Carbonmade
Visual portfolio websites for designers, illustrators, and photographers
The visible portfolio builder loop is buildable, but a credible replacement needs more than the first screen. Carbonmade earns its keep through editor, CMS, hosting, polish, so expect a weekend or multi-day build and a narrower personal scope.
Build verification: not recorded. How we judge buildability
What you give up
- general-purpose visual editing
- large template and component libraries
- CMS collaboration and client handoff
- managed hosting, forms, and analytics
- high-fidelity color, format, and export handling
Why people still pay
Carbonmade: A single site is easy to code. People pay for safe ongoing edits, templates, publishing, domains, collaboration, and no-maintenance hosting.
Your build guide
The stack, security requirements, and agent rules for a focused replacement.
Before you start
- Node, a selected output folder, licensed content/assets and a user-owned deployment target. DNS, email delivery and any server-side forms require separate configuration.
- Implementation components: Eleventy, Markdown content and typed JSON section manifests for a static website. A local Node editor/build command with Sharp image processing; generated files publish to a user-owned host.
- Scope boundary: general-purpose visual editing; large template and component libraries
Use these project rules and optional skill references alongside the prompt. Review each skill before adding it to your agent; the AGENTS.md export includes the same guidance.
Optional external skill: frontend-design — Create intentional web layouts, typography, component styling and responsive frontend interfaces. Review its instructions and compatibility before use; it does not grant deployment, data-access or publication permission.
Optional external skill: seo-audit — Investigate crawlability, indexing, page metadata, internal linking and on-page content issues. Review its instructions and compatibility before use; it does not grant deployment, data-access or publication permission.
Optional external skill: web-design-guidelines — Review web interfaces for accessibility, keyboard focus, forms, navigation and interaction quality. Review its instructions and compatibility before use; it does not grant deployment, data-access or publication permission.
Project rule — data model: portfolio projects, ordered galleries, case-study sections, image derivatives and publication manifests
Project rule — preserve this invariant: Static export cannot securely hide private/NDA projects; exclude them entirely unless a separate authenticated delivery service is implemented.
Project rule — acceptance evidence: A draft case study is absent from generated files; a clean rebuild reproduces the same public project order and working image references.
Implementation plan
Phase 1
Scope and fixtures. Implement this bounded workflow: Build a portfolio editor with a project grid, image captions and structured case studies. Produce responsive image sizes and a static export with meaningful project URLs and accessible navigation. Record prerequisites, select representative user-owned fixtures and document the unsupported features: general-purpose visual editing; large template and component libraries
Phase 2
Durable model. Model portfolio projects, ordered galleries, case-study sections, image derivatives and publication manifests Add migrations or a versioned document format, explicit validation, stable IDs and a visible import-error report. Preserve this rule: Static export cannot securely hide private/NDA projects; exclude them entirely unless a separate authenticated delivery service is implemented.
Phase 3
Complete the first useful path. Implement the workflow's input, review and output interface, with clear controls and explicit empty/error states. Build into a new output directory from a saved content revision. Preview at narrow and wide widths and deploy the complete artifact atomically; retain the previous release.
Phase 4
Permissions and integration failure. Escape content, sanitize Markdown, constrain asset paths and never embed API secrets in the static output. Private content requires a real authenticated server rather than a hidden URL. Request integration credentials and permissions only for the enabled feature; show a disconnected state instead of mock results.
Phase 5
Portable handoff. Export source Markdown/JSON and original assets alongside the generated site. A clean build from that archive must not depend on an editor database. Include setup, operating limits, fixture walkthrough and shutdown/restart instructions in the README.
Phase 6
Acceptance scenarios. A draft case study is absent from generated files; a clean rebuild reproduces the same public project order and working image references. Repeat the workflow after restart and with a denied permission or unavailable dependency; show recoverable failure rather than a success placeholder.
