GoDaddy is more famous for providing domains and web hosting services. However, it has a site builder that you can use to create your e-commerce store.
While GoDaddy’s e-commerce solution scores top marks for ease of use and affordability, it performs poorly in other areas. Hence, you might need to consider other alternatives.
Read on to find the best alternatives to GoDaddy e-commerce!
GoDaddy E-commerce Review
Before we start assessing alternatives, it’s important to understand the GoDaddy e-commerce solution. This way, you can get all the information you need to make an informed choice.
GoDaddy’s site builder, called Websites + Marketing, is used to design mobile-optimized sites without coding.
The Websites + Marketing tool is great for building online stores and has many features tailored for better e-commerce performance.
Owing to its no-code structure, GoDaddy e-commerce is regarded as one of the easiest options for setting up an online store.
You only have to answer a few questions about your store and GoDaddy e-commerce will handle the rest.
The GoDaddy e-commerce solution has undergone several changes over the years. Previous versions went by several names including GoCentral and Version 7.
However, GoDaddy released an updated version of its e-commerce package, Websites + Marketing, in 2019.
This version addressed criticisms of the previous GoCentral, had a modernized interface, and was the first GoDaddy site builder with a free plan.
With Websites + Marketing, GoDaddy e-commerce added marketing capabilities, which explains the name.
Some of the new marketing features include a Content Creator, blogging functionality, an SEO Wizard for site optimization and an email marketing tool.
The GoDaddy e-commerce solution is noteworthy for its mobile-friendly layout. With more customers expected to make purchases through their phones, GoDaddy e-commerce is a must-have for businesses.
What are the Features of GoDaddy E-commerce?
Here are the most important features of GoDaddy e-commerce:
- Easy to use
The biggest claim to fame GoDaddy e-commerce has is its ease of use. GoDaddy is simply one of the easiest online store builders you’ll find — and that’s putting it mildly.
GoDaddy e-commerce has a well-structured site editor that makes removing and adding elements breezy. Paste your text into any of the available text boxes; click delete or add a text box on your site.
Also, you can make edits to a live version of your page and view those changes using the preview feature on the left side. There’s also a toolbar on the right side to guide your updates. - Marketing Functionality
The latest GoDaddy e-commerce package (Websites + Marketing) offers online sellers a suite of tools to bolster marketing efforts. These tools include:- Social media content creator
- Built-in email marketing tool
- Blogging tool (for content marketing)
- SEO Wizard for boosting search engine performance
- Responsive website layout
The layouts of sites built with GoDaddy e-commerce are highly responsive and adapt nicely to tablets and smartphones.
This is important in an era where the responsive layout is central to e-commerce success.
Even more significant is the website editor’s ability to work on smartphones. You don’t have to sit at a PC to tweak your site or sell products. Launch into your site’s backend from your phone and conduct all your business on the go. - Zero transaction fees
GoDaddy e-commerce charges zero fees on purchases that customers make on your site. However, you might need to pay credit card transaction fees — but that’s at the discretion of the payment gateways. - Simple uploading of media
Updating product images on your site is easy when you use GoDaddy e-commerce. Just drag the desired images from your PC folder and drop them into the media uploader.
You can also switch out media like pictures and videos on the site. Simply click on the picture or video and open the media library.
There, you can drag and drop media for uploading, and go through stock photos from the library or your social media pages. Also, you can use the library’s search function if you know the name of the media file.
What are the Cons of GoDaddy E-commerce?
- Limited technical functions
Unlike other site builders, GoDaddy doesn’t offer an app store. As such, it can be difficult to expand the functionality of your site. It can also prevent you from scaling your e-commerce site.
Also, GoDaddy doesn’t offer integration with Google Ads, Facebook, Twitter and other third-party marketing tools. When it does, the integration is limited and less seamless compared to other site builders. - SEO performance is below par
The SEO options offered on GoDaddy’s lowest e-commerce plans are average at best. But, even those offered on higher-priced options aren’t that awesome either.
