Building an online presence is vital for all types of businesses, whether promoting B2B services or selling products directly to consumers.

Friday and GoDaddy offer a range of tools for businesses and individuals to create robust websites that convey everything they want to share.

In this guide, we’ll examine the pros and cons of Friday and GoDaddy to help you make an informed decision about which one is best for your needs.

 

Friday vs. GoDaddy: Overview

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Friday

Friday Home

Friday is a popular website builder for all websites. It incorporates everything from website hosting and domain names to a full-suite website builder.

Designed with simplicity and ease of use in mind, it’s loaded with editing tools that allow for quick site customization and professional results.

It’s a relatively new website builder but already competes with more established brands thanks to its accessibility and versatility.

 

GoDaddy

GoDaddy Home

Having established its reputation as the world’s biggest domain registrar, GoDaddy has since ventured into the world of website builders.

They have developed an all-in-one system with social media integration and marketing and promotion tools for higher-tiered members.

It’s a beginner-friendly system that minimizes the need for technical know-how, albeit with a pared-down suite of tools that might be restrictive for larger enterprises.

 

Quick Comparison: Friday vs. GoDaddy

Friday
GoDaddy
Free Trial
YES
YES
Features
200+
100+
Templates
500+
100+
AI Website Builder
YES
YES
Ease of Use
YES
YES
Free Hosting & Domains
YES
YES
Management Features
YES
NO
SEO Tools & Data Analytics
YES
YES
Free SSL Certificate
YES
YES
24/7 Customer Support
YES
YES
Price
Single pricing
Multiple subscriptions

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Editor

A website’s editor is where all the magic happens, allowing you to define everything from the site’s aesthetic to how it functions for visitors.

Here’s how Friday and GoDaddy’s website editors compare, from the core features available to the degree of customization they offer.

Tip: Find out who designed a website.

 

Friday

Friday Editor

Friday’s website builder is aimed at beginners, using an intuitive drag-and-drop editor that makes it incredibly easy to get a stunning website off the ground.

This makes it optimal for following a website design timeline and ensuring that all pages and elements are exactly where you want them.

At the same time, the builder includes robust editing tools for web developers who want to dive into the code and fine-tune performance and appearance.

Here are some core editing tools with Friday’s website builder:

  • AI Assistant: Friday’s far-reaching AI Assistant can be used to instantly create text content for all aspects of a website, from blog posts to meta descriptions and other elements.
  • Developer Mode: In this mode, HTML and CSS code can be directly edited to deliver optimal results for professional-looking websites, making it highly customizable for those with web development experience who want to dive into the details.
  • Image optimization: Friday’s website builder allows users to automatically optimize and resize images to ensure they display correctly across all devices.
  • Free and premium images: If you don’t have images of your own to use on a website, Friday provides free images to upload to your pages and access to Shutterstock’s professional library.
  • Video backgrounds. Friday’s website builder allows websites to be enhanced with high-resolution video backgrounds to improve their visual appeal further.

It’s a comprehensive editing package that covers all the key features needed to set up and maintain a visually impressive and highly functional website.

Create a stunning site with Friday’s website builder.

 

GoDaddy

The website builder for GoDaddy aims for simplicity, with basic processes that are easy to perform without any web development experience required.

The platform uses an Artificial Design Intelligence system that works in much the same way as Friday’s AI Assistant to streamline the content creation process.

Fine-tuning content lacks the intuitiveness of the drag-and-drop user interfaces on other website builders, with more steps to complete these processes.

Instead, users must navigate a menu system to introduce new images and other assets, with some section types incompatible with the process.

Some of the other editing tools available through GoDaddy include:

  • Adding new pages: Appointment forms, online stores, and other pages can be added to a website through GoDaddy’s website builder editor.
  • Preview screen: Users can check to see how their website appears across multiple devices before committing to publishing it live.
  • Auto-saving: GoDaddy’s auto-save feature helps users keep their changes intact in the event of computing or internet connection issues.
  • Basic image editing: Images added to websites through GoDaddy can be changed to black and white, cropped and rotated, and shapes can be added.

While GoDaddy’s simplicity is great for basic site creation, its lack of a drag-and-drop user interface and simplistic editing options limit its appeal for many user case scenarios.

Bottom line: Friday’s impressive suite of editing features and highly customizable approach to website building make it the clear winner compared to GoDaddy.

Easier to use yet packed with options for fine-tuning content and page appearance, it’s considerably more versatile for website creation.

Read more: Launch your startup with this small business checklist.

