GoDaddy's website builder offers a clean interface, making it incredibly fast to build a website. It took me just 52 minutes to go from a blank canvas to a professional-looking website, making it perfect for small business owners who need a website, like yesterday.

However, its convenience comes at a cost. Its restrictions on creativity can be a blessing or a curse, depending on what you want — you get a polished website with zero fuss, but if you want pixel-perfect control, you'll be left frustrated.

We've spent hundreds of hours testing over 80 of the best website builder platforms on the market, giving us deep insight into what works for different users. For this GoDaddy Website Builder review, I created multiple test sites to evaluate its features, tools, ease of use, and value proposition.​

Below you will find everything you need to know to make an informed decision if GoDaddy is the right website builder for you.

GoDaddy website builder pricing and plans

Pricing feels competitive for what you get. For me, GoDaddy hits a sweet spot between budget and business-focused features. All paid plans include hosting and SSL certificates, which eliminates the hidden costs that could turn away new entrepreneurs.

Pricing last verified: 16/02/2026

GoDaddy website builder plans: Explained

Reviewer's experience: Getting started

Although most of the top website builders pride themselves on ease of use, GoDaddy is by far one of the easiest platforms to get going with.

Step 1: Signing up

You can sign up for GoDaddy using your email, Facebook, or Google account.

Step 2: Define your goals

After I had signed up I was immediately asked about my business type and goals. GoDaddy's AI then generated a partially completed website within minutes. This eliminated the intimidating blank canvas that usually stares you down with other builders.​

Onboarding felt refreshingly quick. No complex menus to navigate. GoDaddy presented me with a functional site structure based on my answers, complete with suggested layouts and placeholder content. It cut down on decision fatigue right from the start.

Step 3: Edit your site

Navigating the editor felt intuitive. I worked with the section-based system, which lets you add, remove, or reorder entire content blocks. It's easy, but restrictive. The controls were clearly labeled and I never felt lost, although I was quickly frustrated by the lack of an undo button.​

Customizing my test site involved choosing from pre-designed sections. I could toggle elements on or off, but couldn't break free from the preset structures.

Want to move a button somewhere specific? Too bad. This "guided freedom" approach works well for beginners but felt problematic when I wanted more control.​

GoDaddy website builder's business tools

GoDaddy's website builder offers the following business tools:

• Full ecommerce functionality
• Online appointment scheduling
• Payment processing with GoDaddy Payments
• Inventory management across channels
• AI-powered conversations inbox
• Client management tools

GoDaddy packs in practical features for running a business. I found the ecommerce and appointment booking particularly useful. Some tools felt basic, but they covered the essentials well enough.

Ecommerce functionality

I set up a test store on the Commerce plan in about 15 minutes. You can list up to 5,000 products, which is more than most small businesses need. The platform lets you sell physical products, digital goods, and services all from one dashboard.​

Payment processing with GoDaddy Payments

GoDaddy Payments is integrated directly into the platform. The transaction fee is 2.7% + 30¢ per transaction, which beats many of the best ecommerce platforms. Payouts arrive as soon as the next business day, and all transactions appear in one unified dashboard.​

I found the setup process quite simple. You can also choose alternative processors like Square, Stripe, or PayPal if you prefer. However, other users have warned about poor support experiences with GoDaddy Payments.

Inventory management

The inventory syncing impressed me. When you sell a product on your website, the stock levels automatically update on Amazon, eBay, and Etsy. This prevents overselling, a common nightmare for multi-channel sellers.​

Managing everything from one dashboard saved considerable time during testing. The system tracks online orders and inventory levels in real time. But I noticed the marketplace integrations are only available in select regions, so verify availability for your market.​

Online appointment scheduling

Clients can schedule appointments 24/7 directly through your site, while the system sends automatic reminders via email and text.

I tested the calendar syncing feature, which keeps your business calendar aligned with your website calendar in real time.​ You can also accept deposits when customers book services.

