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GoDaddy website builder review 2025: A good website builder for small businesses?
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GoDaddy’s new AI website builder combines a section-based editor with a suite of small business tools to create a powerful package. During our GoDaddy website builder review, we found it to be a straightforward solution that could offer great value for budding organizations.
Our team of experts have spent thousands of hours testing 140+ website builders, giving us deep insight into what makes each platform work for different users. If you’re looking at different options, we recommend checking out our guide to the best website builders, where you’ll find alternatives that might better suit more specific needs.
In this guide, we cover everything you need to know when deciding if the GoDaddy website builder is right for you.
GoDaddy Website Builder: 2-minute review
During our time with GoDaddy’s new website builder, we found it very easy to create a functional website. It stands out for its simplicity. You can launch a website in less than an hour with its section-based editor. This is much faster than the days or weeks that other builders may require.
GoDaddy focuses on business needs. It includes strong marketing tools and built-in ecommerce features. We liked the AI-powered content creation tools that generate text and suggest designs based on your business type.
However, this simplicity has a downside. There are fewer customization options than competitors like Wix or Squarespace. This may limit creative freedom for users who care about design.
But while it lacks the design flexibility of Wix or the advanced ecommerce features of Shopify, GoDaddy offers a very balanced solution. It prioritizes ease of use and good performance. For those new to website builders, GoDaddy’s approach feels more streamlined than most competitors.
What is GoDaddy website builder?
GoDaddy Website Builder is a relatively new no-code platform launched in 2017. Simply put, it lets beginners create websites without coding skills. Think of it as a digital toolbox. You can build a professional-looking website by dragging and dropping elements, kind of like Legos.
Begin by choosing a template that fits your needs. Afterwards, you can customize the template by adding your own text, images, and other content to make it unique. The platform takes care of all the technical details behind the scenes. Apart from coding, it also handles hosting, security, and mobile responsiveness.
Along with the website builder, GoDaddy offers a number of additional tools to grow your online presence. It includes SEO features to help people find your site. You can also integrate social media to connect with your audience. AI tools help create content and suggest designs. Finally, analytics dashboards track how visitors interact with your site.
Features
GoDaddy packs a punch with features tailored for small business success, including blogs, image galleries, video and music embedding, Google Maps integration, contact forms, promo banners, and call-to-action buttons. While looking at GoDaddy’s dashboard, you’ll see blog tools for simple content planning.
AI is also integrated across the platform, with a full website builder (Airo) and other dedicated tools such as AI-powered content generation that helps users create unique custom copy for their websites.
However, lacking an app market will limit access to specialized tools or plugins. As we delve into GoDaddy’s features, we’ll look at their functionality, flexibility, and user-friendliness, while supplying insider tips to craft your perfect website.
Tools
GoDaddy Airo
We recently got our hands on GoDaddy Airo, the company’s new website builder and small business toolkit.
Airo features one of the best AI website builders in the market. It simplifies the entire website creation process by using AI to tailor a fully functional website based on your business particulars.
Airo also features a number of other tools that offer a ton of value for small businesses looking for an all-in-one digital marketing solution.
Start by picking a desired domain, inputting some information about your business and then let the AI do the rest for you. From logo designs and social media handles to email marketing campaigns and product descriptions, Airo effortlessly takes care of everything.
Section-based editor
Our journey with GoDaddy’s section-based editor has been nothing short of seamless. It offers intuitive, user-friendly customization options that empower you to bring your website vision to life. From setting up private pages to enabling appointment booking and integrating WhatsApp chat buttons and external reviews, GoDaddy’s editor offers enough features to elevate your site’s functionality and enhance user engagement.
Navigating the editor interface is a breeze. The central dashboard makes managing your site a cinch and the controls for adding and editing page sections are intuitive. While we do wish for an “undo” function, the overall editing experience is smooth and efficient, catering to users of all experience levels.
Recently, GoDaddy added a ton of editor shortcuts for quick access. These shortcuts help Editors quickly and easily add features such as online stores and access essential marketing tools, streamlining the website building process. Also, having a mobile app means you can edit your site on the go, adding flexibility and convenience to the customization process.
