Strikingly vs Carbonmade: Comprehensive comparison guide for 2024

Final verdict

Strikingly and Carbonmade cater to different user needs, each excelling in their respective domains.

• 
  Strikingly (Overall Grade: 6.6/10)
  
  is a versatile website builder ideal for individuals and small businesses looking to create professional websites without coding knowledge. It offers a range of customizable templates, ecommerce integration, and SEO tools, making it suitable for various website types. Strikingly’s user-friendly interface and comprehensive customer support make it accessible for beginners, though it may lack advanced functionalities for more complex projects.
• 
  Carbonmade (Overall Grade: 4.4/10)
  
  is tailored for creatives who want to showcase their work online. It provides highly customizable layouts and features designed specifically for portfolios, making it perfect for photographers, illustrators, and designers. While Carbonmade excels in design flexibility and ease of use, it lacks ecommerce capabilities and advanced security features, limiting its suitability for users needing a more robust platform.

Best for ecommerce

Verdict

: Strikingly is the clear choice for ecommerce, offering a range of features to support online stores, while Carbonmade is not suitable for ecommerce as it lacks any related functionalities.

• 
  Strikingly
  
  : Strikingly is a versatile website builder that includes ecommerce capabilities, making it suitable for small to medium-sized online stores. It offers features such as product listings, inventory management, coupons, SEO tools, and social media integration. When comparing Strikingly vs Carbonmade, Strikingly stands out with a score of 7.2 for ecommerce, making it a solid choice for businesses looking to sell online.
• 
  Carbonmade
  
  : Carbonmade is designed specifically for showcasing creative portfolios and does not offer any ecommerce features. It is ideal for photographers, illustrators, and other creatives who need a platform to display their work. However, with a score of 0 for ecommerce, it is not a viable option for those looking to build an online store.

Best for informational & business websites

Verdict

: Strikingly is the better choice for creating informational and business websites due to its versatility, ease of use, and comprehensive feature set. Carbonmade, while excellent for creative portfolios, lacks the broader functionality needed for business websites.

• 
  Strikingly
  
  : Strikingly excels in creating professional-looking websites with its user-friendly drag-and-drop interface and customizable templates. It offers a variety of features such as ecommerce integration, blogging tools, and SEO optimization, making it a versatile platform for both individuals and businesses. With a score of 7.4, Strikingly is well-suited for those looking to build and manage informational websites with ease.
• 
  Carbonmade
  
  : Carbonmade is tailored for creatives who want to showcase their work online. It offers fully customizable layouts and a straightforward interface, making it easy for users to create and manage online portfolios. However, with a score of 5.9, Carbonmade’s focus on simplicity and lack of broader business functionalities make it less suitable for informational and business websites compared to Strikingly.

Detailed comparison

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Winner: Carbonmade.

If you’re a creative professional looking for a platform that offers high customization flexibility and tailored design features, Carbonmade is the preferred choice.

Strikingly offers a wide variety of templates and designs for its website builder. With over 60 unique templates to choose from, users can find a design that suits their needs and preferences. The templates are modern, visually appealing, and customizable, allowing users to personalize their websites. Whether you’re creating a portfolio, blog, or online store, Strikingly has a template for every type of website. Additionally, the platform regularly adds new templates to keep up with the latest design trends.

Strikingly Themes

Carbonmade does not have traditional templates; instead, the platform creates a personalized portfolio website based on the inputs of the users. This approach allows for a high degree of customization flexibility tailored for creatives, enabling personalized, profession-specific layouts, responsive designs across devices, and support for unlimited uploads, including 4K videos. It provides a plethora of premade blocks and layouts for easy, drag-and-drop website design, along with specific features for various creative professions. Unlimited layout possibilities, gallery slideshows, and comprehensive design features such as SEO optimization, custom logos, and video backgrounds enhance user experience and portfolio presentation.

Wix Themes

🏆 Winner: Carbonmade

. With a score of 8.3, Carbonmade slightly edges out Strikingly, which scores 8.1. Carbonmade’s straightforward drag-and-drop interface and customizable layouts make it particularly user-friendly for creatives looking to showcase their work. Strikingly also offers an intuitive drag-and-drop interface and modern templates, making it accessible for beginners, but its simplicity might limit users needing advanced functionalities.

Learning Resources

🏆 Winner: Tie

. Both Strikingly and Carbonmade provide comprehensive learning resources. Strikingly offers tutorials, guides, and a support center with written and video resources, while Carbonmade provides video tutorials and a help center with detailed articles. Both platforms ensure users can effectively navigate and utilize their features.