AI conversations inbox

Conversations act as your all-in-one business inbox. It includes an optional second phone line, so customers can call without using your personal number. AI chatbots handle initial customer inquiries automatically, giving quick responses that stay on-brand.​

I tested the unified inbox feature. It consolidates messages from multiple channels into one app. You'll never miss a potential sale because calls go to voicemail with your custom greeting. The AI reply suggestions work well for common questions, though you'll need to intervene for complex inquiries.​

Client management tools

The built-in CRM stores contact information, appointment history, and payment records. This makes customer interactions smoother and more personalized. I used it to upload test clients and found the interface straightforward.​

You can view customer purchase patterns and use that data for targeted email promotions. But the CRM functionality is quite basic, don't expect advanced features like sales pipeline management or detailed reporting.

GoDaddy website builder's marketing tools

GoDaddy offers the following marketing tools:

• SEO optimization wizard
• Email marketing campaigns
• Social media scheduling and management
• GoDaddy Studio content creator
• Digital ads on Meta and Google
• Social commerce integrations
• Website analytics
• Marketing planner with AI

GoDaddy's marketing suite is quite expansive for a basic website builder. It bundles email, social media, paid ads, and SEO tools into one dashboard. Again, some features felt limited compared to standalone marketing platforms, but the integrations usually made up for it.

SEO optimization wizard

The SEO Wizard walks you through optimizing each page step-by-step. It suggests relevant keywords and helps you write meta descriptions, headings, or alt text.

I didn't need to waste any time figuring out what to optimize.​ You can even connect Google Analytics and Search Console for deeper tracking.​ However, the SEO tools are only available on Premium and Commerce plans.

Email marketing

Email marketing is included in all paid plans, with different subscriber limits. Basic lets you email 100 contacts monthly, Premium bumps that to 25,000, and Commerce allows 100,000. GoDaddy's AI uses your website design to create branded email templates automatically.​

Creating a test campaign took about 10 minutes from start to send. One limitation: you can't create advanced automation sequences like abandoned cart emails or behavior-triggered campaigns. The email builder also felt restrictive, I found that I couldn't customize layouts beyond the preset templates.

Social media management

You can schedule and publish posts to publish on multiple social networks from the dashboard. GoDaddy supports Facebook, Instagram, X (Twitter), and more.

I tested scheduling content across three platforms simultaneously, which worked without issue.​

GoDaddy Studio content creator

Studio provides professional templates for creating branded visuals. I used it to design some basic social media graphics and promo images. Their customizable templates saved time — without compromising brand authenticity.​

You can create content for your website, social media channels, and advertising campaigns all in one place. I really liked how it suggested image layouts based on the content type.​

However, serious graphic designers will find the customization options limiting. Think Canva Lite rather than Photoshop.​

Ads on Meta and Google

Premium and Commerce plans let you create, schedule, and manage unlimited digital ads. The interface simplifies the typically complex process of running paid campaigns. You can set up a test Facebook ad in under five minutes.​

Social commerce integrations

GoDaddy connects your online store to Facebook Marketplace, Instagram Creator, Amazon, eBay, and Etsy. Inventory syncs happen automatically. When someone buys on Amazon, your website stock updates instantly.​

You can also list products for free on Google Shopping. But keep in mind that marketplace integrations are only available in select regions. Check whether your location has access before planning a multi-channel strategy. My setup process varied by marketplace, some connected instantly, others required additional verification steps.​

Web analytics

GoDaddy InSight Score gives you performance benchmarks against similar businesses.

The analytics dashboard shows SEO performance, website traffic, and campaign results all in one place. I found the consolidated view well-designed for quick decision-making.​

AI marketing planner

The AI-powered marketing planner creates custom action plans. It analyzes your business and suggests what to work on next. It's helpful for beginners when deciding where to focus efforts.​

The planner draws from data across millions of GoDaddy customers to make industry-specific recommendations. You get step-by-step guidance rather than vague suggestions.​ However, the recommendations still felt generic. Advanced marketers will likely ignore most suggestions.