Template library
We’ve so far discovered a collection of over 100 mobile-responsive design templates with GoDaddy, tailored to various industries such as restaurants, online stores, portfolios, and more.
Each template was meticulously crafted to ensure compatibility across all devices — be it desktops, tablets, or smartphones. We appreciated the ability to preview our designs across different platforms during the editing process, ensuring our site looks stunning regardless of the screen size.
While all GoDaddy templates may lean towards a more standardized appearance, we found enough customization options within the visual editor. Recent updates have increased these customization choices, but it still doesn’t quite rival competitors like Wix or Webflow.
Ecommerce
GoDaddy’s ecommerce plan (unsurprisingly called “Ecommerce”), provides a comprehensive suite of ecommerce tools tailored to meet the needs of businesses looking to sell products online. You can showcase and sell up to 5,000 products (a combination of physical and digital goods) to your customers, manage shipping logistics, and securely process payments — all from one convenient platform.
Additionally, GoDaddy offers abandoned cart recovery functionality, helping you recapture potentially lost sales by re-engaging customers who have abandoned their shopping carts before completing their purchases. To help limit friction in the buying process, GoDaddy also provides a 1-page checkout format. This makes things a lot more efficient for online shoppers and helps reduce abandoned carts.
Accepting payments is made simple with GoDaddy’s ecommerce plan, as it supports popular payment methods such as PayPal, Google Pay, and Apple Pay. Moreover, you have the flexibility to offer promotions and discounts to incentivize purchases, as well as choose from a range of free and paid shipping options.
Integrations
With GoDaddy, you can easily link your site to popular social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and beyond.
Beyond social media, GoDaddy offers a small selection of superb built-in integrations that can enhance your site’s functionality. From restaurant reservations through OpenTable to online food orders via ChowNow, these integrations cater to specific business needs without the hassle of dealing with third-party providers.
Additionally, GoDaddy provides a streamlined dashboard for managing integrations with major online marketplaces like Amazon, Myntra, and Flipkart, making it easier to establish your brand on multiple platforms.
However, we should note that there’s no app marketplace with hundreds of integrations to choose from like with Wix or Squarespace. Also, GoDaddy does not let you design your own integrations using an open-access API.
Analytics
Understanding how well your website is performing and gaining insights into your online presence is crucial for your business journey — it’s a bit like having a compass. Fortunately, GoDaddy offers integration with tools like Google Analytics, which provides detailed insights into your website traffic and user behavior. Additionally, you can leverage Meta Pixel and Facebook Meta tags integration to optimize your site for Facebook advertising and tracking.
GoDaddy’s analytics tool, InSight, became our go-to companion on this journey. This intelligent tool, powered by AI, not only tracks your website’s performance but also offers personalized advice to help you navigate the ever-changing online landscape. The search engine visibility tool will guide you through optimizing your site’s keywords and meta descriptions to climb up the search engine rankings ladder.
Depending on the plan you opt for, you can also gain access to goodies like free business email, social media platform listings, and even free ad credits for platforms like Google and Yelp.
Other tools
GoDaddy lets you create either a simple coming-soon page or a full-fledged website with suggested layouts, AI-written text, and stock images. And with Airo’s professional email setup, establishing a professional image is a cinch as it enables you to create a custom email address that reflects your brand identity. Also, Airo provides personalized suggestions for social media handles based on your domain name, ensuring consistency across all your online platforms.
By analyzing uploaded product photos, Airo creates descriptions that highlight the unique features and benefits of your products or services. Moreover, businesses can leverage GoDaddy’s partnership with ZenBusiness to register for a free LLC, offering peace of mind and legal assurance.
Ease of use
GoDaddy website builder is one of the easiest experiences in website building. The interface is clean and simple, using a section-based editor instead of overwhelming users with many design options. During our tests, we created a basic website in under an hour.
Onboarding is quick. GoDaddy asks new users about their business type and goals. Then, it uses AI to create a partially completed website with relevant sections and placeholder content. This reduces the “blank canvas paralysis” that beginners often face with other platforms. The editing experience is straightforward, allowing users to work with entire sections rather than individual elements. This setup makes it hard to “break” your design.