WORKING SLICE Build a portfolio editor with a project grid, image captions and structured case studies. Produce responsive image sizes and a static export with meaningful project URLs and accessible navigation. Build this scoped Carbonmade-inspired workflow with a documented data model and visible failure states. Architecture - Eleventy, Markdown content and typed JSON section manifests for a static website. - A local Node editor/build command with Sharp image processing; generated files publish to a user-owned host. Prerequisites and limits Node, a selected output folder, licensed content/assets and a user-owned deployment target. DNS, email delivery and any server-side forms require separate configuration. Outside this release: general-purpose visual editing; large template and component libraries Data model and correctness portfolio projects, ordered galleries, case-study sections, image derivatives and publication manifests Invariant: Static export cannot securely hide private/NDA projects; exclude them entirely unless a separate authenticated delivery service is implemented. Build into a new output directory from a saved content revision. Preview at narrow and wide widths and deploy the complete artifact atomically; retain the previous release. Security and privacy Escape content, sanitize Markdown, constrain asset paths and never embed API secrets in the static output. Private content requires a real authenticated server rather than a hidden URL. Recovery and export Export source Markdown/JSON and original assets alongside the generated site. A clean build from that archive must not depend on an editor database. Implementation order 1. Phase 1 — Scope and fixtures. Implement this bounded workflow: Build a portfolio editor with a project grid, image captions and structured case studies. Produce responsive image sizes and a static export with meaningful project URLs and accessible navigation. Record prerequisites, select representative user-owned fixtures and document the unsupported features: general-purpose visual editing; large template and component libraries 2. Phase 2 — Durable model. Model portfolio projects, ordered galleries, case-study sections, image derivatives and publication manifests Add migrations or a versioned document format, explicit validation, stable IDs and a visible import-error report. Preserve this rule: Static export cannot securely hide private/NDA projects; exclude them entirely unless a separate authenticated delivery service is implemented. 3. Phase 3 — Complete the first useful path. Implement the workflow's input, review and output interface, with clear controls and explicit empty/error states. Build into a new output directory from a saved content revision. Preview at narrow and wide widths and deploy the complete artifact atomically; retain the previous release. 4. Phase 4 — Permissions and integration failure. Escape content, sanitize Markdown, constrain asset paths and never embed API secrets in the static output. Private content requires a real authenticated server rather than a hidden URL. Request integration credentials and permissions only for the enabled feature; show a disconnected state instead of mock results. 5. Phase 5 — Portable handoff. Export source Markdown/JSON and original assets alongside the generated site. A clean build from that archive must not depend on an editor database. Include setup, operating limits, fixture walkthrough and shutdown/restart instructions in the README. 6. Phase 6 — Acceptance scenarios. A draft case study is absent from generated files; a clean rebuild reproduces the same public project order and working image references. Repeat the workflow after restart and with a denied permission or unavailable dependency; show recoverable failure rather than a success placeholder. Acceptance A draft case study is absent from generated files; a clean rebuild reproduces the same public project order and working image references. Use real source data or clearly labeled fixtures. Explain unsupported input and provider failures; do not fabricate analytics, delivery receipts, accuracy claims or security guarantees. Optional agent guidance Optional external skill: [frontend-design](https://github.com/anthropics/skills/blob/main/skills/frontend-design/SKILL.md) — Create intentional web layouts, typography, component styling and responsive frontend interfaces. Review its instructions and compatibility before use; it does not grant deployment, data-access or publication permission. Optional external skill: [seo-audit](https://github.com/coreyhaines31/marketingskills/blob/main/skills/seo-audit/SKILL.md) — Investigate crawlability, indexing, page metadata, internal linking and on-page content issues. Review its instructions and compatibility before use; it does not grant deployment, data-access or publication permission. Optional external skill: [web-design-guidelines](https://github.com/vercel-labs/agent-skills/blob/main/skills/web-design-guidelines/SKILL.md) — Review web interfaces for accessibility, keyboard focus, forms, navigation and interaction quality. Review its instructions and compatibility before use; it does not grant deployment, data-access or publication permission. Project rule — data model: portfolio projects, ordered galleries, case-study sections, image derivatives and publication manifests Project rule — preserve this invariant: Static export cannot securely hide private/NDA projects; exclude them entirely unless a separate authenticated delivery service is implemented. Project rule — acceptance evidence: A draft case study is absent from generated files; a clean rebuild reproduces the same public project order and working image references.