Reviewer's experience: Support

GoDaddy offers 24/7 support through live chat and phone, plus a comprehensive help center. On paper, the coverage looks solid. You can reach a human agent anytime, which beats many competitors.​

I tested the live chat with a technical question about domain mapping. The initial bot interaction lasted about a minute before connecting me to an agent. The representative was friendly but couldn't fully answer my question without escalating to someone else. The back-and-forth messaging took longer than expected, I waited several minutes between responses.​

User sentiment varies significantly across review platforms. GoDaddy maintains a 4.5/5 rating on Trustpilot, with customers praising phone support and quick onboarding. However, G2 and Reddit paint a slightly different picture. Common complaints include contradictory answers, aggressive upselling, and poor technical support for complex issues. Reddit threads specifically warn against using GoDaddy Payments due to unresolved support problems.

Test results: GoDaddy website builder

Competitor comparison

Below we show you how GoDaddy stacks up against two of its closest competitors:

How we tested the GoDaddy website builder

At TechRadar Pro, we rigorously test website builders over several days. I spent considerable time with GoDaddy Website Builder for this review, creating test sites to evaluate each feature and performance metric.

Everything gets scrutinized, from the first login experience to advanced features like ecommerce and SEO.

You can read our full guide to how we test website builders to learn more.

GoDaddy website builder review: FAQs

Elementor has become a go-to website builder for many WordPress users. It offers a drag-and-drop interface that lets you build WordPress sites visually. It powers over 16 million websites worldwide, from small blogs to enterprise ecommerce stores.​

We’ve tested all of the best WordPress website builders and Elementor consistently comes out on or near the top. This Elementor review draws from our reviewers' years of WordPress experience to help you make an informed decision.​

Elementor pricing and plans

I found Elementor's pricing competitive but potentially confusing.

The free plugin offers basic functionality, but you'll need Pro for serious WordPress design work. Elementor Pro comes in four variants, with prices ranging from $4.99 to $16.99 a month when billed yearly. They also offer WordPress hosting, ecommerce bundles, and custom rates for enterprises.

Elementor plans: Explained

Getting started with Elementor: Reviewer's experience

Step 1: Installation

I installed Elementor from the WordPress plugin directory.

Once I activated the Elementor plugin, I found a setup wizard with helpful tooltips guiding me through initial configuration. I created an Elementor account and installed the default “Hello Biz” theme as part of the setup process.

After activating the plugin, I also had the option to purchase the Pro version and upload the Pro zip file through the WordPress admin panel.​

Step 2: Choosing a template

Next, I wanted to switch up my starting template.

I navigated to Templates > Website Templates in the WordPress admin. Elementor presented me with 100+ pre-made design kits. I could filter by category or search specific designs. A preview function also let me see layouts before importing.​

I selected a simple business template by clicking the Apply button. I had the option to import either the entire template with all placeholder content, or only certain parts of it. It loaded instantly into my editor.

Step 3: Customizing a page

To customize my landing page, I navigated to the Pages tab in my WordPress dashboard and clicked on the “Edit with Elementor” option under the page I wanted to customize. This opened the page builder.

For each page, I could add sections and columns to create layouts. The drag-and-drop system felt seamless, with every change appearing instantly on screen.​

Step 4: Adding widgets

Elementor's widget panel was nested on my left.

I could drag a widget onto the page and drop it exactly where I wanted it.​ Clicking the widget opened customization options. Three tabs — Content, Style, and Advanced — organized all settings.

Elementor’s contextual settings adapted to whatever element I clicked. I adjusted fonts, colors, and spacing without touching any code.

