Getting a website can be a daunting task, especially for those with limited technical knowledge or design skills. That’s why many people turn to web builders like GoDaddy’s Website Builder, which aim to make it easy to create a professional-looking website. But even with the best intentions, these platforms can be confusing and overwhelming, especially for beginners.
GoDaddy’s Simplified Approach
GoDaddy’s Website Builder takes a different approach. Instead of bombarding users with template choices and design decisions, it simply asks a series of questions about your business needs, then automatically generates a custom website tailored to your responses. This AI-driven approach eliminates the paralysis of choice that often stalls website creation, allowing even total newbies to have a functional site up and running in under an hour.
- AI-driven approach eliminates the paralysis of choice
- Generates a custom website in under an hour
- Easy to use, even for those with minimal technical knowledge
Key Plans and Pricing
| Plan | Price (billed annually) | Features |
|---|---|---|
| Basic | $7.99 | SSL security, custom domain, free professional email |
| Standard | $9.99 | SEO tools, social media scheduling, email marketing to 500 users/month |
| Premium | $11.99 | Appointment booking with payment capabilities |
| Ecommerce | $13.99 | Full online store functionality |
Setup and Getting Started
The onboarding process is straightforward and easy to follow. You simply need to answer a few questions about your business and website needs, and GoDaddy’s AI will generate a custom template for you.
The AI-powered web builder asks a series of questions to determine your website’s purpose, the features you want, and the name it should have. It then generates a unique template based on your responses.
“The AI-powered web builder asked me a series of questions about my business and the features I wanted on my website. It then generated a unique template based on my responses.”
Templates
Templates are professional but generic. While the results are functional and professional-looking, I felt the template I was given lacked the modern, stylish aesthetic found in Squarespace’s offerings.
You can choose alternatives to the auto-generated template, but be warned – the creative limitations become apparent once you try to make changes.
- Templates are professional but generic
- Can choose alternative templates
- Creative limitations become apparent when trying to make changes
Features
GoDaddy’s feature set is similar to that of its rivals Wix and Weebly. It covers the essentials for small businesses, but lacks depth.
I found the blog functionality, image galleries, embedded media, contact forms, and promotional banners worked fine. Nothing wowed me, but again, most people aren’t looking to be wowed: they just want the job done.
One significant limitation compared to Wix, Weebly, and other rivals, though, is that there’s no app marketplace. So basically, what you see is what you get.
On the other hand, GoDaddy excels in finding clever ways to make building your website easier for nervous newbies. The onboarding process is excellent, and the marketing features are good.
ADI and Speed of Setup
ADI quickly builds a custom website, but the speed of setup means results can be a little scattershot. Unlike Weebly, which hasn’t done anything with AI yet, GoDaddy embraces it with its Artificial Design Intelligence (ADI) tool.
Wix has a similar tool in the form of its Website Generator. The main difference between the two is that Wix asked more questions, which on one hand meant the process took longer, but on the other, meant Wix did a slightly better job of fashioning a template to my exact needs.
UI and Experience
GoDaddy’s user interface prioritises simplicity over flexibility. Its block-based editor allowed me to add sections to my photography website by clicking the “Add Section” button and selecting from a menu of options.
Unlike Wix or Squarespace, though, GoDaddy doesn’t offer drag-and-drop functionality, meaning sections remain fixed in their positions once placed.
Help and Support
24/7 phone and live chat support is available to all users, even on the free plan. However, the support options are not listed on the Help Center page, and the live chat feature didn’t work as expected.
On the other hand, the mobile performance is pretty decent.
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