How to Use Carrd: Build and Publish a One-Page Site

Carrd builds one kind of thing: one-page websites. The vendor describes it as a builder of simple, fully responsive one-page sites, and names three examples: personal profiles, landing pages that capture emails, and more elaborate pages.

This guide follows the route from sign-up to a live page, using what Carrd's own help pages describe. Where the help pages set a limit, such as a plan level or a site count, I've said so, so you know before you start which parts need a Pro level.

What Carrd's help pages say about the builder

Here's a summary of the vendor's own descriptions, so you know what you're working with before you open it.

Part of Carrd	What the vendor's pages say
What it builds	Simple, fully responsive one-page sites: profiles, email-capture landing pages and more elaborate pages
Starting point	Dozens of templates, or a blank page
The Canvas	A mostly live preview where you move and arrange elements
Base elements	A Background (solid colour, gradient, image or video) and a Page that holds everything else
Properties Panel	Tabs such as Main, Appearance and Animation, plus a Settings tab on a higher Pro level
Builder menu	Add elements, undo, redo, preview animations, Mobile View, Section View, view site, publish
Free account	Core features, with a limit of three sites
Pro features	Custom domains, more sites, forms, and widgets and embeds

The two base elements on every Carrd site

Every Carrd site has two base elements. The Background sits behind everything and can be a solid colour, a gradient, an image or a video. The Page holds every other element you add.

The builder itself centres on the Canvas. The vendor's overview says it shows a mostly live preview and lets you move and arrange elements, so each change you make appears there as you build.

Building your first Carrd page, step by step

These seven steps follow the order of Carrd's help pages, from choosing a starting point to publishing.

1. Sign up and pick a starting point. Create an account, then choose one of the templates or start from a blank page. The vendor's page says there are dozens of templates to choose from.
2. Add your first element. Click Add Element and choose a type, such as Text. Carrd adds it to the end of the site and opens its properties panel straight away.
3. Edit it in the properties panel. Use tabs such as Main, Appearance and Animation, then click Done to close the panel.
4. Reorder by dragging. Drag an element before or after another one. A green bar shows which side you're targeting.
5. Check the phone version. Switch to Mobile View from the builder menu to see how the site looks there.
6. Publish. Click Publish, set your site's title and description, and publish it to a carrd.co address.
7. Move to your own domain (optional). If your Pro level includes it, add the DNS records Carrd shows you at your domain provider and click Publish Changes.

Steps 2 to 4 are the core of the builder: add an element, edit it in its panel, and drag it into place. Repeat them for each piece of content on the page.

Other buttons in the Carrd builder

Beyond Add Element, the vendor's help pages describe these controls.

• Delete and Clone. Each element's panel has Delete and Clone buttons at the bottom. A clone appears immediately before the original.
• Undo and redo. Both sit in the builder menu.
• Preview animations. The builder menu has a button for this, which applies to anything you've set on an element's Animation tab.
• Section View. The builder menu has a button to switch to Section View, alongside the one for Mobile View.
• View the published site. The menu also has a button to open the live site.

Changing the title and description later

Your site's title and description aren't fixed once you publish. The vendor's help page says they can be changed at any time: open the site from the Dashboard, click Publish, edit them, then click Publish Changes.

Putting Carrd on your own domain

A carrd.co address is where every site publishes first. The vendor's help pages set out these conditions for moving to a domain of your own.

• Publishing to a custom domain needs Pro Standard or higher.
• The domain must already be registered with a domain provider.
• At your domain provider, you add an A record for the bare domain and a CNAME record for www, then go back to Carrd and click Publish Changes.
• Initialising can take up to an hour, so the domain may not show your page straight away.

Copy the record values exactly as Carrd shows them when you add them at your domain provider.

Limits worth knowing before you commit

Carrd's own page is clear about where the free account stops. Core features are available on a free account, with a limit of three sites per account. Custom domains, more sites, forms, and widgets and embeds are listed as Pro features.

Within the builder, the Settings tab on an element needs Pro Plus or higher, while custom domains need Pro Standard or higher. Check which of these features your page needs before you build, so you know which level applies.

Where Carrd fits among other site builders

If you're weighing Carrd against tools that do the same single-page job, my comparison of one page website builders sets the main options side by side. If your page is mainly a home for the links in your social bios, the guide to link in bio tools for Instagram and TikTok covers the dedicated apps, and Carrd vs Linktree looks at the two head to head.

Carrd in short

Carrd builds one-page sites. Start from a template or a blank page, add elements with Add Element, edit them in the properties panel, drag them into order, check Mobile View, then publish to a carrd.co address. A free account covers core features and up to three sites; custom domains, forms, widgets and embeds, and more sites are Pro features, with custom domains on Pro Standard or higher. If you need more than one page, Carrd isn't built for that.

Frequently asked questions

How do you add content in Carrd?

Click Add Element and pick a type such as Text. It's added to the end of the site with its properties panel open, and you can drag it before or after another element.

Can I use Carrd without upgrading?

Carrd's page says core features are available on a free account, with a limit of three sites per account.

Can I build a multi-page website with Carrd?

Carrd describes itself as a builder of one-page sites: personal profiles, landing pages that capture emails, and more elaborate pages.

How do I connect my own domain to Carrd?

You need Pro Standard or higher and a domain already registered with a domain provider. Add an A record and a CNAME record there, then click Publish Changes. Carrd says initialising can take up to an hour.

Can I add a form to a Carrd page?

Forms are listed as a Pro feature on the vendor's page, along with widgets and embeds.

How do I check my Carrd site on a phone?

Switch to Mobile View from the builder menu.