Strikingly is a versatile website builder that includes ecommerce capabilities, making it suitable for small to medium-sized online stores. In contrast, Carbonmade is designed specifically for showcasing creative portfolios and does not offer any ecommerce features, making it unsuitable for online selling.

Strikingly ecommerce features:

• Product Listings
• Inventory Management
• Coupons and Discounts
• SEO tools
• Analytics
• Social Media Integration

Carbonmade ecommerce features:

Carbonmade does not provide any ecommerce features, focusing solely on portfolio creation for creatives.

Ecommerce themes & templates

Strikingly offers a variety of ecommerce website templates tailored to meet various website building needs. These templates are designed by a world-class team of website designers and developers, focusing on modern trends and best practices to ensure your ecommerce site stands out. Strikingly’s collection is continuously updated with new designs to match the dynamic nature of online commerce, ensuring your website can remain visually appealing and functionally efficient.

Carbonmade does not offer any templates for ecommerce as it does not support ecommerce functionalities.

Product page customization

Customizing product pages on Strikingly involves showcasing your products with high-quality images in the “Portfolio” or “Product Catalog” section, emphasizing a premium feel to attract buyers. Adding products is streamlined through the “Simple Store” section, where you can detail product types, names, descriptions, and manage inventory and pricing. Enhancements include social media sharing, categorization for diverse product ranges, and customization options like unique product URLs and region-specific pricing for a tailored shopping experience.

Carbonmade does not support product page customization as it lacks ecommerce capabilities.

Payment processing

Strikingly supports secure payment processing through Stripe, Square, and other gateways like PayPal, offering a range of options for ecommerce sites. The transaction fees for using these services vary depending on the payment gateway and user location, with specific plans possibly incurring additional Strikingly fees, except for VIP users. The platform emphasizes the importance of selecting a payment gateway that aligns with your business needs, including consideration for international sales and multiple currencies to ensure a smooth checkout experience.

Carbonmade does not have payment processing capabilities as it does not support ecommerce.

In summary, Strikingly is a more suitable option for users looking to build an ecommerce site, while Carbonmade is better suited for creatives who need a platform to showcase their portfolios without the need for ecommerce functionalities.

🏆

Winner: Carbonmade

. Carbonmade, with a score of 7.6, offers a range of features designed for creatives to build personalized, professional online portfolios without requiring coding knowledge. Its editor provides responsive design across devices, 4K video support, unlimited image and video uploads, and premade blocks for customization. The platform also includes unique features such as private portfolios, a before/after block, gallery slideshows, and a talent pool to connect with other creatives and potential clients.

Strikingly’s editor, scoring 7.5, is renowned for its simplicity and user-friendliness, specifically tailored for individuals and small businesses to create stunning websites with minimal effort. It offers a straightforward, single-page layout design that makes it incredibly easy for users to add and edit content, with no prior coding knowledge required. The editor includes a variety of templates and sections that can be customized through simple drag-and-drop actions, enabling quick and easy website creation.

Mobile editor/app

🏆

Winner: Strikingly

. When it comes to mobile editing capabilities, Strikingly has a slight edge over Carbonmade. Strikingly allows users to edit their websites through a mobile browser, although the interface is not very user-friendly and can be inconvenient to use. This feature provides some level of flexibility for on-the-go adjustments, which can be beneficial for users needing to make quick changes.

Carbonmade, on the other hand, does not offer any mobile editing capabilities. Users are limited to desktop editing, which can be restrictive for those who need to manage their portfolios while away from their computers.

In summary, while neither platform excels in mobile editing, Strikingly offers a minimal level of mobile editing functionality, making it the better option in this comparison.

Overall Result

:

Carbonmade edges out Strikingly

. Carbonmade scores 7.2, slightly higher than Strikingly’s 7.1. Strikingly offers a free version and a 14-day free trial, allowing users to test all features during this period. Carbonmade, while not offering a free version, provides a trial period where all features can be tested, making it a strong contender for those who want to explore the full capabilities of the platform before making a purchase.

Strikingly offers a range of plans from free to VIP, with discounts up to 30% for annual subscriptions, while Carbonmade provides three tiers with around 20% discount on annual plans.

🏆

Winner: Strikingly

Strikingly offers cloud-based hosting with a 99.9% uptime guarantee and multiple data centers, making it a more reliable choice for users needing consistent performance. Carbonmade, while providing unlimited storage, does not disclose uptime statistics or data center locations, which may be a concern for users requiring transparency and reliability.

