GoDaddy Builder is an excellent platform for the most basic of websites. It's arguably the fastest platform to set up because it offers the fewest choices.
GoDaddy has made an effort to step up its marketing game by offering integration with social media. They provide basic email marketing on the platform, too.
The GoDaddy Builder platform is only part of what GoDaddy offers. They are one of the largest domain registrars, and they also provide WordPress.org website hosting.
Who is it for?
If you want a website that is quick and easy to set up – and you don't need many design options to customize the look of your site - GoDaddy Builder might be your platform.
GoDaddy Builder can be a good choice for you if you want a basic, 3-to-5 page website and you want to choose a template, add your text and photos, and call it done.
Who is it not for?
I don't recommend GoDaddy Builder for anyone building anything but the most basic of websites. A portfolio is ok if all you have is photos for someone to click through.
I don't recommend it for blogging, e-commerce, advanced portfolios, custom design, or advanced features of any kind.
While there are options for adding a blog, an online store, and other functions, I find the functionality of any of those features to be very limited, especially for the price you pay.
Features
If you're looking for the website platform where you can set up a website fast, GoDaddy Builder might be the right choice - as long as you are happy with having very few options to change the design.
GoDaddy Builder is a hosted website solution - they include website hosting in your plan, so you don't have to find your own. While design customization is limited, GoDaddy Builder offers all the basics:
- Security certificates for all sites
- Free themes
- Automatic mobile optimization
- Basic SEO (on three of the four plans)
- Basic analytics
- Custom domain
Although the design options are limited, GoDaddy Builder has more than twenty free themes for websites. They look relatively similar but should work well for simple sites.
You can customize the theme with a logo, a theme color, and your choice of light or dark versions of the theme. In addition, you have a choice of pre-set font pairs, or you can select fonts for headings and the body.
There are templates blocks for adding your content that you can add to each page of your website. Since there aren't many design options, you can make your choices, add your content, and get your website online quickly.
GoDaddy offers basic email marketing on the platform and analytics for seeing how people are using your site. In addition, they allow you to post to social media and connect to other platforms as well.
The GoDaddy Builder offers e-commerce, but I don't recommend placing your online store on this platform. The SEO and design features are too limited to provide users with a good experience.
The platform also offers appointment booking, but again, I prefer other platforms for features like this.
GoDaddy Builder does not offer apps or plugins for expanding the functionality of your website. However, since your site is hosted, you don't have to worry about security or updates, except for using a strong password.
Plans and cost
GoDaddy Builder offers four plans: Basic, Standard, Premium, and E-commerce. Costs range from 9.99/month to 24.99/month.
The most basic plan does not include SEO. However, you do have website security via a security certificate, as all their plans do. In addition, you have access to basic analytics and a step-by-step guide to building your site.
You add SEO options, social media posting, and email marketing options as you move to higher-level plans. The highest level plans are intended for appointments and booking, and e-commerce.
Positives
The good thing about GoDaddy Builder is that it makes it simple, easy, and fast to set up a very basic website. It's great for people without a lot of technical skills or people who don't want to mess around with technical tools.
The lack of customization options means you don't have to make too many decisions. Instead, you can use a theme, add your content using their template blocks, and get your site up fast.
Watch out for
If you choose GoDaddy Builder to build your website, be wary of the limited ability to customize your site as well as limited SEO options.
If you plan to use GoDaddy Builder, make sure you don't end up with a GoDaddy WordPress website instead. They offer WordPress.org hosting as well, so make sure you only sign up for the services you need for GoDaddy Builder. You don't need extra hosting for that.
Again, I wouldn't consider using GoDaddy for blogs, commerce, or booking just because of the general lack of design flexibility and the basic nature of the available tools.
Also, keep in mind that you will have to rebuild your website in the new platform if you change website platforms. Unfortunately, that's the case with almost all hosted platforms.
Summary
GoDaddy Builder is a good option for the person who wants to toss in some photos and text and be done with building their website. It's great for a basic website with no advanced features and little customization.
Here's the link to the GoDaddy Builder platform, if you'd like to explore it.
If you have questions about the GoDaddy Builder platform or other platforms, please get in touch.
