Want a website, but can’t afford eye-watering developer fees?
Wix vs GoDaddy is a clash of two brilliant, cheap website builders.
Wix is the more all-arounder. It gives you more creative control, more features, and more ways to get help. GoDaddy, however, is a much quicker solution. It takes care of a lot of the legwork for you, meaning you can get a site live in a matter of minutes – no, seriously!
Both make creating your own website an easy and stress-free process. But what are the major differences between the two? Is one better than the other? And, most importantly, what’s the best option for you?
It’s our job to answer these questions. At Website Builder Expert, we set high standards when it comes to putting together reviews and comparisons, using thorough research and user testing to provide you with expert analysis.
Throughout this article, we’ll walk you through how both Wix and GoDaddy work, their strengths and weaknesses, and which one is the right fit for you. By the end, your choice between Wix and GoDaddy should be an easy one.
Wix vs GoDaddy: Pros and Cons
Wix Pros and Cons
| WIX PROS | |
|---|---|
| #1 | Almost limitless creative control thanks to its drag-and-drop editor |
| #2 | The ‘most recommended’ website builder from our user testing |
| WIX CONS | |
|---|---|
| #1 | Can’t switch templates after your site goes live |
| #2 | Tacky advertising on its free plan |
GoDaddy Pros and Cons
| GODADDY PROS | |
|---|---|
| #1 | Get a website live in a matter of minutes |
| #2 | Good built-in SEO tools |
| GODADDY CONS | |
|---|---|
| #1 | No app market |
| #2 | Limited creative control |
Ease of Use
If you’re building your own website, chances are you want a platform that’s easy to use. Website builders are just that.
Put simply, a website builder is an online platform you can sign up to and create your own website on. Wix and GoDaddy are two such platforms – but which is easier to use?
We got regular members of the public to test Wix and GoDaddy by asking them to build their own website on each of the platforms, then score how easy they found certain tasks.
The results showed Wix was the easier platform to use, but people thought they could get a website live quicker with GoDaddy. Here are some of their thoughts:
Wix was so simple to use. You literally could drag and drop things off the menu onto your webpage, and then move them about. Resizing things was pretty easy, too.
GoDaddy was a very fast way to build a website. It was very easy to get to grips with and very intuitive. It came at the price of having less customization, though.
Design Flexibility
Design is all about the look and usability of your website. You want something that’s easy on the eye, but also simple to navigate.
Wix works by providing a range of templates for you to choose from. These are broken down into industries, such as music or travel, and can be previewed and tested before you commit to one.
Wix’s editor then gives you drag-and-drop functionality. Think of this like PowerPoint – to move something around, simply click and hold, drag it to where you want, and release.
GoDaddy works differently. It uses what’s called ADI (Artificial Design Intelligence) to create your website. It sounds complicated, but it’s not – all it means is that GoDaddy will design you a website based on answers you provide to set questions.
For example, GoDaddy will ask you: What’s the purpose of your website? Do you have an existing website? Are there any social media accounts you’d like to display?
From there, GoDaddy will put together a website for you. Pretty incredible, really.
GoDaddy’s editor is also relatively simple. It doesn’t work with drag-and-drop like Wix, but you can customize elements of your site from the side panel.
You can change the ‘theme’ of your site (which is the same as a template) and alter basic things like text, images and buttons.
It’s important to note that Wix also has an ADI product – Wix ADI. This works in a similar way to GoDaddy, but you don’t get the same level of editing control you do with Wix’s main editor.
We spoke to a group of web design experts, who agreed Wix has the better templates. They thought they were more aesthetically pleasing, and much easier to make your own. Be warned, though – once you’ve published your website with Wix, you won’t be able to switch templates.
Wix Templates Review – our review dedicated to Wix’s design
Features and Tools
Features are what really separate the average platforms from the elite. What you can and can’t do on each platform is crucial to your final decision.
