GoDaddy Website Builder: It’s Cheap, But Is It Good? - Turbify Resource Center - Get the information you need to succeed online

GoDaddy is well known as one of the biggest domain name and domain hosting providers in the industry. What some people don’t know, however, is that you can actually build a website through GoDaddy; in fact, it has its own builder and customizable templates. Let’s take a look at GoDaddy’s website builder to see if it is a good website building solution for your business.

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Price: It’s Cheap, a True GoDaddy Original

When it comes to price, GoDaddy is probably the cheapest way to build/host a website that has its own custom domain and unlimited pages. Other builders offer free plans (which GoDaddy does not), but nearly all of the other builders offer subdomains of a parent site (i.e., ruegerpottery.weebly.com) instead of offering true custom domains (i.e., rueger-pottery.com), and have site page limits (like 10 pages). With GoDaddy, you get unlimited pages, a custom domain, and 50 themes to choose from for around $1-2/month, which is certainly a deal.

However, once you start getting into premium services, GoDaddy loses some of its lustre. When it reaches a comparable price range as other builders, GoDaddy does not offer the same depth of features or quality of templates.

Ease-of-Use: Easy to Use But Pretty Basic

GoDaddy is a simple and straightforward builder, probably because it is relatively bare bones. You can drag and drop elements onto a page, and do basic customization of text, navigation, and images as well as add maps, slideshows, and other more advanced elements.

The actual depth of customization, however, is more limited than with other builders, such as Weebly or SquareSpace. It is not hard to figure out how to use, but if you have a specific look in mind, it might take longer than it would using a site with a more complicated builder that has more in-depth customization options.

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Features: Not Bad, but Lacking Some Biggies

As mentioned earlier, the basic plan features are not bad. You will have unlimited pages and your own custom domain; however, it does lack some important features that are only included in premium plans.

For example, you do not get a mobile-optimized site unless you pay $5.99/month or more (standard with most other builders). Also, you cannot sell any products/services on your page without getting an online store, which is an additional $19.99/month (also standard with lower cost plans for most other builders).

Additionally, you cannot edit SEO options such as meta tags and page descriptions unless you purchase a premium plan. And lastly, GoDaddy’s templates/themes are not as professional looking as those of Weebly or SquareSpace. They will probably be adequate for most informational sites and service businesses, but if you are in any kind of design, graphics or art-related field, steer clear. Also, unless you get an online store, there is no built-in site reporting of any kind, which is a big negative.

The Verdict

If you are just looking for a bottom-dollar website builder that you can use to create a basic and informational website, then GoDaddy is a solid option. You can get your own custom domain and unlimited pages for under $2/month, which is unique in the industry. But once you start getting into premium plans, you are paying $6-$30/month, which puts you in a similar price range as competitors such as Weebly or SquareSpace, both of which offer better features, better builders, and better looking sites in general.

For more details, check out the full GoDaddy Website Builder Review from Fit Small Business.

About Marc Prosser

Marc Prosser is the Publisher of Fit Small Business, a website that helps small and medium-size companies make better business decisions. One of his favorite articles is Free Business Cards: Where To Get Them and The Fine Print where he explores the business model behind this giveaway.