$ open in your agent (prompt prefilled, you press enter), copy the prompt or copy or download AGENTS.md
prompt copied. want to know what dies next week?
new verdicts + top votes, weekly. free. one-click out.
Alternatives to building your own
all 4 free alternatives to Carbonmade →· no votes, no pay-to-list · just what's real
Carbonmade pricing
| plan | monthly | annual (per mo) | what you get |
|---|---|---|---|
| beginner | $9.99 | — | 8 projects; unlimited image/video uploads; 3 navigation options; SD videoAnnual billing is offered at about 20% off, but the live page did not expose the exact annual dollar price in its accessible text. |
| professional | $14.99 | — | 50 projects; unlimited image/video uploads; 5 navigation options; 4K video/audio; custom pages and private portfolioAnnual billing is offered at about 20% off, but the live page did not expose the exact annual dollar price in its accessible text. |
| unlimited | $24.99 | — | Unlimited projects and pages; includes all Professional featuresAnnual billing is offered at about 20% off, but the live page did not expose the exact annual dollar price in its accessible text. |
free tierno free tier; unlimited-duration private trial, but payment is required to publish the portfolio live
billingmonthly + annual (advertised as about 20% off); exact annual prices were not exposed in the accessible page text
hidden costsA custom domain itself is not included; Carbonmade hosts the site and lets you connect a domain you already own.
pricing sources checked 2026-08-14 · pricing source ↗
Questions about Carbonmade
Can you build your own Carbonmade with AI?
Partly. The visible portfolio builder loop is buildable, but a credible replacement needs more than the first screen. Carbonmade earns its keep through editor, CMS, hosting, polish, so expect a weekend or multi-day build and a narrower personal scope.
What does the Carbonmade build prompt cover?
The prompt starts with this scope: Build a portfolio editor with a project grid, image captions and structured case studies. Produce responsive image sizes and a static export with meaningful project URLs and accessible navigation. Full-product capabilities excluded from the comparison include: general-purpose visual editing; large template and component libraries; CMS collaboration and client handoff. Follow the implementation plan and its prerequisites before expanding the build.
How do I use the prompt, AGENTS.md and agent skills?
Start with the Carbonmade prerequisites and stack, then copy the prompt into your coding agent. Save the project rules as AGENTS.md in the project root. Linked skills are optional packages or source instructions for specific tasks; review their current contents and install only those matching the chosen stack. A skill does not supply API credentials or verify the finished app.
How long will this Carbonmade project take?
The catalogue estimate is weekend to multi-day for the limited scope. Setup, integration approvals, debugging, deployment and ongoing maintenance can add time. This is an estimate, not a delivery guarantee.
What would I give up by replacing Carbonmade?
general-purpose visual editing; large template and component libraries; CMS collaboration and client handoff; managed hosting, forms, and analytics; high-fidelity color, format, and export handling. Carbonmade: A single site is easy to code. People pay for safe ongoing edits, templates, publishing, domains, collaboration, and no-maintenance hosting.
What can I use instead of building Carbonmade?
Webstudio: Open-source visual design with real CSS control; self-hosting replaces Carbonmade's calm with operations. Publii: A desktop portfolio publisher that produces a fast static site; hosting is your problem, server maintenance is not. Plasmic: A hosted visual portfolio with full layout freedom and a custom domain free; the Plasmic badge stays. Compare all listed options at https://howtovibecodeit.dev/carbonmade/alternatives. Check each option's license, hosting needs and feature limits.