 

Templates

Pre-made templates cover a variety of common themes for individuals and businesses, streamlining the process of setting up a great website.

Here’s a breakdown of the templates and categories you can expect when setting up a site through the Friday and GoDaddy platforms.

 

Friday

Friday Templates

One of the biggest appeals to modern website builders is the ability to choose from a wide variety of templates to begin the site creation process.

Friday covers all the bases in this regard, with templates covering everything from digital products to various business types.

Here’s a selection of template categories you can expect to find when using Friday:

  • Hobbies and interests: A large selection of hobby-based templates can be found through Friday that cover everything from arts and crafts to local bands and DJs.
  • B2B industries: If you’re setting up a small business serving other companies, there’s a template here with relevant pages and other features.
  • Charities and institutions: International official organizations can also find templates designed specifically for their needs.
  • Hospitality industry: Restaurants, coffee shops, and other hospitality businesses can all find a template through Friday with pre-made pages and sections covering booking forms and menus.

With dozens of new template designs from professionals added to the selection, Friday’s templates are a great starting point for organizing an online presence.

Discover Friday’s professional website templates.

 

GoDaddy

GoDaddy Templates

GoDaddy’s website builder has a limited collection of templates from which users can build their website using the editor.

There are some eye-catching template designs spread across approximately 100 available templates and various themes to choose from.

Some of the template categories you can choose from with GoDaddy include:

  • Art and design: Arts and crafts websites are well represented with GoDaddy templates that prioritize visuals in design.
  • Professional services: Businesses and freelancers can share their services through a professional-looking template that covers the core pages.
  • Health and fitness: Personal trainers and businesses selling health and wellness products can select a GoDaddy template that matches their priorities.
  • Hospitality industry: If you run a coffee shop or restaurant, you can use templates that include booking forms and menu pages.

GoDaddy’s template selection is more limited than that of other website builders, with some veering toward generic aesthetics that need work before they can be used.

Bottom line: With considerably more templates available through Friday, it’s the better choice for those who want a versatile selection.

If you’re making a business website or setting up a personal blog, you’ll find more options through Friday that match your requirements.

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Customization

With a template selected from the various categories, the next phase involves customizing the site and page elements to your brand’s requirements.

Friday and GoDaddy template customization can be used for multiple content types, from personal websites to small businesses.

 

Friday

Friday Customization

Once you’ve selected a template through Friday, plenty of customization options are available to tailor it to your requirements.

Using the drag-and-drop user interface makes the process straightforward for tweaking page elements and adding new images and videos.

The platform has an extensive selection of widgets to enhance the user experience and make it easier to contact the site owner for more information.

If you’re on social media, you can add widgets to connect visitors to your Facebook, X, and other socials to forge connections and conversations.

Friday’s website builder AI Assistant is also there to help throughout the customization process, speeding up content generation and optimizing for SEO.

Learn more: Share media coverage with a Friday press page.

 

GoDaddy

As we’ve discussed when discussing GoDaddy’s core website builder editor, customization tools are limited compared to alternative platforms.

These limitations are evident when using GoDaddy templates to enhance content and tailor it to users’ requirements.

The AI tool does go some way to alleviating these restrictions, with prompts generally delivering accurate updates to pages and layout.

Overall, however, GoDaddy’s rigidity regarding template customization reduces user control and can be frustrating for some.

Bottom line: The core issues of its editor hinder customization, so GoDaddy’s templates lack the highly customizable processing found with Friday.

While they’re fine for basic sites such as virtual assistant profiles, Friday’s in-depth customization makes it the clear winner in this category.

 

Marketing & SEO

A great website counts for little if it isn’t receiving any traffic, and that’s where search engine optimization helps get your audience’s attention.

Let’s run through the core SEO tools you can access through Friday and Hostinger to improve your marketing strategies.

 

Friday

Friday SEO

Whether exploring a new small business idea or revamping an established company, marketing and SEO is crucial for delivering results.

To assist with the process, Friday’s website builder comes with a full range of SEO tools that cover all aspects of a website.

Processes such as Global CDN and Google PageSpeed Optimization are fully integrated to deliver SEO across all pages.

Thanks to other site-wide automation processes, everything is kept consistent, with the AI Assistant helping maintain quality keywords.

Impressive data analytics are also available for those who want to examine performance metrics and fine-tune their marketing campaigns.

 

GoDaddy

GoDaddy offers its users a variety of marketing tools depending on the subscription package, with basic email marketing in their various paid plans.

The number of emails that can be sent in the Basic plan is limited, with volume increasing significantly for higher-tiered subscriptions.