Some have found that GoDaddy e-commerce promotes harmful SEO practices such as auto-generation of URLs. Auto-generated page URLs get changed every time you adjust the page title. - Boring design
GoDaddy e-commerce offers plenty of themes to select from. However, these themes aren’t great-looking and look the same.
With such basic design features, this e-commerce solution is only useful for small stores. Bigger stores, that need more appealing designs, may have to look elsewhere. - Lacks password protection
GoDaddy doesn’t allow you to set password protection for sensitive pages on your site. This can affect the safety of your e-commerce site and may expose it to security breaches.
How is the Pricing on GoDaddy E-commerce?
The GoDaddy Websites + Marketing website builder offers Free, Basic, Standard, and Premium plans that cost between $0 to $20.
However, online sellers have only one option: the e-commerce plan, which is the most expensive.
The cost of the e-commerce package varies according to your payment schedule. Monthly payments are around $30, but you’ll pay just $20 per month if you opt for the 1-year lump sum option.
A lot has been made of the pricing of GoDaddy e-commerce. Many believe it’s expensive, as it offers even fewer features than many rivals.
Read on to get alternatives to GoDaddy e-commerce that provide more value for the money.
What are Alternatives to GoDaddy E-commerce?
As an e-commerce solution, GoDaddy’s Websites + Marketing site builder promises many benefits. However, it has some flaws that may make it unsuitable for your business.
Here is a comparison of GoDaddy e-commerce to some competitors:
GoDaddy E-commerce vs Shopify
Shopify is one of the best-known e-commerce store builders. It is different from GoDaddy’s Websites + Marketing site builder, focusing squarely on e-commerce.
The cheapest Shopify plan starts at $29 per month. This is about the same with GoDaddy e-commerce.
However, Shopify provides more at the same price point. There’s an app store, great-looking themes, better SEO, and faster page speeds.
GoDaddy E-commerce vs WordPress
Although WordPress is a CMS, it offers e-commerce functionality for sites. WordPress has WooCommerce, a plugin that can turn your website into an online store with minimal adjustments.
WordPress offers limitless options, complete control, affordable pricing, and impressive versatility when building e-commerce sites. If these qualities matter to you, then WordPress is the better option.
But, if ease of use is what you desire, GoDaddy is advisable. WordPress is easy to use — in fact, one of the easiest — but it has a steeper learning curve than GoDaddy e-commerce.
GoDaddy E-commerce vs Weebly
Weebly is a popular drag-and-drop e-commerce site builder, similar to Wix. It is straightforward to use, has cheaper plans, and comes with more options than GoDaddy e-commerce.
You can expand the functionality of your Weebly e-commerce site, making it better for scalability. Except you want absolute convenience, Weebly is a better option than GoDaddy e-commerce for you.
GoDaddy E-commerce vs Daalder
Unlike other e-commerce solutions mentioned on this list, Daalder isn’t a no-code, ready-made site builder.
Rather, it’s a Laravel-based e-commerce solution for building highly responsive and scalable online stores.
Managing a site built by Daalder requires having some coding knowledge, which might be bad for beginners. Also, it is more time-intensive and expensive because you have to hire a developer.
If you’re a non-geek, you might want to consider other options. The same applies if you don’t have a sizable web development budget.
But Daalder is still the best option if you want a site that’s secure and high-performance. Daalder is more scalable than GoDaddy e-commerce, as developers can tweak the code and add new features.
You might prefer something simple like GoDaddy e-commerce when you start your online store. However, you’ll need a more comprehensive solution like Daalder when you start to expand your site.
Conclusion
GoDaddy e-commerce is a great option for anyone who wants an online store quickly with minimal difficulty. But you might want to consider alternatives that offer more than ease of use.
The alternatives discussed in the article offer more performance, security, and functionality than GoDaddy e-commerce. This is important if you want to grow from a small-scale store to something bigger in future.
You can choose Daalder, a headless e-commerce solution that uses the power of the Laravel framework. With a Laravel-based structure, your e-commerce store will benefit from better user experience, safety, performance, and flexibility.
Leave us a message if you’re ready to get your e-commerce site up and running!
