You want a website for your writing. Not a full-featured CMS with 50 plugins. Not a drag-and-drop builder with 200 templates. Just a clean, professional home for your words that doesn’t take a weekend to set up.
Three tools serve this need with radically different approaches: Cloudpad (publish from Google Docs), Ghost (modern publishing platform), and Carrd (beautiful one-page sites).
Quick Verdict
- Cloudpad — Best for writers who want the lowest possible friction between writing and publishing
- Ghost — Best for serious publishers who want a premium, ad-free platform with newsletter features
- Carrd — Best for anyone who needs a polished single-page site (portfolio, landing page, link-in-bio)
Feature Comparison
| Feature | Cloudpad | Ghost | Carrd |
|---|---|---|---|
| Setup time | Under 5 minutes | 15-30 minutes | Under 10 minutes |
| Writing experience | Google Docs | Ghost editor (Markdown + cards) | Inline page builder |
| Blog/posts | Yes — publish from Docs | Yes — full blogging platform | No — single page only |
| Custom domain | Pro ($9/month) | All plans ($11/month+) | Pro ($19/year) |
| Newsletter | Not built-in | Built-in (free + paid tiers) | Not built-in |
| Themes | Marketplace with options | Premium theme marketplace | 80+ templates |
| SEO control | Full | Full + advanced features | Basic |
| Links page | Built-in | Not built-in | Core use case |
| Hosting | Fully managed | Ghost(Pro) managed or self-host | Fully managed |
| Technical skill needed | None | Low (managed) to moderate (self-hosted) | None |
Cloudpad: From Docs to Blog in One Click
Cloudpad solves a specific frustration: the gap between writing in Google Docs and having that writing live on the web. If you already write in Docs — and most people do — Cloudpad eliminates the copy-paste-reformat dance entirely.
The links page feature replaces Linktree and similar services. Your blog and your link-in-bio live on the same domain, under the same brand. For creators who need both, this consolidation is valuable.
Who it’s for: Writers who value simplicity above all else. If you want to write in a tool you already know and have it be published instantly, Cloudpad is the shortest path. No new editor to learn, no new interface to navigate.
Ghost: The Publisher’s Platform
Ghost is the most capable option here — it’s a full publishing platform with built-in newsletters, membership/subscription support, and a premium content model. It was built by former WordPress developers who wanted to strip away the bloat and focus on publishing.
The editor is excellent. Markdown support with rich cards (images, embeds, buttons, callouts) strikes a balance between simplicity and flexibility. It’s more powerful than Cloudpad’s Docs-based approach but requires learning a new tool.
The pricing reflects its ambition. Ghost(Pro) starts at $11/month for managed hosting, scaling to $65/month for larger audiences. Self-hosting is free but requires technical skill. For serious publishers building a business, the investment is justified. For casual bloggers, it’s overkill.
Who it’s for: Writers who want to build a serious publishing operation with newsletters, memberships, and premium content — and who don’t mind investing time and money in a dedicated platform.
Carrd: The One-Page Wonder
Carrd builds beautiful single-page websites. Not blogs — pages. A portfolio, a landing page, a link-in-bio, a product launch page. It does this one thing exceptionally well at an absurdly low price ($19/year for Pro).
Carrd is not a blogging platform. If you need to publish regular posts, Carrd isn’t the right tool. But if you need a simple, gorgeous web presence — an “about me” page with links to your writing elsewhere — it’s unbeatable for the price.
Who it’s for: Anyone who needs a web presence but not a blog. Freelancers, artists, creators who publish elsewhere (Medium, Substack, YouTube) and need a branded landing page.
Decision Matrix
| Your Need | Best Choice |
|---|---|
| ”I want to blog from Google Docs with zero hassle” | Cloudpad |
| ”I want to build a newsletter-driven publishing business” | Ghost |
| ”I need a pretty one-page site with my links and bio” | Carrd |
| ”I want the cheapest option with a custom domain” | Carrd ($19/year) |
| “I want my content to live in my Google Docs” | Cloudpad |
| ”I want built-in paid subscriptions” | Ghost |
The Spectrum of Complexity
These three tools sit at different points on the simplicity-to-power spectrum:
Carrd → Single page, maximum design polish, minimum complexity Cloudpad → Multi-page blog, Google Docs workflow, near-zero learning curve Ghost → Full publishing platform, newsletters, memberships, dedicated editor
There’s no overlap in their ideal user. If you need a one-page site, Carrd wins. If you need a simple blog, Cloudpad wins. If you need a publishing platform, Ghost wins. The mistake is using a complex tool when a simple one would suffice.