GoDaddy also offers a full digital marketing suite for branded content creation and social media management for those interested in dedicated online stores.

For SEO, GoDaddy allows users to access an SEO Wizard, although the system is relatively limited compared to alternatives on the market.

Users can add meta titles and descriptions, custom URLs, and alternative text to improve their website’s visibility.

It’s a basic SEO system, although the Wizard makes the process easier for those without SEO experience.

Bottom line: While Friday and GoDaddy use artificial intelligence to help with their marketing and SEO, the latter is more comprehensive and nuanced.

Friday is the best choice for site-wide optimization, particularly when factoring in the AI Assistant’s integration with blogging and e-commerce features.

Read more: Find out more about the best scalable business ideas.

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E-Commerce

One of the main reasons people set up websites is to make money selling their products directly to consumers and cutting out the middleman.

Here’s an overview of the core e-commerce features you can access when using Friday and GoDaddy to build your online store.

 

Friday

Friday E-Commerce

One of the most important aspects of a great website builder is its ability to leverage the latest e-commerce trends to maximize revenue growth.

With Friday, the comprehensive e-commerce platform that comes with the editor makes it easy to do this.

Its online store is embedded directly into the core website editor, making it simple to build out the inventory and integrate it with other pages.

Here are some of the e-commerce website builder features you can use with the Friday builder:

  • AI-powered SEO analytics. Using Friday’s AI Assistant, users can quickly optimize their online store’s product descriptions to get the best results on search engines.
  • Easy inventory management. Friday’s inventory management system also has powerful features that can streamline managing extensive product selections.
  • Full support for digital products. There are no limitations for digital products on Friday, supporting everything from artwork to online courses and e-books.
  • No transaction fees. While some website builder e-commerce platforms charge users for transactions, Friday avoids these fees for its services.

It’s a highly scalable e-commerce platform capable of meeting the demands of a large-scale retail organization while being simple enough for mom-and-pop outlets to use.

 

GoDaddy

To set up an online store through GoDaddy, users must sign up for the various e-commerce plans on the platform.

The features of the different plans vary, with the Commerce Plus plan allowing users to sell unlimited products.

Some additional e-commerce features available through the relevant plan on GoDaddy include:

  • Sales tax calculator: GoDaddy’s e-commerce platform allows users to access a calculator for their sales tax on sold items, saving time when managing finances.
  • Extensive email marketing: If you’re focused on email marketing to draw in new customers, the Commerce subscription through GoDaddy allows you to send 100,000 emails each month.
  • 0% transaction fees: Like Friday, GoDaddy avoids charging its members a translation fee on the commerce subscriptions, although the Business plan does include a 3% transaction fee on each sale.
  • In-person point-of-sale: Businesses with brick-and-mortar stores can use the GoDaddy point-of-sale feature to sell to customers in person.

With the option for online customers to leave reviews, GoDaddy’s e-commerce functionality covers the basics, particularly on their top subscription plan.

Bottom line: GoDaddy’s tiered approach to e-commerce makes it a more expensive option compared to Friday, particularly when all tools are required.

Friday delivers everything you can get with GoDaddy, with more comprehensive tools for scaling stores as your business expands.

Create an all-in-one e-commerce website.

 

Blogging

With the future of blogging continuing to evolve, a website builder requires a host of tools to help content creators manage and optimize their articles.

Let’s examine the key blogging features that help with this task, which are available through the Friday and GoDaddy website builders.

 

Friday

Friday Blog

Blogging sits at the heart of modern digital media trends, and Friday’s blogging platform has been designed to ensure optimal results for content creators.

Fully customizable and set up for scheduling, it’s a highly capable system that allows for complex content pipelines across multiple categories.

Friday’s blog system incorporates two connection modes, Smart and Connected, breaking down the workflow into Layout and Post Modes.

This helps to streamline blog creation and posting, while the AI Assistant helps with SEO and removes missed errors.

Optimization across various devices, including PCs, smartphones, and tablets, is also automatically handled to deliver the best reader experience.

Create a blog with Friday.

 

GoDaddy

As with the other features available through the GoDaddy website builder, the blogging platform takes a basic approach to the process.

It’s capable of delivering personal blogs and allowing for engagement with readers, but some limitations will be off-putting to content marketers and other professionals.

Core features such as category management and scheduling are available, but optimizing blog posts and layouts is relatively restricted.

There are no blog post templates or the option to import blogs from other sites, with tags and related posts also missing from the options.

Bottom line: Friday’s full suite of blogging tools and editing options makes it the clear winner in this category, with GoDaddy comparatively limited.

