Jottings vs Carrd: Choosing the Right Platform for Your Online Presence

If you're building an online presence from scratch, you've probably encountered both Jottings and Carrd. Both tools help you establish a digital footprint, but they solve fundamentally different problems. I built Jottings specifically because I wanted something different—and I think it's worth explaining exactly how and why.

Let me be clear upfront: Carrd is excellent at what it does. This isn't a "my tool is better" post. It's a "here's how to pick the right tool for what you're trying to build" post.

What Carrd Does Really Well

Carrd is a single-page website builder optimized for the "link-in-bio" use case. If you're a creator, freelancer, or small business owner who needs a central hub—something you can link to from Instagram, Twitter, or TikTok—Carrd is purpose-built for that.

Here's what makes Carrd great:

Dead simple to get started. You pick a template, drag elements around, and publish. No coding, no complexity. The interface is clean and intuitive. You can have something live in 15 minutes.

Beautiful templates. Their design templates are polished and modern. They look professionally designed because they are. If you don't want to think about design, Carrd removes that friction.

Affordable. At $19/year for a custom domain, it's one of the cheapest ways to get a branded presence online. You can't beat that price.

Perfect for static content. If you have a resume, portfolio, services list, or call-to-action you're not planning to change constantly, Carrd is ideal. Set it and forget it.

The Carrd playbook is clear: creator makes great work → links their audience to one polished page → conversions happen. Done.

What Jottings Does Differently

Jottings is built on a completely different premise. Instead of asking "how do I create one perfect page?", Jottings asks "how do I share my thoughts over time?"

With Jottings, you're building a chronological microblog. Every post is timestamped, archived, and discoverable. Your site grows as you add content. It's not a static destination—it's an ongoing narrative.

Here's what you get with Jottings:

Chronological content archive. Every post you write becomes part of your permanent archive. Readers see your latest posts first, but older content remains discoverable and searchable.

Built-in search and tags. You can organize posts by topic. Visitors can browse your content by tag or search for specific subjects. Your site becomes a knowledge base over time.

RSS feeds. Jottings generates full RSS feeds for your site. If you want to reach subscribers through RSS readers, email newsletters, or other feed aggregators, that's built in.

Designed for regular publishing. Jottings assumes you'll write regularly. The interface is optimized for quick posts—text, links, photos. You're sharing thoughts, not designing pages.

Portable, markdown-first. Your content lives as plain text. You own it. You can export, move platforms, or back it up easily.

Custom domain support. Like Carrd, you can use your own domain. Unlike Carrd, you also get the flexibility of a full blogging platform.

Jottings assumes you have something to say regularly and want to build an audience around your ideas over time.

When to Choose Carrd

Pick Carrd if:

• You need one polished page as a hub. (Example: Photographer showcasing portfolio and booking link)
• You want minimal maintenance. Set it once, update every few months if needed.
• Your goal is driving traffic to one call-to-action. (Example: "Buy my course")
• Design simplicity matters more than customization. The templates are your starting point.
• You're budget-conscious and want the cheapest option per year.

Carrd wins when you have a clear, static offering and just need a professional-looking front door.

When to Choose Jottings

Pick Jottings if:

• You want to publish regularly and build an archive of your thinking.
• You're interested in developing an audience around your unique perspective.
• You value searchability and organization of your content.
• You want RSS support for subscribers and feed readers.
• You like the idea of your site growing over time through your posts.
• You want something simple but not limited by templates.

Jottings is for people who have something to say and want to say it repeatedly.

The Real Difference: Philosophy

Here's the fundamental difference: Carrd is designed around the idea that your online presence is mostly finished—a product, polished and ready. Jottings is built around the idea that your online presence is a process—something that evolves as you grow and share.

Carrd says: "Here's who I am. Here's what I do. Here's how to work with me."

Jottings says: "Here's what I'm thinking about. Here's what I'm learning. Here's what I've discovered."

One is destination. The other is journey.

Can They Work Together?

Honestly? Yes. Some people use Carrd as their primary hub and link to a Jottings blog from there. Your Carrd page could be your business card—professional, polished, conversion-focused. Your Jottings blog could be where you build thought leadership and community.

That said, if you're only going to use one, the choice is simpler:

• Publishing regularly? Jottings
• Static, one-time setup? Carrd

My Bias (Disclosed)

I built Jottings because I wanted to write regularly without the overhead of a traditional blog platform. I didn't want to manage complex server infrastructure. I didn't want to worry about maintenance. But I also wanted something more flexible than a single static page.

Carrd wasn't the answer for me because I knew I'd be publishing consistently and didn't want to be limited by single-page design. So I built something for people like me.

But I genuinely respect what Carrd does. It's solved the "link-in-bio" problem elegantly. If that's your problem, it's the better tool.

The Bottom Line

Neither tool is objectively better. They're solving different problems for different use cases. The question isn't "which is better?" but "which solves my specific problem?"

If you're a creator who wants one beautiful page, Carrd is the answer.

If you're a thinker who wants to publish regularly and build a body of work, Jottings is built for you.

And if you're unsure which category you fall into? That's okay. Start with your use case. Do you have one important message, or many evolving ones? The answer will guide you.

Ready to share your thoughts over time? Try Jottings for free—no credit card required.