So, looking at a few different areas, let’s really drill into what kind of features both Wix and GoDaddy have.
Ecommerce
Wix and GoDaddy aren’t designed to be used solely for building online stores, but you can sell products on either. Let’s start with the ecommerce features they both provide:
- The ability to sell unlimited types and quantity of products
- Sell both physical and/or digital products
- Process payments securely through gateways like PayPal, Stripe or Square
- No transaction fees imposed by website builder
- Mobile apps for managing your store on the go
- Various shipping and accountancy options
- Discount and sale codes
One key ecommerce feature GoDaddy has over Wix is abandoned cart recovery. This is where you can send automatic emails to customers who have gone as far as placing items in your site’s cart, but left before checking out.
If you’re interested in creating a powerful online store, you’ll want to check out dedicated ecommerce platforms like Shopify or BigCommerce.
If you’re interested in using Wix and GoDaddy as an online store, check out our reviews:
Blogging
Wix has a bit more going for it when it comes to creating a blog. You can categorize your blog posts, social bookmark, track performance through analytics, and even embed things like a comments section or search bar.
GoDaddy has analytics and categories segmentation too. You can also create an RSS feed for your blog so people can subscribe to it. You can’t add in a comments section or search feature, though.
Email Marketing
With Wix, you can create your own email account specific to your domain using G Suite. It also has integratable marketing tools which are available through apps like Wix ShoutOut. This makes it easy to create, send and share email marketing campaigns with your users.
GoDaddy’s email features are totally built-in. It also has its own email marketing service, but that does comes at an additional cost on top of the monthly fee you’ll pay.
Social Media Integration
Wix lets you display your social media on your websites in many forms. Facebook, Twitter and Instagram can all be integrated with your site and displayed by follow buttons, live feeds and image galleries.
GoDaddy, on the other hand, is limited to just adding social buttons that link to your pages. There is currently no way to embed live social feeds.
Analytics
Tracking your site’s visitors is a great way to monitor how it’s performing. You can check on things like page views, visitor counts and bounce rate. With Wix, you have the choice of either using Google Analytics, or adding the Visitor Analytics app to your site. With GoDaddy, your only option is to add Google Analytics.
SEO
The strength of your website’s SEO (Search Engine Optimization) will determine how highly you rank on search engines like Google. The higher you rank, the more eyes will be on your site. Simple, right?
Wix helps your site’s SEO by putting you in control. It allows you to edit things that will have an impact on SEO, such as meta titles and descriptions, URL slugs, and header code.
If you’re struggling knowing where to start, don’t worry. Wix offers keyword support through its SEO Wiz, and various apps where you can track your website’s SEO performance.
GoDaddy gives you same level of control in editing meta titles/descriptions, URL slugs and header code. But since GoDaddy doesn’t have an app store, there are no extras. What you do get, though, is built-in keyword suggestions and SEO tracking.
You can even submit the framework of your site to search engines so they can get a better reading of your site structure. If you’d like to know more about SEO best practice, read some of our handy SEO guides here.
Learn how you can do more with your Wix site:
Help and Support
No one likes getting stuck or confused, but it’s great to know that help is on-hand if you do.
Wix offers email and phone support Monday-Thursday from 5am-5pm. It also has a helpful forum and the best help center of any website builder.
Wix’s help center is an online resource where you can search for guides and tutorials. Think of it a bit like a Wix-only search engine – you type in a query, and a list of search results will pop up that will be able to help you.
Having tested Wix’s help center thoroughly, we’re confident in its ability to help you out. It even lets you know if you’ve searched for help on something Wix doesn’t provide!
GoDaddy’s big plus points are its 24/7 phone support and live chat feature. Being able to receive help at any time of day is a massive bonus, and so too is speaking to a real person without having to pick up the phone.
Wix has one more ace up its sleeve, though – its in-editor help. If you encounter a problem while editing your site, you can simply click on the question mark bubble and find the answer, without having to leave the editor!