While casual bloggers might be fine with GoDaddy’s basic approach to blogging, most will prefer the in-depth customization that Friday delivers.

Tip: Optimize your content pipeline with a blog post checklist. 

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Hosting & Security

With the rise in significant cyberattacks causing great concern, customers demand a website builder that protects them from harm.

Here’s an overview of Friday and GoDaddy’s measures to protect your information and the hosting services included in their packages.

 

Friday

Friday offers comprehensive hosting and security for its users, with all of their content hosted on Amazon Web Services for peace of mind.

This includes cloud-based storage for all assets used to build the website and full site backups for additional security.

All sites come with a free SSL certification along with a series of tools to help manage issues and deliver a safe user experience.

Friday also incorporates a series of protocols for data protection for both the site owner and its visitors.

 

GoDaddy

GoDaddy is perhaps best known as a company focused on providing domain names and hosting, and their website builder also covers these, depending on the plan.

Sign up for a free plan, and hosting is included, while the entry-level basic plan is required to connect to a custom domain name.

For security, all standard features are included, such as SSL Certification and 2-step verification for additional peace of mind.

However, it lacks processes to identify fraudulent activity in its payment processing options, requiring users to file reports with their support team.

Bottom line: With SSL certification and other standard security measures included, Friday and GoDaddy offer reliable hosting and performance for their users.

Friday’s extra steps in payment processing and integration with Stripe and Square make it the better option for anyone generating revenue through an online store.

 

Customer Support

With customer satisfaction levels declining, choosing a website builder with a responsive team of experts is vital for success.

Friday and GoDaddy offer customer support services, and here’s how they shape up in a head-to-head comparison.

 

Friday

Whether setting up a food truck business or running a personal blog, you need a builder that offers reliable customer support.

Friday’s team of developers is on hand around the clock, delivering a full 24/7 customer support service for their clients.

A detailed help center is available through the company’s website, allowing users to find the information they need in a few minutes.

Friday has received consistently positive customer reviews that praise its support and quick problem-solving abilities.

 

GoDaddy

GoDaddy’s long history in the industry has allowed it to refine its customer support processes with a 24/7 phone and live chat service for global customers.

Reports around the response time for the live chat system are generally positive, with replies typically coming in a few seconds.

The company website also has many tutorials, interactive courses, and guides to help users resolve queries.

With that said, there’s no email support option with GoDaddy, so customers have to use other communication channels to get issues addressed.

Learn more: Explore these essential small business tips. 

Bottom line: Both Friday and GoDaddy have a strong reputation for their customer support, with reviews praising their speedy responses and helpful staff.

With more options to choose from with Friday, it has an advantage over GoDaddy when it comes to a more comprehensive approach to support.

 

Pricing

Most website builders provide a variety of pricing plans depending on the user’s requirements, with variable features and storage space associated with the costs.

Friday’s single subscription removes any confusion, and here’s how it shapes up compared to GoDaddy’s pricing structure.

 

Friday

Friday Pricing

Friday bucks the industry trend regarding its approach to subscriptions, avoiding the commonplace subscription tiers other builders use.

Instead, Friday offers the complete package with all the tools and features accessible to every user, with no hidden extra fees.

This makes it a competitive option for all types of websites, from large-scale wholesale websites to smaller hobby-based blogs.

Friday also offers a seven-day free trial so potential customers can check out how it works and what features are available to create an online presence.

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GoDaddy

GoDaddy Pricing

As with many website builders, GoDaddy’s pricing structure follows their tiered subscription model built around three core plans.

A Basic plan comes with a small selection of features, such as built-in SEO and a custom domain, with a monthly cap of 100 marketing emails.

The Premium subscription plan for GoDaddy adds payment processing and appointment booking to the Basic plan, as well as the option to place social media ads.

Lastly, there’s the e-commerce plan for online selling, which links to other platforms such as Etsy and offers unlimited product sales.

Bottom line: GoDaddy’s relatively low pricing for its various subscriptions reflects the limitations of the features it has to offer its users.

For sheer completeness and versatility, Friday’s single-pricing subscription model gives it the edge for anyone requiring a feature-rich website builder.

Explore Friday’s pricing.

 

Bottom Line

GoDaddy’s preeminence in the field of domain registration and hosting made its entry into the world of website builders inevitable.

With that said, the basic approach to editing, combined with a lack of drag-and-drop interface and customization tools, makes it limited for most users.

Conversely, Friday’s complete integration with AI tools across all content and robust editing features lends it a highly appealing degree of flexibility.

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