish credit, you will avoid the transaction fee typically applied. You can then use the funds on any items available at NewlyWish boutiques. The site also supports a "registry completion program," whereby couples receive 10 percent off the remaining items in their registry for up to one year after their wedding date. Additionally, the site frequently runs sales on available products, rather than pricing them at the industry rate.

Fab Feature: The platform's "gift tracker" shows not just what the giver gave, but also what they wrote on the enclosed card, making the writing of thank-you notes all the easier for the bride and groom.

Expiration Date: Your registry never expires, so you can turn it into a Christmas, birthday, or anniversary wish list to use long after your wedding date.

With no retail partnerships, SimpleRegistry is able to offer you maximum flexibility and independence to select items from wherever you want. Because guests purchase the value of the items that you choose, rather than actual products, the bride and groom receive the cash value of the gifts purchased and are able to redeem their presents and experiences on their own, whenever they want. 

Year Established: 2011

Where to Register: Anywhere, from online retailers to pop-up shops  

How to Register: By visiting SimpleRegistry; using the mobile app by scanning an item's bar code or taking its picture and uploading it to the online registry; or by adding gifts through the "SimpleAdder" button, which can be bookmarked on an Internet toolbar to easily upload products while online shopping.

Ordering and Shipping Information: Because the bride and groom purchase the physical gifts independently, SimpleRegistry does not provide a service for returns and exchanges, meaning it's left to the couple to handle with each vendor.

Specialty Item: You can register for food and wine. 

Tracking Tools: As soon as a guest gifts, you are notified via e-mail—unless you opt out—and your registry account and visible wish list page are automatically updated. Because SimpleRegistry leaves making purchases to you, duplicate gifting (and the returns that go along with it) does not apply. When all items have been purchased, you receive an e-mail prompt to add more items. If you don't, then a "general gift" option for guests to contribute toward appears on the registry.

Partial Gifting: You can make items eligible for "group gifting," allowing multiple guests to contribute money toward one expensive present.

Cost-Cutting Component: Because you set the price for each item and experience listed, when a gift item is fulfilled, SimpleRegistry scours the web to find the product at the lowest cost, then e-mails you with a product link for you to purchase it once it is ready. 

Fab Feature: You can select certain friends and family members to receive a custom version of the "SimpleAdder" tool, which allows them to suggest items for the bride and groom to add to their registry. The pair ultimately decides what makes the master list.

Good to Know: Because all gifts are technically cash transactions, a 5 percent fee is added to every purchase, and couples can decide to cover that charge (redeeming $95 instead of $100, for example) or to pass it on to guests as they check out (making a $100 gift cost $105). However, sales tax is not applied to any purchase.

Expiration Date: Your registry never expires, so you can turn it into a Christmas, birthday, or anniversary wish list to use long after your wedding date.

Blueprint Registry was created for couples who only want to register online and who want to see what their future home will look like before their gifts arrive. The website supports a visual layout that allows you to select and organize your wish list in a virtual blueprint of your home or apartment, down to the number and types of rooms and square footage. After selecting the number of rooms (from foyers to bedrooms), you can browse and select gifts and categorize them by room to create your dream home.

Year Established: 2013

Where to Register: Any company, regardless of size or scope, that has an online storefront 

How to Register: By using the "Add to Blueprint" button, which can be bookmarked on an Internet toolbar to easily upload products while online shopping.

Ordering and Shipping Information: Gifts are shipped as they are ordered, rather than in groups or by request; the store from which the item is purchased manages the sales tax charged and shipping and handling fees.

Tracking Tools: As gifts are purchased, a notification e-mail is sent to you with details of the gift and the giver. Two weeks after the wedding, you receive a summary categorized by vendor that includes each company's return instructions.

Fab Feature: For items purchased through Blueprint Registry, the gift is locked during the checkout process and removed from the list. For a gift added to your registry using the "Add to Blueprint" button, it locks once a guest selects it (preventing other guests from purchasing the same gift). When the guest completes the purchase, they are directed to mark the gift as bought, preventing duplicate gifting.

Partial Gifting: You can make expensive items eligible for "group gifting" and designate the number of guests that may contribute to the gift. If the present's total amount is not reached within seven days after the wedding, then the couple receives a credit toward the gift or any other product on Blueprint Registry, with no transaction fee.

Good to Know: You cannot register for food and wine, unless the items are listed and described as an "experience" gift.

Expiration Date: You can keep your registry open and continue to add items up to one year after your wedding date.

With Zola's software, couples organize gifts right into custom collections (think Pinterest boards). Tech-savvy couples will value Zola's adding tools, which make on-the-go updating a cinch, while design-forward pairs will appreciate the endless options for creating a custom newlywed space.

Year Established: 2013

Where to Register: Online retailers, physical storefronts, and small shops

How to Register: By visiting Zola; using the mobile app by scanning an item's bar code or taking its picture and uploading it to the online registry; or by adding gifts by cutting and pasting the item's URL.

Ordering and Shipping Information: Zola ships gifts at varying costs, with all orders worth more than $100 shipping for free. Gifts are held and shipped only once requested by the couple rather than as they are ordered or in groups. Zola has a virtual exchange program, whereby gifts that haven't been shipped can instead be converted to Zola credits to put toward another Zola item listed on the registry. The site does accept all returns (aside from food) for up to six months after the wedding date in exchange for Zola credits.

Specialty Item: You can register for food and wine.

Tracking Tools: Zola notifies you when the number of registry items is running low and each time a gift is given. Because you give the okay to ship each gift, you can wait to see what guests gift; if one purchases an item already received, then you can virtually exchange it for Zola credits or another item (rather than having it delivered and have to return it later).

Fab Features: Zola offers "Blender," which allows couples to add gifts with one right swipe (think Tinder); "Planner," which calculates the quantity of registry gifts needed on the list based on the number of guests; and push notifications to signal when a gift has been purchased. If Zola updates are enabled in the iPhone's notification center, registry status, updates, and Gift Tracker can be processed in real time.

Partial Gifting: You can make pricier items eligible for "group gifting," allowing multiple guests (there is no cap on the number of givers or on the amount that can be gifted) to contribute money toward one present.

Cost-Cutting Component: The site supports a "registry completion program," whereby you can receive 10 percent off the remaining items on your registry for up to one year after the wedding date.

Good to Know: You can opt to cover the transaction charge on cash gifts or pass it on to guests as they check out. Gift-givers are only charged sales tax in the state of New York for products or experiences. There is no sales tax on cash gifts.

Expiration Date: Registries stay active up to one year after the wedding date.