Step 5: Publishing the site

I clicked "Publish" when satisfied with my design. My site went live immediately. Elementor's revision history was a nice addition, since it could revert to earlier designs anytime if something felt off.​

A built-in caching system optimized my pages automatically. My test site loaded quickly, especially without installing many other plugins.​

Elementor business tools

Elementor gives users access to the following business tools:

• Flexible landing page editor
• WooCommerce store builder
• Advanced form builder with integrations​
• Roll-based access manager

Elementor delivers solid business functionality for ecommerce and lead generation. I liked the deep WooCommerce integration in particular. However, the CRM features felt underdeveloped compared to dedicated platforms.​

Landing page editor

Building landing pages with Elementor felt straightforward. The template library provided conversion-focused designs ready for customization. I modified headlines, images, and call-to-action buttons within minutes.​

The landing page templates integrated seamlessly with form widgets. I connected forms to email marketing platforms for automatic list building. Each template prioritized mobile responsiveness, which saved design time.​

WooCommerce integration

Elementor's premium WooCommerce integration lets you customize every aspect of your store, from product pages to checkout flows. Its visual editor made styling product grids and single product layouts effortless.​

I could add WooCommerce-specific widgets like product meta, add-to-cart buttons, and customer ratings. It also integrates with popular payment gateways like Stripe and PayPal for direct purchases.

Form builder

Creating forms felt easy with Elementor's form widget. I built contact, lead capture, and multi-step forms without any additional plugins. The form builder offered unlimited fields with full styling control.​

I could also connect forms directly to Mailchimp, HubSpot, and ActiveCampaign. And the HoneyPot spam protection added security without any extra setup.​

Role-based access settings

Elementor lets you control who accesses the editor and what they can modify. You navigate to Elementor > Role Manager in WordPress and configure permissions for each user role.​

There are three main permission levels. "No access to editor" completely blocks users from opening Elementor. "Access to edit content only" allows users to modify existing content without adding or removing elements. Full access grants unlimited editing capabilities.

Version 3.19 has also added Element Manager integration, letting me customize which widgets appear for specific roles.​​

Elementor marketing tools

You can promote your business and website with Elementor’s marketing tools:

• Popup design with triggers​
• CRM integrations for HubSpot, ActiveCampaign​, etc.
• Email marketing integrations
• Call-to-action widgets

Elementor's marketing toolkit covers essential lead generation and conversion optimization. The popup builder and landing page features stood out during testing. Email marketing felt limited without third-party integrations, though.​

Popups and notifications

I could create several popup types using Elementor's Popup Builder. It supports email capture popups, notification bars, and two-step opt-ins. I enjoyed the visual editing experience, which matches the main page builder.​

With display conditions, Elementor lets you have impressive targeting flexibility. I could design popups to trigger based on scroll depth, exit intent, inactivity, and specific page elements. I also tested a two-step opt-in popup combining a yes/no prompt with a follow-up form. It worked exactly as described.

CRM automation

I was able to set up connections to HubSpot and ActiveCampaign. Elementor's form submissions triggered automated workflows in both these platforms.

That said, setting up automation required technical knowledge. I had to look up their API documentation and learn Elementor’s webhook configurations. This might challenge non-technical users.​

Email marketing

Elementor doesn't include built-in email marketing functionality.

Instead, it integrates with popular platforms like Mailchimp, SEND, and ActiveCampaign. I connected Mailchimp through the form widget settings.​

Integration required API keys from Mailchimp. Once configured, captured leads automatically synced to my email lists. I also used Elementor's design tools to create branded signup forms matching my email campaigns.

CTA widgets

Elementor offered dedicated CTA widgets for marketing campaigns. I customized button styles, added icons, and set hover effects. The widgets supported internal links, external URLs, and popup triggers.​

The pixel-perfect placement flexibility helps with conversion optimization. But if you want A/B testing, you'll need a third-party plugin for that.

Elementor support

Elementor Pro users access official support through ticket submission and live chat. Free version users rely on community forums and documentation. Support operates Monday through Friday with varying response times based on plan tier.​

I submitted a test support ticket during my review. The response came within 24 hours with a detailed troubleshooting guide. But the AI chatbot could answer basic questions instantly before escalating complex issues.​

However, user sentiment reveals mixed experiences.

