Wix vs GoDaddy website builder – two different worlds

Wix and GoDaddy offer vastly different but intriguing website builder options. The two provide unique and easy-to-use features that allow beginners to build an online business presence in no time.

Wix is undoubtedly one of the best website builders in the industry right now. It offers hundreds of customizable templates to kick-start the creation process, a feature-rich editor, and an impressive selection of pricing plans to accommodate varying customer needs.

Conversely, GoDaddy is a budget-friendly website builder geared towards online businesses and eCommerce. It offers a simple in-house editor or WordPress integration and a good variety of SEO and marketing tools.

For this Wix vs GoDaddy website builder comparison, we used the services to create two different webpages. This allowed us to gain hands-on experience with these tools and compare them in varying categories. Then we concluded in which areas which provider is superior and tallied the results to uncover the winning website builder.

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How we compared both providers

Here’s a breakdown of the criteria by which we pitted Wix vs GoDaddy.

• Pricing. Subscription price and variety are vital because businesses have different budgets for building their websites.
• Ease of use. Few are interested in the technical details of running a webpage and would prefer an easy-to-use platform to get their online business off the ground.
• Templates. A massive selection of templates allows customers to find the perfect starting point to create the page of their dreams.
• Business features. Most users will prioritize a wide array of business features to maximize sales and revenue.
• Marketing and SEO. These are essential for making your website visible on search engines and, thus, to your potential customers.
• Performance. Extended loading times and other performance issues will immediately push potential customers away.
• Customer support. You’ll need knowledgeable customer service representatives to solve issues while building or running your website.

Wix vs GoDaddy for different sites

Both Wix and GoDaddy are great all-rounders, suitable for making any site. But can a website builder be perfect for all kinds of websites? Let’s look at how Wix and GoDaddy have a go at websites that perform different roles.

Pricing – which one has better value?

Wix has a total of 4 available premium plans and one free option. The prices for the premium plans go from $16.00 to $159.00 a month. Plans offer loads of different features – such as varying storage, eCommerce capabilities, and so on.

GoDaddy website builder appears to be a good deal cheaper than Wix: the plans range between $9.99 and $16.99 a month. However, these prices are promotional and will increase as the initial purchase period expires. The plans also differ heavily in their provided features.

Let's take a look at how these platforms compare:

Wix plans

Here’s a brief comparison of the 5 pricing plans Wix customers can choose from. Note that all include a custom domain, 24/7 customer support, and no Wix branding on your site.

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• Light. The most bare-bones plan with affordable $16.00/month pricing and 2 GB of storage. The plan maxes out at 2 collaborators and includes a light marketing suite without much else.
• Core. A solid $27.00/month plan that boasts 50 GB of storage and 5 collaborator support. This option unlocks a wide array of perks missing from the cheaper plan, such as customer accounts, payment tools, and eCommerce support.
• Business. The marginally pricier $32.00/month plan grants 100 GB of storage, permits 10 collaborators, and improves eCommerce capabilities by adding advanced shipping and multiple currency support.
• Business Elite. The most expensive $159.00/month option grants unlimited storage and video, priority customer support, and access to customized data reports to optimize sales performance. You can also create loyalty programs to reward returning customers with coupons and discounts.

• Every Tuesday to Thursday (from 10 am to 10 am, GMT+2) Wix offers 50% off of all paid plans. However, if you missed the 'happy hour', with our code CyberNews10 you can get 10% off anytime.

GoDaddy website builder plans

GoDaddy website builder prices are similar to Wix's. There are 4 plans to pick from: here's what they are.

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There's one thing you should remember about the GoDaddy prices: they will increase, once your initial purchase period ends. Then, the plans will cost $11.99, $21.99, $24.99, and $44.99 a month respectively.

• Basic. As the name suggests, the Basic plan grants the bare minimum you need to start your business. The subscription starts at ($9.99/month) and grants a website with SSL security, a payments hub, and marketing tools.
• Premium. The second option initially costs $14.99/month and improves your marketing game with social post boosting and ad creation on Facebook and Instagram. Your customers will also have greater options when booking appointments through your webpage.
• Commerce. This plan is ideal if you want to start selling products on your site. For $16.99/month, you can list up to 5,000 products and integrate your catalog with third-party marketplaces like Amazon and Etsy.
• Commerce Plus. The “Plus” stands for unlimited product listings on your store, automated sales tax calculation, and auto-populated tax forms. You can take your store to the next level for $29.99/month.

Wrapping up

Although more expensive, Wix is a more feature-rich service than GoDaddy website builder. Plus, the price difference almost entirely disappears once the initial period expires.

