Gamma alternatives for when a presentation-style site needs bookings, forms and a CMS
Gamma makes decks, documents and sites from a prompt, and a site made in Gamma is a published gamma: quick to produce and good for a one-off page. When that page needs to take bookings, sell, or hold content someone updates every week, it's time to look at Gamma alternatives built as website tools. For decks and short-lived pages, Gamma remains a sensible choice.
What a Gamma site is, from Gamma's own help
Gamma's article on how to create a site describes a site as a published version of a gamma doc or deck, single-page or multi-page with navigation. You can convert an existing gamma or start from the Sites tab, publish all pages or one at a time, and preview at desktop, tablet and mobile sizes. Everyone can publish to a gamma.site subdomain; custom domains need a Pro plan or above.
The same article sets out the limits: sites don't support e-commerce or blogging, and a site can't be turned back into a presentation. The article on customising a site covers a navigation bar with up to five links and two buttons, a favicon, a title, description and URL path per page, and Google Tag Manager for analytics. Neither article describes a booking calendar or a content collection that someone edits without touching the layout.
That's a fair description of a tool designed around presenting. The reasons to move are about the site's job, not Gamma's quality.
What to collect from Gamma
- The words and images. Copy the text of each page and save the images you uploaded, since you'll paste them into whatever comes next.
- The page paths. Gamma lets you set each page's URL path. List them so the new site can keep the addresses people have shared.
- Tags. If you added a Google Tag Manager container, note its ID and decide whether the new site needs it.
- The domain. Gamma's domain article says a domain bought through Gamma is managed by its registrar partner, Ionos. Find those emails, because DNS changes happen there, not in Gamma.
- The deck. Keep the original presentation. Once converted, the site can't be turned back.
Four options to compare
| Option | Suits | From its own pages |
|---|---|---|
| Carrd | A single page with a form, cheaply | Pro Standard is $19 a year for ten sites with custom domains, forms and embeds |
| Framer | A designed multi-page site with a CMS | Its pricing page lists Basic at $10 a month with 30 pages and 1,000 CMS items |
| Squarespace | A hosted template site with a built-in store | Its pricing page lists Core at $39 a month, or $29 on the annual toggle, with 0% store transaction fees |
| Anticode | A business site with bookings, forms and editable content, from a description | Fixed booking times; payments by link only |
Carrd, Framer and Squarespace show a dollar sign without naming the currency. Gamma's own prices aren't quoted here because we couldn't confirm them from its pricing page; check it directly.
Where Anticode fits
Anticode starts in a similar place, a few sentences about what you need, but it plans a website rather than a deck. The Architect asks up to three questions that change the build, then shows a plan listing pages, sections and features such as a booking calendar, contact form, pricing and FAQ. You can split it into separate Services, Pricing, Book and Contact pages.
The parts Gamma's help doesn't describe are built in. The booking calendar takes a service, day, time, name, phone and email and stops two visitors taking the same slot. Contact and newsletter forms save entries and can email you. A CMS collection holds things like events, menu items or news, edited in the dashboard and served at their own addresses. For selling, buy buttons point to a checkout link from Stripe Payment Links, PayPal, Gumroad, Lemon Squeezy, Shopify or Whop.
Anticode's limits for this switch
- Booking times are fixed. Six slots a day, Mondays skipped, up to 120 days ahead; no deposits, calendar sync or custom hours. Anticode doesn't email the visitor, so you confirm each booking yourself.
- One payment link per account. Every buy button goes to the same checkout; there's no cart.
- No blog engine. Collections can hold posts, but there are no comments, RSS or scheduling.
- No embeds or video. Pages link to videos and maps rather than embedding them.
- No presentation mode. Anticode makes websites and apps, not slides.
- English only. The builder and the sites are in English.
When Gamma is the better tool
Keep using Gamma for pitch decks, proposals, one-off event pages and anything you present before you publish. Its strength is turning an outline into something presentable quickly, and a single-page site made that way is fine for a talk, a short campaign or a page you'll retire in a month. Move only the sites that have become part of how the business runs.
Questions people ask
Can a Gamma site sell products or host a blog?
Gamma's help centre says sites don't support e-commerce or blogging features. You can link out to a checkout or a separate blog.
Can I use my own domain with Gamma?
On Pro plans and above, according to Gamma's help centre. Everyone can publish to a gamma.site subdomain.
Which gamma alternatives take bookings?
Of the options above, Anticode has a built-in booking calendar with six fixed times a day. For the others, check their own pages for scheduling, since it wasn't part of what we compared.
Can Anticode import my Gamma site?
No. Paste your text into the request or describe the site, and upload the images you saved.
Sources
- Gamma Help: How to create a site, checked
- Gamma Help: How do I set up and customise a site in Gamma?, checked
- Gamma Help: How do I buy a custom domain for my Gamma site?, checked
- Carrd Pro plans, checked
- Framer pricing, checked
- Squarespace pricing, checked