Navigation is intuitive, with clearly labeled menus. The editing experience is consistent across different page types. We particularly liked the mobile editor. It lets users adjust how their site looks on smartphones without needing a separate mobile version. The platform also offers accessibility features, like automatic alt text suggestions for images and contrast checks. These ensure the site is usable for people with disabilities.
GoDaddy’s design philosophy, shared by their product team, emphasizes “guided freedom.” This means users get creative control to make their site unique but with guardrails to prevent mistakes. This is clear in how the platform manages typography and color schemes, providing curated combinations instead of endless choices. While design purists might see this as limiting, it helps beginners create visually appealing websites.
But, there’s no undo history or version control with GoDaddy. You can’t easily revert to previous site versions if you make unwanted changes. Also, the template selection, while diverse enough for most users, doesn’t match the thousands offered by competitors like Wix or WordPress.
Pricing
Plan | /mo (paid monthly) | Intro rate /mo (paid every 1-3 years) | Renewal rate /mo (paid every 1-3 years) |
|---|---|---|---|
Basic | $16.99 | $9.99 | $16.99 |
Premium | $29.99 | $14.99 | $29.99 |
Commerce | $34.99 | $20.99 | $34.99 |
Pricing and plans explained
GoDaddy Website Builder has a tiered pricing system to fit different needs and budgets. It offers four premium plans: Basic, Premium, Commerce, and Commerce Plus. Each plan has more features than the last. You can also use GoDaddy for free.
GoDaddy’s free plan is a great option for those looking to get online without cost. Like all of the best free website builders, this plan comes with limitations. Most notable on GoDaddy’s is the inability to connect a custom domain to your website and the permanent inclusion of ‘Powered by GoDaddy’ on your website.
During our research, we found the Basic plan starts at about $9.99/month with annual billing. It includes essential tools but lacks key features, like connecting a custom domain without GoDaddy branding. The Premium plan, around $14.99/month with annual billing, offers the best value for small businesses. It adds SEO tools, social media integration, and email marketing.
For online selling, the Commerce plan starts at about $20.99/month. It includes vital e-commerce features like payment processing, product listings, and inventory management.
GoDaddy often has promotions that provide significant discounts for the first year. However, renewal rates are much higher. Compared to competitors, GoDaddy is mid-range. It’s cheaper than Squarespace but slightly more expensive than Wix for similar features. A plus is that all plans include hosting and SSL certificates, avoiding hidden costs that some competitors charge.
A downside is that GoDaddy doesn’t offer a free plan—only a one-month free trial. Also, some advanced features that other builders include as standard require upgrades to higher-tier plans. Overall, while not the cheapest option, GoDaddy Website Builder offers good value for its ease of use and business-focused features.
Security
GoDaddy prioritizes website security with strong features for all Website Builder plans. Each site gets an SSL Certificate, which enables HTTPS encryption. This shows visitors a padlock icon in their browser and builds trust. This measure protects data between visitors and your site and helps improve search engine rankings.
The platform also offers a Web Application Firewall (WAF). This tool intercepts incoming data and blocks harmful code from hackers. Higher-tier plans add more security features, like daily malware scans, constant monitoring with alerts, and automatic backups with one-click restore. These measures work well for most small businesses, but users handling sensitive customer data might consider extra third-party security solutions for better protection.
Customer support
Help and support are cornerstones of GoDaddy’s service, with the company known for its comprehensive customer support. No matter the time of day, you can access support through multiple channels, including phone, email, and live chat. This round-the-clock availability ensures that issues or concerns can be promptly addressed, providing peace of mind.
We have reviewed over 140 of the best website builders and hosting platforms. Out of these, very few still offer phone support, making GoDaddy stand out from the crowd in this regard. If you want to be able to pick up the phone and talk to a human when you are having issues with your website, GoDaddy is definitely worth considering.
Alongside direct support, GoDaddy’s site offers a range of self-help resources, allowing users to solve problems on their own. These include a robust knowledge base filled with articles, tutorials, and FAQs, offering detailed guidance on common concerns.