Pricing and Value for Money
Cheap prices always go down well, but we like to look beyond that and really see what you get for your money. Before we get into all that though, are there any freebies?
Well, Wix has an entirely free plan. No, you heard us right – you can literally build and publish your website at no cost. Of course, this does come at the expense of having tacky Wix adverts on your site, and even in your subdomain too (e.g. “www.mywebsite.wix.com”).
GoDaddy doesn’t have a free plan, but it does offer a 14-day free trial. Two weeks should be plenty of time for you to decide whether it’s the right website builder for you.
Now, let’s crack on and see how much the premium plans are.
Wix has more pricing plans than you can shake a stick at. It has four non-ecommerce plans and three ecommerce ones, ranging from $5 to $35/month.
Naturally, the more you pay, the more you get. All premium plans come free of Wix advertising, give you your own personal domain, and promise a minimum 1GB of bandwidth. The most popular is Wix’s Unlimited plan ($14/month).
GoDaddy has four pricing plans, only one of which gives you ecommerce functionality. These range from $5.99 to $19.99/month, and are tailored for different needs.
It sounds obvious, but if you just want a personal site, GoDaddy’s Personal plan is ideal. If you’re a budding business, you’ll want to look at either the Business or Business Plus plans. These plans give you features like payment buttons and SSL security certificates.
Top 10 Free Website Builder – find out what other free platforms are out there
Wix Pricing Review – take a more detailed look at what you get in each pricing plan
Wix or GoDaddy: Conclusion
It was a great showing from two top platforms, but in the end, Wix has emerged victorious. As we said, you simply get more with Wix: more features, more control, and more value. To recap, let’s have a look at who won each category:
| Wix vs GoDaddy | Wix | GoDaddy |
|---|---|---|
| Ease of Use | The option to use either ADI or the main editor | Uses ADI for a fast and simple approach to web design |
| Design | Great choice of industry specific themes, intuitive drag-and-drop functionality | Various themes you can style your website with, ability to edit via the side panel |
| Features | A wealth of quality features, massive app store filled with nearly everything imaginable | Solid in-built features, but no app store to help outside of that |
| SEO | Gives you control over meta titles/descriptions, keyword support and helpful SEO apps | All the standard offerings of Wix, plus built-in SEO analytics; submit your sitemap for search engines to read |
| Help and Support | Phone and email support, great help center, in-editor help | 24/7 phone support, live chat, handy help center |
| Value for Money | Lots of great value plans to choose from, including a free one | Four pricing plans each targeted at certain individuals |
Wix is for people who want total control over design, and need a website that can grow with them. It’s not bad for selling either, should you wish to branch out into the world of ecommerce.
GoDaddy is for people who need a site up quickly. It’s fast, easy to use, and has 24/7 support. You will sacrifice some creative control, but it does offer lots of useful tools to help manage your website.
To summarize, we’d recommend Wix to anyone who isn’t in a mad rush to get their website up and running. Put a bit more time into design, and you’ll be rewarded with a beautiful website that you can keep customizing with cool and exciting features.
Wix vs GoDaddy: FAQs
Do you need to know how to code to use Wix or GoDaddy?
No! Neither require any coding knowledge, but you can access Wix’s code to make more advanced changes if you wish. There are lots of guides in Wix’s help center that can walk you through how to use Wix Code.
What other services do GoDaddy supply?
GoDaddy is the world’s largest domain registrar, and also offers hosting services and website security. Its website builder, GoCentral, is an all-in-one package, but you can build your site elsewhere and purchase elements individually through one of GoDaddy’s other services.
What are the best alternatives to Wix and GoDaddy?
Squarespace and Weebly are two other top-rated website builders. Squarespace is built for creatives and has incredible, well-designed templates. Weebly is a well-structured platform that offers great value for money. You can read our detailed Squarespace review or our Weebly review here.
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