🏆 Winner: Strikingly

Strikingly outperforms Carbonmade in website speed optimization due to its comprehensive strategies and higher average PageSpeed scores.

Strikingly employs a variety of strategies to ensure optimal website speed, including the use of a Content Delivery Network (CDN), code minification, caching, optimized server response time, and image optimization and compression. These strategies help in reducing load times and improving overall website performance. Strikingly’s average PageSpeed scores range between 80-90/100, indicating a strong performance in speed optimization.

On the other hand, Carbonmade does not provide detailed information on its speed optimization features. The platform’s load times and PageSpeed scores vary depending on the level of optimization applied by the user. Without specific strategies or tools mentioned, it is challenging to gauge Carbonmade’s effectiveness in website speed optimization. This lack of information contributes to Carbonmade’s lower website speed optimization score of 5.0 compared to Strikingly’s 7.9.

🏆 Winner: Strikingly.

Strikingly scores 5.1, offering a range of plugins and integrations that enhance website functionality, including social media integration, ecommerce, and SEO optimization. Carbonmade, with a score of 0, does not support any plugins or integrations, focusing solely on simplicity for online portfolio creation.

Strikingly’s plugins and integrations provide users with the tools to customize and optimize their websites, making it a more versatile option compared to Carbonmade.

🏆

Overall Winner: Strikingly

. Strikingly excels with a robust set of marketing tools, making it a versatile choice for businesses looking to enhance their online presence. Carbonmade, while excellent for showcasing creative portfolios, falls short in marketing functionalities.

🏆 Winner: Strikingly

. Comparing Strikingly vs Carbonmade, Strikingly takes the lead in this category with its 24/7 customer support via email and live chat. Strikingly also offers phone support for VIP users, ensuring that assistance is available at any time for technical issues and questions. The platform is known for its quick and friendly responses, aiming to exceed customer expectations with every interaction.

Carbonmade, on the other hand, provides support primarily through a ticket-based system. Users can submit inquiries via email and typically receive responses within a few hours. However, the lack of live customer support means that immediate answers are not available, which can be a drawback for users needing urgent assistance. Despite this, Carbonmade’s response times are generally quick, ensuring users don’t have to wait too long for help.

🏆

Winner: Strikingly

. Strikingly takes a proactive approach to security, offering features like two-factor authentication and DDoS protection. The platform ensures the secure handling of personal information with industry-standard measures such as SSL/TLS encryption and secure hash functions for password storage. This makes Strikingly a reliable choice for users who prioritize the security of their websites and personal data.

Carbonmade, while excellent for creating and managing online portfolios, does not emphasize security to the same extent. The platform provides basic safeguards for personal information but lacks advanced security features. This makes it less suitable for users who require robust security measures for their websites.

Security Scores:

• Strikingly: 7.5
• Carbonmade: 5.8

🏆 Winner: Strikingly

. Strikingly, with a score of 1.6, offers minimal AI capabilities, including a visual editor with layout suggestions and automatic image resizing. While these features are basic, they provide some level of AI assistance in website creation.

Carbonmade, with a score of 0, does not offer any AI capabilities. It focuses on providing a straightforward and user-friendly platform for creatives to showcase their work without the need for AI-driven tools.

🏆 Winner: Strikingly

. When it comes to managing users and assigning roles, Strikingly offers a more robust system compared to Carbonmade.

• Strikingly allows you to invite up to 10 teammates to edit and manage your site. You can assign different roles such as Admin, Editor, Store Manager, Blogger, and Agent, each with specific levels of access and permissions.
• Carbonmade, on the other hand, only allows a single user to manage and edit the website, which can be limiting for larger teams or collaborative projects.

Strikingly User Roles and Access Levels:

Additional Features

User Feedback

Users appreciate Strikingly for its ability to quickly create professional-looking websites, with features like LinkedIn data import, attractive templates, and responsive customer service. However, some users report issues such as unexpected subscription renewals and limited customization options. Despite these drawbacks, Strikingly is valued for its simplicity and suitability for personal projects, startups, and small businesses.

Carbonmade is praised for its ease of use, modern design templates, and no-code platform, making it ideal for creatives like illustrators and graphic designers. Users find value in its efficient customer service and the platform’s ability to showcase work effectively. However, some users desire a freemium plan and note limitations in customization and mobile site loading times. Overall, Carbonmade receives positive feedback for streamlining portfolio management.

FAQ