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Ease of use

• Wix offers two different website editors: a simple, smart Wix ADI with limited customizability, and a highly-editable classic Editor, with a bit of a learning curve. The complexity stems from the vast array of features you can alter on your chosen template and the unlimited potential of the drag-and-drop functionality. In short, the creative freedom of Wix can overwhelm newcomers.
• GoDaddy website builder offers one straightforward editor, which sacrifices customization for the sake of ease of use. You can alter the existing elements in limited ways, meaning you don’t have complete freedom but also can’t break anything.
• Wix can be a great option for both beginners and seasoned users due to two extremely different site-building approaches. Meanwhile, GoDaddy is a solid option for beginner users looking to make custom sites.
  

Ease of use is the most critical part of a website builder. After all, these tools are meant to make website building approachable to less tech-savvy users. And so, we’ll test GoDaddy and Wix and assess them through the entire webpage creation process – from signing up to publishing.

Using Wix

Let’s briefly cover what the website creation process was like using Wix.

1. You begin by choosing your preferred creation method – Wix ADI or the Wix Editor. Let’s start with the regular editor to keep things straightforward.
2. Then, you must decide your website’s general purpose. Initial suggestions include goals like online stores, portfolios, and blogs. You can also specify your vision further. For example, you can narrow down your portfolio for journalism, photography, fashion, digital illustration, etc. Note that you can also skip any step you deem unnecessary.
3. Next comes a truly vital part – picking your website’s name.
4. After that, you must pick the components of your website. Things like forms, chat, bookings, an Instagram feed, etc. Luckily, Wix provides some recommendations if you’re feeling overwhelmed.
5. Onto more choices again – would you like to design your site using a template or start from scratch with a custom option? Alternatively, you can dive into the back end to manage settings, analytics, and apps.
6. Let’s say you’d like to pick a template. You’ll receive relevant suggestions based on your previous decisions. You can preview potential templates before committing.

You’re all set after finishing the groundwork. You can make various adjustments using the Wix editor, which includes a handful of categories for editing certain parts of your page. You can add elements, apps, new sections, edit the site design, manage media, and more.

Best website builder for editing freedom

Wix is a website builder that comes with two editing options. The Wix ADI website generator is a great pick for beginners looking for ease of use. Meanwhile, the editor provides you with extreme editing flexibility.

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4.5 /5

• Over 800 templates
• Affordable prices
• Intuitive editor

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And in a nutshell, this is the entire Wix experience explained. You can do a lot with Wix – there are two different editors and hundreds of themes to choose from. If you're a beginner who intends to stay that way – choose ADI. But if you're ready to push your existing design skills to the max – the Editor is actually a pretty good option once you get used to it.

Using GoDaddy website builder

GoDaddy is ideal if you want a quick setup process with minimal interference.

1. You begin by picking your site’s name and category.
2. The second step is immediately diving into the website editing interface. You’ll find all the necessary editing tools on the right side of the screen to adjust the pre-made sections on your site. However, your creative potential is limited because you can’t drastically alter these sections.
3. Editable options include content, images, colors, fonts, menus, and adding sign-up forms. You can’t employ drag-and-drop functionality and must rely on the section-based editor. That means you have few options for changing your site’s overall layout.

The key takeaway is that Wix gives immense freedom regarding customization, which can feel overwhelming at first. However, once you get used to it, you realize it’s vital for creating a truly-unique website. Meanwhile, GoDaddy keeps things simple, which can stifle your potential if you have lofty goals for your webpage.

Wrapping up

Wix is a better pick than GoDaddy in terms of usability simply because it allows more customization. While Wix can be difficult at first, you can learn it pretty fast as you go. At the same time, GoDaddy makes the building process a piece of cake, yet it limits your design freedom.

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Web builder templates and customization

• Wix has around 800 templates available, offering options for many different niches. There are five main categories (business, store, creative, community, blog) which are further segmented into specialized sections. For example, you’ll find options for tech companies, beauty salons, coaches, lawyers, and many more.
  
• GoDaddy boasts hundreds of templates but lacks specific niche categorization. Instead, you’ll find general templates for online stores, professional services, blogging, fitness, and more.
• GoDaddy allows changing the theme without losing your content. Wix does not.

A good template can be an excellent starting point for your website. However, its potential lies in how much the user can change it to suit their needs. So let's have a look at the customization options available with Wix and GoDaddy templates.

Templates on Wix

As mentioned previously, Wix templates are split into 5 general templates.

