I built Carrd because I wanted one thing: to put up a small site, a profile, a link page, a landing page, without it turning into a second job. Most free website builders, Wix included, can do a lot. That's the pitch, and, honestly, that's also the problem. When a tool can do everything, you're the one who has to decide everything.
So I went the other way on purpose. One page. A simple "stack" of elements you add top to bottom, and that's basically the whole mental model. Keeping it that small gives the product a natural limit to its complexity, which was the point, not an accident.
Why I stopped at one page
Here's the reasoning, plainly. My goal was speed. I wanted someone to sit down and be capable of cranking out a gorgeous site in under 5 minutes, not read a manual first. My second goal was that it stay easy to use even as it grew. Those two goals fight each other the moment you add a second page, then a third, then navigation between them, then rules for what shows where.
The product's narrow focus is what keeps that fight from ever starting. One page means there's nowhere to get lost. You stack the pieces you need, a headline, an image, a form, some links, and you're done. All looked great on paper, but how would it play out in practice? Much to my surprise, it held up. People weren't asking for ten pages. They wanted one good one, fast.
What "free" actually gets you
Let me be specific, because "free" gets thrown around loosely. On Carrd, free means you can build and publish three sites at no cost. Real, live sites, not a trial that expires on you.
You don't even sign up to start. Head to carrd.co/build and you can have something on the screen in under 30 seconds, then customize it and go live in minutes. And it's not limited to one kind of thing. Carrd handles a personal profile, a landing page with a MailChimp signup form, or something a bit more elaborate if that's what you're after. Simple, responsive, one-page sites for pretty much anything, that's what the free plan is.
Simply built. You're stacking elements, not wiring up a layout engine.
Customizable. Narrow focus doesn't mean shallow. The details you care about are yours to change.
Responsive. The sites look right on a phone, which matters more than it used to. It wasn't 2006 when I built this. Most of the people visiting your page are on a phone, and the builder itself is mobile-friendly too, not just the sites it makes.
Coming to Carrd from a free website builder like Wix
If you're used to Wix, the honest difference is scope, not some feature checklist I'm going to try to win. Wix wants to be your whole website. Carrd wants to be your one page, and to make that page take five minutes instead of an afternoon.
So the move isn't "replace everything you know." It's simpler than that. Start blank or from one of the templates, drop in your text, your image, a button or a form, and publish. If you were bracing for a learning curve because that's what full builders usually ask of you, there mostly isn't one here. That's the trade I chose on your behalf. Less to configure, less to break, and a lot less standing between you and a live page.
Could Carrd try to be everything Wix is? But they could is the trap. It could, and it would stop being the thing people actually reach for when they just need one page, now.
What if you outgrow the free plan?
Three free sites cover more people than you'd think, but say you're making a bunch, client pages, a page per project, whatever. The paid plans scale by how many sites you need, not by locking away the basics:
- Pro Lite 10 — $14/year, up to 10 sites
- Pro Lite 25 — $29/year, up to 25 sites
- Pro Plus 50 — $89/year, up to 50 sites
- Pro Plus 500 — $599/year, up to 500 sites
The short version
I didn't build a smaller Wix. I built the thing you use when you don't want a Wix-sized project at all, a fast, free way to get one good page online. Short of me royally screwing up, it'll stay that simple on purpose.
Start at carrd.co/build. See how far you get in five minutes.