Whether you need an online store to sell items or a basic business website to use for advertising, you'll likely come across the popular company GoDaddy during your research for providers. Often known for selling domains and offering free and paid web hosting, GoDaddy offers many other services ranging from marketing tools and e-commerce platforms to professional website design services and security tools. Understanding GoDaddy's products, pricing and benefits can help you decide whether they'll meet your business's needs.
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Exploring What GoDaddy Offers
GoDaddy provides an all-in-one solution for getting your business online, so it can be a convenient and potentially less expensive option than having someone else handle your website. For example, the various hosting plans available have a site builder with templates that can get your website or online store up rather quickly. You also have an option to hire someone from GoDaddy to make a website meeting your needs if you don't feel comfortable doing it using the builder tools.
Other advantages of using GoDaddy include its payments system that can integrate with various platforms, the variety of search engine optimization and web security features and the ability to have a professional email address with your business's domain name. This means you can easily accept payments, monitor your website's performance and even connect with customers through social media tools.
Keep in mind that the complexity of your business website plays a role when deciding on hosting plans.
Other example services that GoDaddy can provide your small business include:
- A subscription to Microsoft 365 for email and productivity
- Business phone numbers
- Access to affiliate programs
- Domain name registration and transfer services
- Logo design
- Bookkeeping services
- Search engine optimization services
- Digital marketing suites
- Online malware and virus protection
Looking at GoDaddy Plan Options
GoDaddy offers various types of web hosting packages that vary by price, audience and features. A few types of these plans are more popular for small business needs.
As of publication, the general web hosting packages and monthly costs include the Free plan ($0) for barebones websites, Basic plan ($6.99) for sites with access to most features, Standard plan ($10.49) for growing businesses, Premium plan ($13.99) for heavier marketing needs and chatbot services and the Commerce plan ($17.49) for online stores. Most of these plans include access to the website builder, professional email, integration with GoDaddy payments and appointment scheduling and access to basic security and marketing tools.
If you're just interested in WordPress, platform-specific plans include the Basic plan ($6.99) for accessing most features, Deluxe plan ($9.99) for advanced search engine optimization tools, Ultimate plan ($12.99) for better security and marketing and E-commerce plan ($15.99) for online stores. When you get at least an annual WordPress plan, you receive extra perks like a custom domain name for your business URL plus SSL security.
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Considering Additional Costs
When using these plans, consider other potential expenses such as domain name registration, professional website development, premium security tools or email services and Microsoft 365. Costs for these will vary, and you'll pay for them separately whether you sign up for a hosting plan or not. You'll find pricing for all these on their specific product pages on the GoDaddy website. If you have an online store or otherwise use GoDaddy payments, keep in mind that transaction fees also apply and will be listed in your plan's details.
Deciding on GoDaddy Business Services
Since you can find so many helpful services for your small business, you'll want to consider your budget and needs to decide on whether you need specific plans and services. At the basic level, you might decide to start with a web hosting plan and add on other services later once you get your business more established online.
Keep in mind that the complexity of your business website plays a role when deciding on hosting plans. For example, a free website might work fine if you just need a few pages to provide information. On the other hand, a paid plan can make sense financially to gain access to more marketing and security features or be able to host an online store. You'll also want to think ahead about whether you expect to just use WordPress or you'd like a standard hosting plan that provides more flexibility.
When researching options, pay attention to all the features listed on the plan page to see which might best work for your business website so that you don't pay for more than you need. Also, be aware that some packages might include standalone services for free for a limited time or a scaled-down version of a premium service. You can also consult GoDaddy's online chat or call them at 1-480-366-3550 to get personalized product advice.
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