For those seeking more personalized assistance, GoDaddy offers specialist support and access to courses, webinars, and podcasts, further enhancing the support experience. However, despite its comprehensive support system, GoDaddy would benefit from a clearer organization of its resources. We’ve struggled to locate specific features and information within GoDaddy’s knowledge center, pointing to areas where user experience could be a bit better.
Alternatives
While GoDaddy offers a solid range of customization features with its AI site builder, more advanced users might find these options limited compared to other platforms like Wix or Weebly. Increased flexibility in design elements and layout customization could enhance the builder’s appeal to a more demanding audience.
In terms of alternatives, Wix distinguishes itself with superior features and flexibility. It offers a wide array of customization options and boasts an extensive app market, making it an excellent choice for aspiring online business owners seeking advanced functionality.
On the other hand, Weebly stands out as one of the best free website builders, offering exceptional value for money. Its free tier includes essential features such as an SSL certificate and SEO tools, which makes it an enticing option for budget-conscious users.
How we tested GoDaddy website builder
To test GoDaddy Website Builder, we created an account and explored the interface. We checked out the template library, tried the AI content creation tools, and used the section-based editor.
We built test pages to see customization options, mobile responsiveness, and the user experience for different technical skill levels. We also examined the SEO tools, social media integration, and e-commerce features to gauge the value offered. Finally, we analyzed their pricing structure across all plans.
Next, we looked into GoDaddy’s security features like SSL, firewall protection, and malware scanning. We tested customer support options, including response times and knowledge base resources. This helped us understand what GoDaddy provides as a complete website-building solution.
You can learn more about how we test website builders with our full guide.
GoDaddy website builder review: Summary
To sum it up, GoDaddy website builder is a user-friendly platform with AI-powered tools, making it one of the best small business website builders and an ideal option for rapid website creation. However, its limitations in customization and lack of an app market may deter more advanced users.
So, if you’re seeking a simple and affordable solution, GoDaddy is worth considering, especially with its one-month free trial. However, if you have more complex needs, alternatives like Wix and Weebly offer superior features and flexibility. In either case, weigh the pros and cons carefully before deciding whether GoDaddy is the right choice for building your online presence.
GoDaddy website builder review: FAQs
What is a website builder and why should I use GoDaddy’s?
A website builder is a no-code tool that lets you create a website without coding or design skills. GoDaddy Website Builder is very easy to use, with a beginner-friendly interface and guided editing experience.
We found GoDaddy especially useful for small business owners who need to set up an online presence quickly. The platform has AI tools that generate content and design elements based on your business type. You can build a fully-functional business website in less than one hour.
Do I get a free domain with GoDaddy website builder?
No. Although you can get a free domain for one year through GoDaddy with some hosting plans, unlike Wix, Squarespace, and Hostinger, GoDaddy does not offer a free domain with its website builder plans.
However, all of GoDaddy’s paid website builder plans do allow you to connect a custom domain to your website. You can buy your domain through GoDaddy or pick from one of the other top domain registrars to find the best deal on your domain of choice.
How secure is GoDaddy website builder for my business and customers?
GoDaddy offers strong protection across all website builder plans. Each site built on the platform comes with an SSL (Secure Sockets Layer) certificate. HTTPS encryptions and Web Application Firewalls (WAF) are also offered as standard.
If you’re building an ecommerce store, GoDaddy has built-in integrations with popular payment methods like PayPal and Apple Pay, which have their own financial data protection and fraud prevention tools. So yes, GoDaddy’s website builder is sufficiently secure for most users.
Does GoDaddy website builder have SEO tools?
GoDaddy offers an SEO wizard that will help you tick all the important boxes when it comes to getting your site on search engine result pages. This includes keyword recommendations, AI meta titles and descriptions, and SEO tasks suggestions.
Can I create an ecommerce website with GoDaddy website builder?
Yes, GoDaddy includes strong ecommerce features in its Commerce plan. It gives you all the tools to set up and manage an online store. You can list up to 5,000 products, both physical and digital. It lets you manage inventory, set shipping options, and process secure payments. All of these features are integrated into the same platform you use to build your website.