• Business & Services
• Store
• Creative
• Community
• Blog

The list of available subcategories is immense, meaning you’ll likely find a template even for the most obscure use-case, like locksmithing or selling CBD products.

Each template has a dedicated Site Design section where you can customize the look and feel of your site. We recommend starting with the pre-made themes that change the page's color scheme and fonts. And if something feels off, you’re free to alter the details. Available options include the color theme, text theme, page background, and page transitions.

Another neat tool is that Wix has AI integration for filling your site with unique content. You simply add a few minor details about your website, and the futuristic assistant does the rest.

Templates of GoDaddy website builder

GoDaddy has a larger selection of general templates but lacks the subcategories found on Wix. Your starting options are:

• Featured
• Coming Soon
• Fashion & Beauty
• Home Services
• Health & Fitness
• Online Store
• Photography
• Art & Design
• Restaurants & Food
• Music
• Professional Services
• Automotive & Cars
• Personal & Blog
• Travel
• Community & Nonprofit

There are hundreds of options scattered across these sections. Unlike with Wix, you can change between them even when some edits have already been made. However, this exposes the fact that there’s little difference between the templates since they’re so interchangeable.

Comparing Wix vs GoDaddy website builder, there's a very clear difference in concept. You have to adapt to Wix – GoDaddy adapts to you. It's a lovely little feature that makes editing the site a lot more inviting and simple.

Wrapping up

Wix has many more themes to offer than GoDaddy website builder. With 800+ neatly crafted templates (compared to around 20 of GoDaddy), Wix exceeds not only in quantity but quality as well.

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Features for business

• Wix has an incredible array of first and third-party tools, making it a great tool for any type of online business.
  
• GoDaddy focuses on first-party tools for selling, marketing, and measuring your site's overall performance.
• GoDaddy offers an accessible suite of business features to beginners, while Wix is a little bit more advanced.
  

All will become clear once we showcase the Wix and GoDaddy eCommerce features side-by-side. Additionally, it’s important to note that the following eCommerce features are tied to the appropriate subscriptions and are unavailable with cheaper plans.

At first glance, Wix and GoDaddy offer similar eCommerce capabilities. However, a closer look shows that Wix has a more compelling suite of features for improving the sales funnel. For example, abandoned cart recovery and loyalty programs make turning first-time customers into recurring buyers easier. Plus, you have an immense number of customization possibilities using third-party add-ons.

GoDaddy is not too far behind regarding eCommerce benefits but lacks customization options and instead takes care of everything for you. That’s not ideal if you have specific goals, but it can be compelling if you want to quickly start an online business without worrying about the finer details.

Marketing and SEO

Marketing is by far GoDaddy's biggest strength – but with solid SEO, and plenty of customization, Wix performs reasonably in this regard, too. Let's take a dive and see how these tools can make your business more visible on online search engines.

As you can see, Wix and GoDaddy cover the fundamental features a SEO specialist would need to optimize your site’s performance. However, a few distinct features make each an interesting option.

GoDaddy website builder

GoDaddy’s SEO tools are absent from the Basic subscription plan, while the rest include the coveted GoDaddy SEO Wizard.

The Wizard begins its journey of enlightening you by asking a few key questions about the overall goals of your site. This process helps you uncover the ideal keywords for your webpage. Then the Wizard suggests various edits, including titles, meta descriptions, headlines, and more. You’ll receive several suggestions so you can pick a favorite.

Once the basics are covered, you can make other crucial adjustments to your site. For example, you can add alt tags to images and edit the meta tags and descriptions on individual pages for optimal ranking. You can also incorporate Google Analytics to understand your visitors better.

Wix

Customers will find all the necessary tools and settings in the “Marketing and SEO” section of the Wix dashboard. It’s recommended to start with the SEO setup checklist to cover the basics you need to get your site up and running with optimal visibility.

After that, you have other subsections to play with.

• SEO Settings. The go-to place for customizing pages and meta tags on your site’s every page.
• Site Inspection. Look at your pages through the eyes of Google to see what needs fixing.
• URL Redirect Manager. Make sure outdated URLs redirect to fresh ones.
• Site Verification. Use this tool to add verification meta tags to claim site ownership and unlock relevant search data.
• Sitemaps. Check your XML sitemap and see if it’s optimal.
• Robots.txt Editor. Specify how web crawlers should index and behave on your pages.

Best of all, Wix includes an SEO Learning Hub to teach you SEO fundamentals if this topic is foreign to you. The knowledge base is quite extensive and is valuable to newcomers and experts alike.

