When it comes to building a website, many small business owners ask the question: Are GoDaddy websites any good? The simple answer is no—they suck. While GoDaddy may be a well-known name in domain registration and web hosting, its website builder and hosting services leave much to be desired. If you’re considering using GoDaddy to build your website, you might want to think twice.
Are GoDaddy Websites Any Good? Not Even Close
One thing that might seem appealing from GoDaddy’s sites is their website builder. They market themselves as an all-in-one platform where you can register a domain, build a website, and host it all in one place. It sounds great! And you can build it yourself, without spending money on a coder, designer, and all those things you may not understand about.
All cream and peaches… until reality hits.
The first important issue with GoDaddy’s website builder is its lack of customization, speed, and flexibility. It gives you a vanilla site. But if you’re serious about growing your business, you need a platform that stands out, loads quickly, and provides an excellent user experience. Unfortunately, GoDaddy websites are notorious for their slow performance, clunky design limitations, and frustrating user interface.
Investing in professional web design is a much better option for those who want a sleek, high-converting website. With a professionally built website, you’ll have complete control over your design, functionality, and SEO optimization—something GoDaddy fails to deliver.
Reasons Why GoDaddy Websites Suck
If you’re still not convinced, let’s break down why GoDaddy’s website services are subpar.
1. Slow Website Speed & Poor Performance
Website speed is crucial for both user experience and SEO rankings. Unfortunately, GoDaddy’s website builder produces painfully slow sites. This is due to their overcrowded shared hosting servers, bloated website builder code, and lack of optimization options.
Google has made it clear that website speed is a key ranking factor. A slow site will not only frustrate visitors but also hurt your chances of ranking high in search engine results.
2. Clunky and Limited Website Builder
GoDaddy’s website builder is one of the least flexible on the market. Unlike WordPress, Webflow, or Shopify, GoDaddy’s platform locks you into pre-made templates with minimal customization options.
Want to add a custom feature? Too bad. Want to tweak your site’s design beyond basic color and text changes? Forget about it. GoDaddy’s website builder severely limits creativity and functionality, which can be detrimental to businesses that need a unique online presence.
3. Expensive and Overpriced for What You Get
While GoDaddy often markets itself as an affordable solution, its pricing doesn’t match the quality of service provided. Their cheap introductory offers quickly turn into expensive renewal fees.
Additionally, many essential features—such as SSL certificates, backups, and premium themes—cost extra. Competitors like Bluehost, SiteGround, or managed WordPress hosting providers offer much better value at similar or even lower prices.
4. Poor SEO Capabilities
If you care about ranking in Google, GoDaddy is not the platform for you. Their website builder lacks essential SEO features such as:
- Full control over meta titles and descriptions
- Advanced URL structure editing
- Efficient image optimization tools
- Proper schema markup integration
In contrast, platforms like WordPress offer powerful SEO plugins like Rank Math and Yoast, allowing businesses to fully optimize their sites for search engines.
5. Poor Customer Support
GoDaddy’s customer support is another major red flag. Many users report long wait times, unhelpful agents, and difficulties canceling services. If you run into technical issues, don’t expect quick or knowledgeable assistance.
When compared to web hosts like SiteGround or WP Engine, which provide better customer service, GoDaddy simply falls short.
Sad, True Story with Godaddy Support
We had a customer with a Godaddy site, a local tax service in Santa Ana, CA. The customer wanted to run ads, so we tried as much as we could to install Google Tag Manager. Something that can take a minute in WordPress became a nightmare with that Godaddy monstrosity. We contacted customer support, and after some very uncaring representatives, we landed with one who gave us a ‘solution’.
‘If you upgrade to eCommerce, you can install Tag Manager’, said the guy. We did, and… nope, no way to install GTM. We called customer support again, and another representative told us that Godaddy sites don’t support GTM. They barely have some connection with Google Analytics 4, which, unfortunately, was useless for running ads.
So, bottom line:
- They lied to us.
- They took money from our client.
- They wasted our time and provided zero value.
- They either contradict each other or just have some sketchy characters in customer support.
- The client couldn’t run ads.
6. Limited Scalability for Growing Businesses
GoDaddy websites are fine for basic brochure-style sites, but if you plan to grow your business, you’ll quickly outgrow their platform. Adding advanced eCommerce features, custom integrations, or complex design elements is nearly impossible.
Business owners often find themselves forced to migrate to a better platform like WordPress, Shopify, or Webflow down the road, which means wasted time and money.
What Are Better Alternatives to GoDaddy?
If you’re looking for a better way to build and host your website, here are some superior alternatives:
WordPress + Managed Hosting
WordPress, paired with high-quality hosting (like SiteGround, WP Engine, or Kinsta), is one of the best ways to build a fully customized and high-performing website.
- Full control over design and functionality
- Thousands of plugins and themes are available
- Advanced SEO optimization capabilities
Shopify (for E-Commerce Sites)
If you’re planning to run an online store, Shopify is a far better choice than GoDaddy’s eCommerce solution. Shopify offers:
- A user-friendly platform designed specifically for selling products
- Better payment processing and inventory management
- SEO-friendly features and fast loading speeds
What Happens if I Already Have a Godaddy Site?
Sometimes, it may happen that business owners start with a Godady site, and… it works for them! Here’s another (sad) true story:
A local video and photography business grew, and its team heavily relied on its Godaddy site. The owner wanted to make some design improvements, but due to the site’s limitations, that couldn’t happen. A WordPress migration was heavily suggested, but since the team was already familiar with the site, the client wouldn’t want to invest either in the migration or the training for their team to use WordPress.
While we always respect our client’s decisions and do our part by sharing as much information as possible, this client didn’t go far by sticking with that Godaddy site. He didn’t lose any clients but didn’t grow either.
Final Verdict on GoDaddy Websites
So, are GoDaddy websites any good? The answer is a resounding NO. While they might seem like an easy option, their slow speeds, poor design flexibility, overpriced services, and weak SEO capabilities make them one of the worst choices for building a website.
This is not about being haters; this is about telling it as it is. If all you want is an online platform to portray your business, don’t care about SEO or running paid ads, and just want something that somehow entitles you to say, ‘I have a website,’ maybe Godaddy is what you need.
But if you want a fast, high-quality website that actually helps grow your business, avoid GoDaddy and invest in a better web design solution.
Get a Professional Website That Works
Don’t waste time with GoDaddy’s subpar services. If you want a website that is custom-designed, SEO-friendly, and built for conversions, check out professional web design services today. Your business deserves better. Remember: the cheapest is dearest. What might seem convenient now can lead to headaches, wasted time, and extra money. Contact Pixel Pie and tell us what you need. Do you already have a Godaddy site? Let us help you and become a happy ‘true story’ for our next articles! Schedule a video call here: