GoDaddy vs. Shopify: Which Website Builder Should You Choose?

Building a website is easier than it has ever been. Thanks to website builders, you don’t need to know how to code to put together a modern site – and that applies to online stores as well. If you pick the right website builder, you’ll be able to create a fully functional ecommerce site without having to pay someone to do it for you.

By the “right” website builder, we mean an option that includes all the ecommerce features you need and that you feel comfortable using. To find it, you’ll want to compare options such as GoDaddy and Shopify, which offer some of the best tools for building websites and online stores.

In this article, we’ll explain how site builders work and compare GoDaddy vs Shopify. We’ll also talk about why you might want to consider using WordPress and NameHero instead. Let’s get to it!

What Are Website Builders?

Website builders are tools that enable you to create full sites without the need to code. That means you don’t have to deal with HTML, CSS, or more advanced languages to build a website.

Modern site builders are capable of implementing all kinds of functionality for a website. You can use them to build simple brochure sites, subscription and membership websites, and even online stores.

The majority of website builders work very similarly. You get to use an editor that divides each page into rows and columns and you can add pre-built modules or elements to these sections. All of this is combined with drag-and-drop functionality so you can easily move elements around.

The exact experience you get will vary depending on what builder you use. While comparing Shopify vs GoDaddy, we’ll focus largely on what type of experience each online store builder offers.

An Introduction to GoDaddy and Shopify

Before we get into specifics, we’re going to introduce both platforms. GoDaddy is one of the most popular web hosting providers. It also offers many other services, including the GoDaddy website builder, domain registration, marketing tools, ecommerce functionality, and more:

In short, GoDaddy offers pretty much everything you need to set up and host a website. Meanwhile, Shopify is an ecommerce platform above all else. Like most ecommerce platforms, it focuses largely on helping you set up online stores. But, it also offers access to other types of services, such as marketing solutions:

In terms of their respective website builders, GoDaddy enables you to use artificial intelligence (AI) to help set up pages faster. The builder lets you customize pre-designed website templates.

Shopify offers a similar experience. However, it’s more focused on ecommerce tools. It also relies on a massive app store to help you implement new features on your ecommerce site (similar to how WordPress uses plugins).

Now, before we dive even deeper into our GoDaddy vs Shopify comparison, you might want to check out some of our past articles on the topic. We’ve also put GoDaddy head-to-head against Bluehost and Wix. And, we’ve compared WordPress and Shopify.

GoDaddy vs Shopify: 4 Factors to Consider

In this section, we’ll compare Shopify vs GoDaddy in four different areas. This will help you make an informed decision when choosing which website builder to use.

1. Ease of Use

When comparing Shopify and GoDaddy in terms of ease of use, it’s important to remember that Shopify is an ecommerce platform. In practical terms, that means that overall, its website builder is easier to use because you’re only dealing with the elements you can find in an online shop:

Meanwhile, the GoDaddy website builder offers a lot more options in terms of the elements it enables you to add to your site. This is because it’s designed for creating websites of almost every type. It gives you fewer options in terms of ecommerce, but it’s overall more versatile.

If you’re focusing on ecommerce, Shopify offers a more intuitive experience. For other types of projects, the GoDaddy website builder can be the smarter option.

2. Ecommerce features

In terms of ecommerce features, Shopify has a clear advantage. As we mentioned, the entire site builder focuses on ecommerce functionality.

The platform also comes with a robust site editor and a payment solution. Shopify Payments enables you to accept online payments using all the most popular options:

What’s more, Shopify’s app store includes hundreds of add-ons you can install on your site to extend its functionality. Most of them focus on ecommerce, but you also have a lot of options for marketing:

You can also set up a GoDaddy online store using its website builder. The platform offers other ecommerce features such as a built-in payment processor, which means you don’t need to integrate third-party services to manage transactions:

In any case, using Shopify for ecommerce is likely the more intuitive option.

3. Additional Services

Next, let’s put Shopify vs GoDaddy in terms of additional services.

Shopify offers a decent range of options, all focused around ecommerce tools. With Shopify, you get access to services for marketing your store, providing customer services, managing social media integrations, and domain registration:

GoDaddy provides more options in terms of additional services since it’s not solely an ecommerce platform. With GoDaddy, you get access to a broad range of hosting plans, including email services. On top of that, GoDaddy also acts as a domain registrar:

You can also use GoDaddy’s services to help you create content, tackle search engine optimization (SEO), and market your website. These services come at a premium, of course, but they’re valid options if you have the budget and prefer a hands-off approach.

4. Pricing

Now, let’s see how things look between Shopify vs GoDaddy when it comes to pricing.

Since GoDaddy offers a broad range of services, we’re going to compare it against Shopify only in terms of its website builder plans. These plans start at $10.99 per month if you pay for a yearly contract and $16.99 on a month-to-month basis:

When you compare GoDaddy against Shopify in terms of price, the former wins. Shopify plans are more expensive across the board, with its Basictier costing $19 per month for a yearly contract and $25 if you pay by the month:

As you can see, Shopify’s plans are more expensive. This is likely due to the fact that it specializes in features for your ecommerce store.

NameHero and WordPress: A Better Option for Building Websites

While GoDaddy and Shopify both offer decent website builders, neither of them are particularly good options if you’re on a budget. And, their proprietary tools can be a bit limiting. So, if you’re looking for an alternative, WordPress paired with NameHero can be a better option.

NameHero is similar to GoDaddy in that it offers a broad range of services. That includes different types of hosting plans, email hosting, domain registration, and even reseller hosting.

If you want to build an ecommerce site, NameHero’s WooCommerce hosting plans are an excellent option for powering your WooCommerce store. Plus, these NameHero plans start at just $2.69 per month:

WordPress also offers a lot more versatility in terms of website builders. The block editor and Site Editor are very intuitive and they enable you to customize every aspect of your website without having to use code.

Alternatively, you can look into the many WordPress page builders available. These are plugins you can use to completely overhaul the experience of building a website with WordPress. You can choose whichever site builder suits your needs. This way, you’re not limited to the options the web host provides (as you would be with Shopify and GoDaddy).

Conclusion

Choosing a site builder is one of the most important decisions you can make when planning your website’s design. That’s because the builder you use will determine what kind of functionality you can offer and what features you’ll be able to include. If you’re planning on creating an online store, you’ll also need to make sure you choose an ecommerce-friendly website builder.

If neither GoDaddy nor Shopify fits your criteria, consider using NameHero with WordPress. The content management system (CMS) includes one of the most versatile website builders on the market. And when paired with WooCommerce, it works perfectly for ecommerce sites.

Do you have any questions about GoDaddy, Shopify, or NameHero? Let us know in the comments section below!