Page Builders You Wont Like as Developer

Framer, Carrd, GHL: A Developer's Brutally Honest Take
Let's cut through the marketing. You're a developer being asked to build or maintain a site on one of these platforms. Here's what you're actually signing up for, where each one will make you want to pull your hair out, and what you should use instead.

1. Framer: The Designer's Toy Framer markets itself as the revolutionary web tool for designers. And it is—for designers. For anyone trying to build a real, content-managed website, it's a pain.

The "Simple" Illusion: Yes, the visual editor is slick. Dragging components feels great... until you need to connect it to real data.

Dynamic CMS is an Afterthought: This is the deal-breaker. Framer's CMS feels bolted on as an aftermarket part. Managing collections, references, and rich text is clunky and unintuitive compared to any dedicated CMS. It's a constant context switch between design mode and a cramped data panel.

Hostage Pricing Model: Need more than one CMS collection type on the starter plan? Tough. Want to add a client or a content editor as a contributor? That's an extra $20/month per person. This makes it financially insane for any project with a team.

The "Advantage": The ready-made components are nice, but that's table stakes. Every other tool has these now.

💀 The Verdict: Use Framer for prototyping or ultra-simple brochure sites where you hand off a static design. For anything content-driven or collaborative, you're in for a world of friction.

🚀 Developer Alternatives:

Webflow: If you need no-code design freedom with a powerful, native CMS. It has a steeper learning curve but outputs clean, production-ready code.

WordPress (Headless): For ultimate control. Pair a modern frontend (Next.js, Nuxt) with WordPress as a headless CMS via its API. You get Framer-like flexibility in your stack with WP's unbeatable content management. It's often cheaper and has zero limits on users or content types.

1. Carrd.co: It Does One Thing. That's It. Carrd is brilliant at its singular purpose: making a good-looking, single-page site in 5 minutes. No more, no less.

The 1-Page Wall: This is its core feature and its fatal flaw. The moment you need an "About" page and a "Blog" page, you've outgrown Carrd.

SEO is a Non-Starter: A single-page site is terrible for building topical authority. Your ability to optimize is severely limited.

The $19/Year Trap: The price is compelling. But if you know HTML/CSS/JS, you're paying for convenience you don't need. You can build something better yourself.

💀 The Verdict: Perfect for a quick, disposable landing page or a personal link-in-bio. A terrible choice for any business, portfolio, or project meant to grow.

🚀 Developer Alternative: Go Static.
This is the key point. You are the target market for the alternative.

Build it yourself: Write the HTML/CSS. Use a static site generator like 11ty, Hugo, or Astro for more power.

Host it for free (or pennies): Deploy it to Cloudflare Pages, Netlify, or Vercel. Connect your custom domain. You get:

Better performance (global CDN).

Perfect SEO control (clean URLs, meta tags, sitemaps).

Zero lock-in. Your site is just files.

A similar or lower cost than Carrd's $19/year (often free for basic sites).

1. GoHighLevel (GHL): The Marketing Beast GHL is not a website builder; it's an all-in-one marketing and CRM platform. Judging it as a website tool is missing the point, but its builder is where developers get brought in.

It Shines for Sales Funnels: The booking system, SMS/email automation, and pipeline management are its raison d'être. For a service business, it's powerful.

The Developer Experience Sucks: The website/funnel builder is utilitarian. It's built for speed and conversion, not clean code or elegant design. Implementing custom visuals or complex interactions is a fight against the platform. It feels outdated and restrictive.

💀 The Verdict: Use GHL for what it's best at: marketing automation, CRM, and booking. Do not use it as your primary website if design or custom functionality matters.

🚀 Developer Strategy: Decouple.
Build your main, public-facing website on WordPress or Webflow for design control and SEO. Use GHL purely for its marketing superpowers—embed its booking widget or tracking code on your site. This gives you the best of both worlds.

The Takeaway: Use the Right Tool for the Job
Platform Real Developer Pain Points What to Use Instead
Framer Cumbersome CMS, outrageous contributor fees. Webflow (for design+CMS) or Headless WordPress (for control).
Carrd One-page limit, zero scalability. A static site you build & host on Cloudflare/Netlify.
GoHighLevel Clunky, restrictive builder for custom work. WordPress/Webflow for main site, GHL only for funnels/CRM.
Stop trying to make platforms do things they hate. For developers, the "better alternative" is often to bypass the proprietary tool entirely and own your stack.