Carrd Breakdown: He Quietly Built One Of The Most Successful Indie Projects Ever
Carrd is the simplest way to build a one-page website. AJ has grown it to over 800,000 users, 1.2 million sites created, and $1.5M/year
Carrd Revenue
Who is AJ?
AJ is best known as @ajlkn on Twitter. He chooses to keep his identity and personal life private.
Based in Nashville, Tennessee, he has a background in web design and development, having created numerous website templates and themes before Carrd. AJ's ventures, including HTML5 UP and Pixelarity, have established him as a proficient developer and designer in the online community.
What problem does Carrd solve?
Carrd addresses the need for a straightforward and simple website builder.
It eliminates the complexities and learning curves associated with multi-page sites and comprehensive site builders like Wix or Squarespace, making web design accessible to everyone, including those with zero technical skills.
Niches
Target Audiences
Founder-Market Fit
Skills
What skills did AJ have that led to their success?
Passions
How did AJ come up with the idea for Carrd?
AJ got the idea for Carrd out of a desire to branch out from his routine work of designing and coding website templates. This routine work had become too easy and almost monotonous, prompting him to seek a new challenge that would leverage his extensive skills in a fresh way.
He realized that while he was looking for something different to do, he still wanted to stay close to his core expertise in web design and development. He wanted to build for a simple idea that could serve a broad audience.
This drive to innovate within his domain, coupled with his recognition of users' desires for simplicity and efficiency in web building tools, spurred him to develop Carrd.
How did AJ build the initial version of Carrd?
Here's how AJ likely approached building Carrd:
Static Site Generation: Carrd operates fundamentally as a static site generator, meaning that it creates websites by assembling static content files without server-side processing at the time of page loading.
Front-End Development: For the front-end, AJ used a mix of vanilla JavaScript and jQuery, which is indicative of his preference for a more hands-on approach to coding and a desire to avoid heavy frameworks that may introduce unnecessary complexity. Vanilla JavaScript and jQuery provide a solid foundation for creating interactive web elements and handling AJAX requests without the overhead of larger frameworks.
Responsive Design: Given AJ's history with HTML5 UP and responsive templates, he used responsive design principles to ensure Carrd sites would work across various devices and screen sizes. This would involve CSS media queries and potentially a framework like Bootstrap, or his own custom responsive design code.
Back-End and Infrastructure: he used a combination of server-side scripting (like Node.js, which complements his JavaScript expertise) and a lightweight database system (like MongoDB or even a relational database such as PostgreSQL or MySQL) for handling user accounts and site data.
AJ's approach to building Carrd underscores his ability to balance technical expertise with a practical, product-focused mindset, building iteratively, and responding to user feedback.
What were the initial startup costs for Carrd?
AJ utilized his extensive skills in both front-end and back-end development to build Carrd, indicating a low financial cost but a significant investment in terms of time and expertise.
- Domain Registration: $10 - $50/year
- Web Hosting: $5 - $20/month. Initial costs could be low, using shared hosting or a small VPS (Virtual Private Server). As the project grew, costs increased.
- Development Tools: While many development tools are free, specialized software or subscriptions can add costs, potentially hundreds of dollars annually.
- Marketing and Launch: Early marketing efforts, including social media and community engagement, had minimal costs beyond time. Product Hunt does not charge for listings, but preparing for a launch could incur costs if promotional materials or ads are used elsewhere.
Given AJ's approach, much of Carrd's development relied on his existing knowledge and open-source tools, likely keeping these costs low.
How did AJ launch Carrd and get initial traction?
Carrd was launched on Twitter and Product Hunt in 2016, receiving an overwhelming response from both platforms.
AJ credits a significant part of Carrd's success to the visibility and user feedback garnered from these launches, highlighting the importance of a strong online presence and community engagement.
What was the growth strategy for Carrd and how did they scale?
Twitter Launch
AJ began by announcing Carrd to his existing followers on Twitter, where he had built a substantial audience through his previous projects, HTML5 UP and Pixelarity. His followers were already familiar with his work and trusted his expertise in web design, making them a primed audience for Carrd.
This initial announcement helped generate immediate interest and sign-ups from his existing network, showcasing the importance of building and engaging with a dedicated follower base over time.
Product Hunt Launch
The real breakthrough in customer acquisition came from Carrd's launch on Product Hunt. Despite an early, unintended posting by a follower when Carrd was still in a "coming soon" state, AJ managed to officially launch it on the platform shortly after its public release.
This launch was meticulously planned to capitalize on Product Hunt's vast community of tech enthusiasts, early adopters, and influencers. The visibility from being featured on Product Hunt led to a significant surge in user sign-ups, site creations, and even Pro plan upgrades, far exceeding the traction generated from the Twitter announcement alone.
Even now, AJ’s recipe for awareness and distribution is very organic and very product-led. He hasn’t really done any marketing, relying instead on word of mouth and low-key viral elements within the experience like the branded URL and a “Made with Carrd” link that appears in each free website footer.
What's the pricing strategy for Carrd?
Offers a free plan and three paid options priced at: -$9 -$19 -$49 per year**
What were the biggest lessons learned from building Carrd?
Focus Is Key: Limiting Carrd's scope was crucial in making the project manageable and successful.
Independence from Competitors: Understanding the competition without being constrained by their actions enabled a unique vision for Carrd.
Flexibility Within Vision: While maintaining the core idea of Carrd, adaptability in response to user feedback led to valuable features like the Control Element.
Barrier-Free Trial: Allowing users to try Carrd without signing up significantly contributed to its early traction, especially post-Product Hunt feature.
Real Device Testing: Emulators are no substitute for the real thing. Testing on actual devices can uncover critical issues.
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More about Carrd:
Who is the owner of Carrd?
AJ is the founder of Carrd.
When did AJ start Carrd?
2016
What is AJ's net worth?
AJ's business makes an average of $100K/month.
How much money has AJ made from Carrd?
AJ started the business in 2016, and currently makes an average of $1.2M/year.
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