Reddit threads show frustration with renewal price increases and slow support responses. One user reported opening six tickets with minimal resolution. G2 reviews praise ease of use but note the learning curve. Capterra users appreciate constant updates but mention WooCommerce plugin compatibility issues.​

Test results: Elementor

Competitor comparison: Elementor

Below we show you how Elementor stacks up against Divi and Beaver Builder:

How we tested the Elementor website builder

Every website builder review on Techradar is based on hands-on testing. I installed Elementor on multiple WordPress sites, built test pages across different niches, and measured performance metrics. Each feature was scrutinized through practical application, not just documentation review.​

We've been reviewing business software since 2012 at TechRadar Pro. For complete details on our evaluation process, read about how we test website builders.

Elementor review: FAQs

One in twelve people online visit a website hosted on WP Engine daily. They host over one and a half million sites across 150 countries and still maintain a customer satisfaction rate of 96%. That is reliable hosting.

WP Engine uses its own caching system and content delivery system (CDN) and your get your choice of data centers in North America, Europe, or Asia. Plus, your websites are hosted on the fast Google Cloud Platform. This all means your customers should have a better user experience because of faster loading times and reliability.

WP Engine manages your WordPress site for you making the day-to-day running of your site easier allowing you to focus on your business. In addition, WP Engine provides features like automatic plugin updates, malware detection, and automated backups. Although managed hosting comes at a higher cost than unmanaged, it's not until a vulnerability is discovered at 2am on a Saturday that the value of having someone look over the security and updates of your server becomes really noticeable.

If you run a digital or marketing agency, WP Engine also offers a hosting solution to support managing multiple clients. Whether you have 5 or 50+ clients on your books, shared and container-based servers are available, complete with the same managed WordPress experience and updates to PHP, MySQL, and of course, WordPress itself.

The startup spec for these hosting plans is 25GB of storage, supporting 50,000 visits per month, two sandbox sites and five live sites. Various configurations can be selected, designed to enable easy scaling as your client base expands and your business evolves. Specific agency hosting features are included, such as bulk site management, Git integration and other developer tools, and as the plans increase in price, things like WooCommerce optimizations, Stripe Connect checkouts, data insights, and a dedicated WP Engine API.

WP Engine Plans and pricing

WP Engine have three main types of hosting: WordPress Hosting, WooCommerce Hosting, and Headless.

WordPress hosting has five plans which are all on a shared infrastructure. The most basic plan is Startup which provides hosting for one site, 25,000 monthly visits (with a 50GB bandwidth cap which is enough for the average website), and 10GB local storage.

With this plan you get chat only support, security patching, plugin risk scans, daily backups, EverCache, and global CDN. This plan is $20/mo and refreshingly there are no confusing renewal prices.

From there onwards, the plans support 3, 10, and 30 sites and the bandwidth, storage space, and monthly visits increase as you would expect. There is also the option to completely customize your plan starting from $600/mo.

For WooCommerce, the plans are similar in their specs and what they support but they come with lots of features as standard such as elastic search capabilities, support for unlimited products, Live Cart, and more. These plans are slightly more expensive than the WordPress hosting plans and the custom plan costs a minimum of $800/mo.

Features

The core reasons to choose WP Engine over cheaper WordPress hosting are increased reliability, performance, support, and management, but these are hard to quantify. Some features stand out when you browse the interface, however, that can give you some insight into the service offered.

WP Engine Page Performance is a neat tool designed to help you speed up your WordPress site by offering meaningful metrics on performance.

Running a test returns you a page-performance report that details how quickly your page rendered, how long it took to load in its entirety, and the total size of the page. It even includes historical data on your site’s performance over the past six months and recommendations on how you can reduce page load.

Avoid embarrassing mistakes on your site by making changes to a copy of your website before it goes live. This is called Staging, and it allows your developers to make extensive changes to your site without affecting your customers.

In a relatively unusual move, WP Engine restricts the WordPress plugins you can install. Those typically restricted are plugins that have been noted to cause performance issues and security holes. For important features such as caching, backups, and search engine optimization tools, WP Engine has made alternatives available that don’t put a high load on the server.