Performance – one clear winner

• GoDaddy absolutely dominates in performance tests, being faster than Wix on all metrics (performance, page load time, structure).
• Despite the underwhelming results, Wix still offers solid real-life performance.

Most netizens value their time and prefer websites that load as quickly as possible. That means they won’t sit around to witness your corner of the web if it takes ages to fully load.

In this final Wix vs GoDaddy website builder comparison, I put both of the test websites on GTMetrix – a tool, measuring website's load speed and platform's overall optimization.

Here are the results for Wix:

And here are the results for GoDaddy website builder:

GoDaddy's hosting efficiency shines right through. Its website builder site loads fast – 1.3 seconds, compared to Wix's 8.4s. Wix takes around 2 seconds to display the main portion of the website – and GoDaddy doesn't even take one second.

Overall grades are also quite telling: GoDaddy gets an A, while Wix fails the class with a D.

However, I don't fully agree with the test results.

GoDaddy is absolutely blazing fast, that part is true. But Wix isn't as slow as portrayed: in real-life tests, I found that Wix barely takes a couple of seconds to load the key portion of the site, which is actually quite good. The D grade is low – and I'd say that it's too low.

Winner

GoDaddy did better in performance tests than Wix. The latter has lacked behind – but even then, its performance should be perfectly fine for most users.

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Customer support

Using a website builder is great – all of the hiccups you might experience while building a website can be solved with the help of customer support. Truthfully, customer support can turn your horrible day into a good one by just helping you fix that one pesky issue. So how does the customer support compare between Wix and GoDaddy?

Wix customer support

Wix offers pretty great support and gives out several ways for a customer to get help with whatever question they may have. Your options include:

• 24/7 support
• Live chat
• Phone support
• Video tutorials
• Advanced specialist support

For instance, you can receive help directly from your website editor – there are question marks scattered all over your page. After pressing on them, each button opens a pop-up box packed with tips about the tool it’s attached to, with a link to Wix’s Help Center.

If that’s not enough, you can always utilize Wix’s 24/7 callback service, or you can fill out Wix’s Customer Care contact page to receive more personal support. There’s also a possibility to contact Wix directly on social media or to get help from a fellow user on Wix’s official forum.

Sadly, Wix doesn’t offer live support, but the options offered should help with any questions you may have.

GoDaddy website builder customer support

GoDaddy gives plenty of outlets for customers to receive help, such as:

• 24/7 support
• Live chat
• Phone support
• Email support
• Video tutorials

If you have any questions, you can contact GoDaddy’s support team via live chat or phone line. The live chat offers 24/7 support and the phone line will help you out during their working hours, Monday-Friday, 5 am-6 pm.

GoDaddy’s knowledge base and forum could become your go-to resource for any questions you may have – by utilizing these resources, you don’t have to base your time around the GoDaddy Support team’s working hours.

There is an issue though – broad questions are fine, but if your question is something specific, chances are you won’t get a direct answer and will have to spend some time researching on your own.

Wix vs GoDaddy website builder video review

Wix vs. GoDaddy website builder – overall comparison

To sum it all up, Wix brings you much more value for the money you pay than GoDaddy. It’s loaded in features and templates and offers nearly complete design freedom. This makes it an optimal solution for many types of projects.

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However, if you’re a beginner and require a more simplistic approach, GoDaddy website builder can still be a great solution.

Are there any alternatives to GoDaddy and Wix?

Hostinger Website Builder – powerful and cost-effective website builder with an intuitive drag-and-drop editor enhanced by AI capabilities for swift setup.

SITE123 – beginner-friendly alternative with over 160 templates. It allows users to quickly build webpages using ADI and block editing.

Shopify – top choice if eCommerce is a priority. The section-based editor and app store can conveniently turn any of the available 70+ templates into your ideal storefront.

Wix vs GoDaddy – final verdict

Both Wix and GoDaddy website builders are excellent options for creating an online presence in no time but have a few fundamental differences.

GoDaddy is the cheaper and more straightforward version with fewer customization options. This makes it suitable for beginners who don’t want to be overwhelmed by choice and would prefer to get up and running as soon as possible. The provider offers solid in-house tools regarding eCommerce, SEO, and marketing to make your webpage visible.

Conversely, Wix is a more robust service with over 800 tailor-made templates to suit anyone’s needs. And while you can’t switch between templates on a whim, you won’t have to after getting familiar with the tool’s immense customization arsenal. Moreover, you can access loads of third-party add-ons to finalize your dream website.

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More Wix comparisons for you to check out

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Wix vs GoDaddy website builder FAQs