It is reported that between 70-80% of consumers look up businesses online before making a purchase. This showcases the importance of business websites within the digital age, where consumers are as invested in online branding and information, as they are in physical stores. Similarly, more and more businesses are opening solely within the online space within the e-commerce market. As a result, businesses need to harness the power of online space by creating compelling websites that are full of brand information and content. 

Many businesses decide to make use of online website builders. These platforms allow users or businesses to create a website using available sets of tools and features. Wix and GoDaddy are popular website builders. It is interesting to note their differences and offerings, in order to make a choice between the two website builders. 

Overview

The Wix website builder is targeted towards creative business owners and users. The website builder has many template options, and customization is easy. Tools are made available across the platform to facilitate this customization. The price range for Wix is between $14 per month, to $49 per month. The platform is user friendly and intuitive, and has a number of features that allow for data analysis and metrics. 

GoDaddy is one of the more well known website builders. The price range is between $11.99 per month, and $24.99 per month. This positions GoDaddy as a cheaper option than Wix. The website builder is equally user friendly and easy to utilize. GoDaddy provides users with the opportunity to make use of marketing tools, even within the most basic plan. This is a point of differentiation between other website builders and GoDaddy.

Level of Difficulty

Wix is an intuitive and simple website builder. The platform has hundreds of templates to choose from, which makes the initial steps easy to take and quick to complete. These templates can also be customized easily. The platform provides prompts, and even recommends certain templates to compliment businesses. No detailed experience in website building is required to use Wix’s services and tools. Wix has a number of plans available, and this makes it easy for users to find the plan that works best for them.

GoDaddy’s website builder is one of the most user friendly, and simple website builders available. Users can expect a basic, functioning website in a very short space of time. More advanced options and tools may take a bit longer, but these services still run at a fast rate. The builder does not require extensive amounts of experience to operate, and has helpful prompts to hasten the learning process. 

Basic Plans

Wix’s basic plan, named the ‘Combo Plan,’ is $14 per month. In this plan, users can access a custom domain without the addition of any Wix branding, and the domain will be free for the first year. The plan also offers 3BG of storage, which is an acceptable amount for a small business website with simple design and content. More elaborate website design, or large volumes of content may require a higher plan. Users can also perform basic website functions on a mobile app, and access customer support at any time.

GoDaddy’s basic plan is $11.99 per month. This particular plan offers a surprising amount of tools and services. Within it, users can access a custom domain without the addition of GoDaddy branding. This is important, as businesses will be able to present solely their own brand within the website. Users also have constant live access to their website, and can edit at any point on a number of devices. In addition to this, the basic plan offers insights, analytics and website data management. In addition to these tools, the basic plan offers simple marketing tools, like email marketing and scheduled posting. 

Extended Range of Plans

It is important to note that Wix has two categories of plans. The first is for standard websites, and the second is for e-commerce. The e-commerce plan provides tools and services for transactions, purchase and payments. With the website plans, Wix offers: the Unlimited Plan for 18$ per month, the Pro Plan for $23 per month, and the VIP Plan for $39 per month. Each additional plan comes equipped with its own set of advantages, unique features, and added tools. These additional features include: priority support, logo makers, ad credit, and more storage space. The e-commerce plans follow a similar structure, however are more expensive with each increment.

GoDaddy has four unique plans available. The first is the Basic Plan, and this is followed by: the Standard Plan for $15.99 per month, the Premium Plan for $21.99 per month, and the e-commerce plan for $24.99 per month. Each plan offers its own features and benefits, and increases in available options with each price tier. The e-commerce plan provides all the tools of the Premium Plan, with the addition of features for online stores. Unlike Wix, which has a range of plans specifically designed for e-commerce, GoDaddy makes use of this single plan. Some of the noteworthy features that these extended plans offer are SEO tools, group events, and promotions. 

Final Thoughts

Business websites are a vital part of any business within the US. 2022 will see more companies become entirely prominent online. As a result, more businesses will be making use of website builders like Wix and GoDaddy. It is important to note the differences between the two platforms, and to look at their specific plans that are available. Whilst GoDaddy is more well known, it may not offer more detailed features for the e-commerce market. Wix on the other hand, has an entirely separate category for this service. Despite this, users may be tempted by GoDaddy’s prices, as well as the strong capabilities for marketing and SEO work on the platform. It is best for businesses to assess what attributes are most important to them, and to work with a platform that compliments these attributes.

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