Carrd

Carrd is a minimalist one-page website builder built for speed, simplicity, and affordability. Founded by indie maker AJ and bootstrapped to over 3 million sites, it excels as an author landing page — a book launch hub, a preorder signup page, or a minimal author bio linking to retailers and social profiles.

What You Get#

• One-page responsive sites: 75+ templates; mobile-optimized automatically; custom domain on Pro Standard ($19/year) and above
• Email integrations: Pro Standard connects to 18 email service providers, including Kit (ConvertKit), MailerLite, beehiiv, Mailchimp, EmailOctopus, Brevo, ActiveCampaign, Buttondown, GetResponse, and more — covering every major ESP used by indie authors
• Payment embeds: Pro Standard allows embedding Stripe Checkout buttons, PayPal buttons, and Gumroad product widgets — no native cart, but direct ebook sales are possible
• Pro Plus extras ($49/year): Payment-enabled forms with Stripe, automation via Zapier/Make/n8n, password protection, URL redirects, and custom robots.txt

Who It's For#

• Authors launching a book: A Carrd page built in an afternoon covers the basics — cover image, buy links, and a mailing list signup
• Authors with simple needs: If you only need one page and a functional email capture, Carrd at $9–$19/year is the lowest-cost professional option available
• Authors already using Gumroad: Gumroad product widgets embed cleanly for selling ebooks without a separate cart

Pricing: Free (3 sites, 50-element limit, no custom domain, Carrd branding); Pro Lite $9/year (removes branding, no custom domain or forms); Pro Standard $19/year (custom domain, 18 ESP integrations, Google Analytics, Stripe/Gumroad embeds); Pro Plus $49/year (payment forms, Zapier/Make, password protection). Annual billing only — no monthly plans.

Strengths#

• Lowest cost with real functionality: $19/year for a custom domain and full ESP integration is unmatched in this price range
• 18 ESP integrations on the standard plan: Most site builders charge monthly subscriptions before unlocking mailing list connections; Carrd includes them from $19/year
• Fast setup: An author with no technical background can have a live page with a mailing list form in under an hour

Limitations#

• No blog, no multi-page structure: Carrd is permanently one page. No workaround exists. Authors who need book pages, a blog, or a press kit must use a different platform.
• Weak SEO: Single-page structure means one URL, one title tag, and one meta description. Ranking for multiple books or topics is not possible.
• No autosave: Page refreshes can delete unsaved work — a recurring complaint across Trustpilot and Capterra reviews. Build in chunks and save frequently.
• Content moderation risk: Some fiction authors in dark, mature, or horror genres have had sites suspended without notice. Carrd's content policies are enforced inconsistently.
• Pro Lite ($9/year) does not include custom domain: Many buyers expect a custom domain for any paid plan. It requires Pro Standard ($19/year) minimum.

Alternatives#

Wix offers a free plan, 15+ author-specific templates, multi-page structure, and a full blog — worth the step up when one page is no longer enough. For authors specifically wanting a link-in-bio style page, Linktree offers a comparable free option but without custom domains at the free tier. Pub Site (also in this directory) is purpose-built for authors with multi-book catalogues.