Carrd vs Semplice

Carrd is a builder for simple, responsive one-page websites: landing pages, personal profiles, link-in-bio pages, portfolios, waitlists and event pages. It is built and run by a single independent developer, known as AJ, who also created the HTML5 UP template collection, and it has stayed deliberately small and focused for years.

The editor works with sections, containers and elements on a single page, with fine-grained control over typography, spacing and backgrounds, and a library of clean templates. The free plan allows up to three sites on a carrd.co subdomain. Paid plans are billed yearly rather than monthly: Pro Lite removes Carrd branding and unlocks premium carrd.co addresses, Pro Standard adds custom domains with SSL, forms that connect to Mailchimp, Kit, Formspree and other services, plus embeds, widgets such as Stripe and PayPal buttons and Google Analytics, and Pro Plus adds advanced site settings, more sites and the option to download a site's source files. Even the top plan costs less per year than many builders charge per month.

Carrd is ideal for indie makers, freelancers and early-stage startups who need a polished single page in an afternoon. Its limits are structural: there is no CMS, no blog, no real multi-page navigation and no team collaboration, and interactions and animations are basic. When a project needs several pages, Framer and Webflow are the usual next steps; Linktree is simpler for pure link lists, and Squarespace or Wix suit small businesses that want a full site with commerce.

Semplice is a portfolio system for designers that runs on WordPress, created by designer Tobias van Schneider and his team. It replaces the usual WordPress theme with a visual editor tailored to case studies, so designers can build layouts that look like custom-coded portfolio sites without writing code, while still owning their site and hosting.

The editor works on a flexible grid with columns, full-bleed images, video, galleries, typography controls and scroll animations, and it ships with case study templates, project grids, a blog and options for password-protected pages. Because it is built on WordPress, sites can use plugins, any hosting provider and standard SEO tools. Semplice is sold as a one-time license rather than a hosted subscription: Single and Studio licenses cover one domain, and a Business license covers up to ten domains for client work. Hosting, domain and WordPress maintenance are separate costs.

Semplice fits product and brand designers, small studios, illustrators and photographers who want a distinctive portfolio and are comfortable with WordPress. You are responsible for updates, backups and security, and the editor has a learning curve before layouts feel natural. Framer and Webflow offer hosted, highly designed sites without WordPress maintenance, Squarespace and Format are simpler portfolio options, and Cargo is popular with artists who want an experimental look. For non-portfolio sites such as stores or large blogs, a general CMS is the better choice.