Interface and in use

WP Engine’s interface is professional and well laid out, but the powerful features might mean a steep learning curve for inexperienced users. If you have an understanding of terms like Git, CNAME, and redirect rules, you’ll be right at home here, but otherwise you’ll need to spend some time on the support site.

Creating a site in WP Engine is made simple, thanks to a straightforward process. Whether you’re hosting on a domain, or building a staging site, the process is automated, so you don’t need to do anything. Once the name of the site has been set, and you’ve decided on adding WordPress on its own, or Word Press with WooCommerce, it will self-install while you make a coffee.

Note that WP Engine doesn’t offer any AI-guided site generation tools here. Anything you create will have to be done manually through the current WordPress theme management environment.

One of the main attractions for many customers is promised easy migration. Intended to make it simple to move a WordPress site from one host to another, WP Engine offers a dedicated plugin specifically for this purpose. Using it is simple enough – you install the downloadable plugin on the source (old) web host, create a secure key when prompted, then paste this into the plugin on your WP Engine hosting. In testing, the migration of a site around 500MB in size was pretty slick, completing in just a few minutes.

Support

A managed WordPress service should offer extra value through its support, and WP Engine delivers. The support site includes videos and articles of a quality you’d expect from a paid training course, with help on deeper WordPress functionality that many WordPress hosts don’t go into.

There’s 24/7 live chat support and a ticket system, too. In our testing, the response was quick and the agent knowledgeable. For all plans except for single-site plans, there’s telephone support, too.

While WP Engine has a strong collection of support resources, we found that its sales team were not as well-informed as they could be. Specifically on the topic of agency hosting plans, they seemed to be unaware as to some of the intricacies. We have been separately informed by WP Engine contacts that the agency hosting plans rely on shared hosting for the Agency Essential plans, scaling up to container-based hosting for Agency Plus and Agency Pro. However, two conversations via the online chat tool revealed that the sales team were under the impression that all agency plans use container hosting.

If you’re planning to use WP Engine for agency hosting, and as it isn’t easy to find the answer within the support resources, you might consider requesting a call or email conversation with their tech support to establish whether they suit your requirements.

Testing

Testing the performance of WP Engine – specifically, the Essential Startup – I was intrigued to find that while reasonably slick, it seemed slower than other hosts. Now, I’ll preface this with the knowledge that WP Engine specifically aims for efficient WordPress hosting. It is known to block some plugins that can affect performance; it opts for its own caching plugin, for example. So, gauging performance with benchmarking tools on WP Engine is a little different to other hosts.

However, the tests delivered results around 30% slower than other hosts. Given that the comparisons were with plans for a similar budget and server specification, I was surprised at how poorly WP Engine scored.

The competition

If it’s the higher level of customer support you value in a managed WordPress host, Liquid Web often tops customer satisfaction polls. It has a focus on high-end products like virtual private servers (VPS) and dedicated servers, so if your needs extend beyond a high-performance WordPress site into other software solutions, we recommend checking it out.

TsoHost is another managed web hosting provider we recommend. The price can ramp up, with even the most basic VPS options starting at $52 per month, but you get a level of on-hands customer support that’s virtually unrivaled.

If managed WordPress hosting is your primary motivation, however, one of WP Engine’s key competitors is Kinsta. Both offer a managed hosting environment specifically geared towards WordPress, along with a similar price point. However, Kinsta doesn’t allow manually migrated data, so if you prefer to be more hands-on, WP Engine is the better option.

You might opt for Kinsta in another scenario, however. While WP Engine has a solid set of agency hosting plans, we found that while it omits smaller scale agency plans, Kinsta bundles in more features and boasts superior performance.

Final verdict

WP Engine is not the cheapest hosting around and it doesn't seem to be the fastest either. It's also not the first WordPress host we’d recommend to newcomers, as the breadth of tools can be intimidating.

WP Engine used to be the champion of WordPress hosting but I think that's starting to change with hosts like SiteGround and Kinsta taking over.