How to Make a Wishlist With Links: 4 Ways and a Template

Who wrote this. The wishdo.io team, so the examples use wishdo. It is free: it handles no payments and takes no commission. Every button and setting we name was checked against wishdo on 8 November 2026, and the facts about other services were checked the same day.

What is a wishlist?

A wishlist is a list of gifts you'd like to receive, shared with the people who give you presents. It saves them guessing and saves you from getting the same thing twice. On paper it's a note on the fridge; an online wishlist is one link with products from any shop, where friends mark what they're buying.

This guide is about the how. For the what, see our wishlist ideas by age.

Four ways to make a wishlist

Way	Any shop	Links and pictures	Sharing	Stops duplicate gifts	Needs an account
Notes app or paper	Yes	Links pasted by hand; no pictures on paper	A screenshot or a photo	No	No
Google Sheets, Docs or Slides	Yes	By hand; pictures pasted in or with IMAGE in Sheets	A link that opens without a Google account	Only if givers type their names in, and you see them too	You do
Amazon list	Built for Amazon's products	Yes, from the product page	"Invite": a link, email or text	Partly: items bought on Amazon drop off the list	You do
Online wishlist, such as wishdo	Yes	Filled in from the link when the shop allows it	A link for any chat; you choose who can open it	Yes: friends reserve gifts and others see they're taken	You do; friends do to reserve, unless you allow it without one

A note is enough for one person who would ask you anyway. A spreadsheet suits a family that doesn't mind you seeing who buys what. A shop's list works when everything you want is in that shop. For gifts from several shops and several givers, use an online wishlist; to compare services, see the best wishlist apps.

How to make a wishlist on wishdo

1. Create a list

Press "Create" (the "+" button), then "New list". Name it after the occasion, such as "My birthday", add the "Event date" if there is one, and press "Create wishlist". Making a list takes a free account; opening one shared by link doesn't.

2. Add wishes by link

Press "Add a wish" and paste a product link into "Link or wish name". The title, price and picture fill in when the shop allows it; if not, fill them in yourself, as the link is already saved.

Paste a product link: the title, price and photo fill in.

3. Write ideas without a link

Type a name into the same field: "Pottery class for two", "A book by my favourite author".

4. Mark what matters most

Set the "Wish priority": Idea, Like, Want or Dream. Givers can sort the list by it.

5. Add the size, colour or model

Write it in "Description": "M, dark green", "the 256 GB version".

6. Choose who can see it

"Who can see it" is in the list's "More settings": "Everyone", "By link", "Friends", "Chosen people" or "Only me". While it's still a draft, keep it on "Only me". For family and friends, "By link" is simplest: the list isn't in your profile or in search, and anyone you send the link to can open it.

Create a wishlist

Add products from any shop or write an idea without a link.

Make your birthday wishlist

Press "Share" in the list's menu, then "Copy" the link or send it straight to Telegram, WhatsApp or another app. Friends open it in any browser.

One link opens the whole list.

Need a QR code for a printed invitation? On wishdo it belongs to a party invitation, not to the list. On a list with an upcoming "Event date" that isn't "Only me", choose "Invite guests" in its "⋯" menu and press "Create invitation". The "Invite guests" window opens next, and its QR code button ("Show a QR code") brings up the code.

Reservations. A friend presses "Reserve" on the gift they'll give. Others see "Reserved" and the button is gone: "Someone is already preparing this gift. The list owner cannot see who." You see which gifts are reserved, but not by whom, until you mark a gift "Fulfilled".
Surprise mode. Turn on "Surprise mode" in the list's "More settings", and you no longer see which gifts are reserved.
Several givers. For things you'd like more than one of, turn on "Several people can reserve it" in the wish's "More settings", then choose "Any number" or "At most" and a number. Each giver reserves one of them: "1 of 3". It isn't a money collection.

Who can reserve. On a "By link" list, anyone signed in who has the link can reserve straight away. On an "Everyone" list, a friend must follow you and be accepted first, unless you turn on "Allow reservations for everyone" in "Settings" → "Page access". Relatives without an account can reserve only if you set "Reservations without registration" to "Allowed" in the list's "More settings": it's off by default and works on "Everyone" and "By link" lists. They then reserve in the browser, leaving a name and an email if they like. Such a reservation holds for 14 days, and you can lift it.

A wishlist template for Google Sheets

Prefer a spreadsheet? Copy this table into a new sheet, one row per gift.

Wish	Link	Price	Size / colour	Priority	Reserved by
Wireless headphones	https://…	120	Black	Dream
Hoodie	https://…	45	M, dark green	Want	Aunt Rosa
Pottery class for two	—	60	Any weekend	Like
Hardback notebook	https://…	15	A5, dotted	Idea

To share it, press Share, set "General access" to "Anyone with the link" and choose Editor, so givers can fill in "Reserved by". They can then change anything, and you see every name.
For pictures, type =IMAGE("picture address") in a cell.
Outgrown the sheet? Download it as CSV (File → Download) and load it into wishdo under "Settings" → "Data" → "Import". Only the title column is needed; you then say which column is which.

How to make a wishlist with links from multiple sites

A wishdo list has no home shop: one list holds gifts from as many shops as you like.

Paste the link into "Link or wish name". If it's already on one of your lists, wishdo tells you.
On a computer, the wishdo browser extension for Chrome, Edge, Brave and Arc saves the product you're looking at in one click.
On a phone, press "Share" in the shop's app and choose wishdo: the iPhone or Android app opens the form with the link in it.
In Telegram, send the link to the wishdo bot.

Some shops don't give out product details. Then type the title and price yourself; the link stays on the wish, and givers open the shop from it.

Frequently asked questions

You don't need an account to open a list shared "By link". Making one on wishdo takes a free account, with an email or Google. In Telegram you can start without one: send a product link to @wishdoiobot and it keeps the list for you.

Install the wishdo app for iPhone or Android, or open wishdo.io in your phone's browser. In a shop's app, press "Share" and choose wishdo to add the product.

Yes. Paste links from any online shop into the same list, and add ideas without a link. A shop's own list, such as Amazon's, is built for that shop's products.

Yes, at any time, and the link stays the same. If a friend has reserved a wish and you change its link, price or description, or delete it, they get a notification.

Yes. "Only me" hides the whole list. "Chosen people" opens it only to people you pick from your follows and followers or invite by email. A single wish can be "Only me" even on an open list.

Yes. wishdo takes no payments and no commission: friends buy gifts wherever they like. Some shop links are affiliate links, marked "Ad".

Create a wishlist

Start with a few wishes at different prices. You can add or change them at any time.

Make your Christmas wishlist

New Year wishlist

How to Make a Wishlist With Links From Any Shop and Share It

What is a wishlist?

Four ways to make a wishlist