Migrating from GoDaddy Web site Builder to WooCommerce


Constructing an internet retailer with GoDaddy Web site Builder is a good place to begin for a brand new enterprise. 

However typically, good issues should come to an finish — particularly when your small business is pushing on the seams of your software program’s capabilities.

Figuring out when it’s time for an improve might be tough, nevertheless it’s higher to behave sooner relatively than later. When an ecommerce enterprise does outgrow its means, the shopper expertise suffers — together with gross sales. 

Fortunately, WooCommerce makes upgrading easy. You may even preserve your web site hosted with GoDaddy in case you’d like! 

Let’s break down easy methods to know when migration is critical, discover the variations between GoDaddy Web site Builder and WooCommerce, and present you easy methods to migrate.

There are a selection of causes you may want to maneuver your web site. A number of indicators embody:

  • Your site visitors, product catalog, or month-to-month order quantity begin to decelerate your web site. When this happens, you’ll need to migrate to a platform like WooCommerce, which positions you for progress.
  • You run into performance obstacles together with your software program. You may suppose, “I’d actually like so as to add this device to my website,” however discover out that the platform you’re utilizing doesn’t permit for that. Or maybe you need to provide extra fee strategies or delivery choices. With WooCommerce, there’s at all times a manner.
  • You need extra design flexibility. Maybe you need to up the creativity and professionalism of your website or model as a complete. A platform with extra flexibility and intuitive website builder capabilities makes the choices limitless.
  • You need to attain a global viewers. As you scale, it’s your decision a platform that higher permits for worldwide progress — suppose superior delivery strategies, native fee strategies, the flexibility to simply accept a variety of currencies, content material translations, and extra.
  • You need to improve your advertising and marketing efforts. Your advertising and marketing efforts will change over time. Maybe you want an ecommerce platform that higher integrates with the instruments you need to use, like ERPs, CRMs, and different promoting channels.
  • You need extra management and possession over your retailer. The extra content material, merchandise, and gross sales you’ve gotten, the extra you worth possession. The very last thing you need is to have your website taken down unexpectedly since you violated phrases and situations you may not have recognized about. And web site homeowners utilizing platforms like GoDaddy Web site Builder usually discover themselves locked in. They want further performance or options, however run into partitions time and again, unable to broaden their retailer the best way they’d like.  

Ultimately, there are many completely different causes emigrate. And the time is correct when your present platform isn’t assembly expectations or doesn’t provide what you have to develop.

WooCommerce is an ecommerce device constructed particularly for WordPress. In brief, WordPress is the software program that may energy your new website, whereas WooCommerce is a WordPress plugin that provides ecommerce performance.

WordPress is an open supply web site platform, which signifies that it makes its supply code publicly accessible to view or modify nevertheless you want. This not solely supplies a ton of transparency, it additionally means that you’ve full management and may create any kind of design or performance. 

It additionally consists of the highly effective block editor that you need to use to create customized pages and posts with out having to work with code. All you need to do is drag and drop parts — like photographs, paragraphs, movies, and galleries — into place, then modify settings to customise each.

However it’s extra than simply a regular web page builder. You should utilize blocks to edit every little thing from headers and footers to templates, together with layouts for weblog posts, product pages, and archives. This opens up a complete world of potentialities! 

With out having to muddle by means of difficult settings, rent a developer, and even edit a single line of code, you may customise the looks of your complete website. Edit checkout fields. Set a name to motion to mechanically seem in the midst of every weblog submit. Add an electronic mail seize into your footer. It’s all potential with WordPress.

It’s no marvel WordPress powers greater than 43% of the net.

Whenever you add the free WooCommerce plugin, you get every little thing you have to run an internet retailer — checkout and cart pages, product listings, tax calculations, delivery capabilities, and extra. 

WooCommerce extension library

On prime of that, you acquire entry to tons of free and premium extensions that you need to use to boost your retailer. With these instruments, you may:

  • Promote new varieties of merchandise like memberships, subscriptions, bookings, wholesale objects, and extra.
  • Improve the checkout expertise with add-ons, present playing cards, product bundles, and extra.
  • Settle for an enormous number of fee varieties, from debit and bank cards to digital wallets, in individual funds, and fee plans.
  • Create customized delivery guidelines primarily based on every little thing from weight and measurement to cart complete and site.
  • Combine with third-party instruments, together with electronic mail advertising and marketing suppliers, CRMs, social media platforms, social promoting platforms, ERPs, stock administration instruments, accounting software program, and delivery instruments.

That’s a really condensed listing. There’s an enormous number of extensions you may select from. And in case you don’t see one thing that meets your actual wants, you benefit from the open supply nature of WooCommerce and rent a developer to create one thing customized for you.

The brief reply: Each enterprise!

The lengthy reply: It is dependent upon what the shop wants. If it’ll profit from issues like full-scale customization, limitless flexibility, full management over prices, and an enthusiastic, worldwide group of useful builders, then a change to WooCommerce might be an incredible transfer.

GoDaddy On-line Retailer BuilderWooCommerce with customized internet hostingWooCommerce managed by WordPress.com
Accessible themesTons ofHundredsHundreds
# of product listingsLimitlessLimitlessLimitless
# of ordersLimitlessLimitlessLimitless
Electronic mail advertising and marketing choices100,000 electronic mail advertising and marketing sends/moCombine with any electronic mail advertising and marketing supplier of your selectingCombine with any electronic mail advertising and marketing supplier of your selecting
Cost gateway choicesGoDaddy Funds, PayPal, Sq., and StripeCombine with just about any fee gateway of your selectingCombine with just about any fee gateway of your selecting
Ecommerce plan price$20.99/monthFree (+ the price of your internet hosting supplier)$45/month
Market for customized performanceNoSureSure
In-person fundsSureSureSure
Cellular appSureSureSure
Cellular-friendly designSureSureSure
Content material and design optionsSure, however restricted in comparison with WooCommerceSure, with limitless capabilities and the highly effective WordPress block editorSure, with limitless capabilities and the highly effective WordPress block editor
Delivery integrationsConstructed-in delivery capabilitiesConstructed-in delivery capabilities and integrations with just about any third-party deviceConstructed-in delivery capabilities and integrations with just about any third-party device
Automated tax calculationsSureSure, with a free extensionSure, with a free extension
24/7 helpSureNo, however help boards, ticket programs, and stay chat can be foundSure

We explored a number of the advantages of WooCommerce earlier, and in contrast options within the desk above. However the phrase that retains developing time and again is flexibility.

In contrast to with GoDaddy Web site Builder, you received’t be held again as you develop. Retailer homeowners who switch to WooCommerce usually achieve this as a result of they need to add a selected function to their website, however can’t discover a manner to take action with GoDaddy.

Whenever you use WooCommerce, you’ll by no means run into limitations — they merely don’t exist. You may customise your retailer in any manner you’d like due to the WordPress website editor, extension library, and open supply code. And also you’ll by no means lose entry to, or management over, your small business or information, as a result of you personal it. 

Plus, you may take your web site to any host you’d like, all whereas maintaining the shopper expertise constant. You’re not locked in in any way. 

And in case you began utilizing GoDaddy Web site Builder for its ease of use, don’t fear! The WordPress block editor simplifies the web site creation course of, permitting you to edit completely each side of your design and format with out having to work with code. It’s extra highly effective and versatile than GoDaddy’s, however continues to be extraordinarily accessible for non-technical website homeowners.

Whenever you use WooCommerce, you’ll by no means run into limitations. You’ll by no means lose entry to, or management over, your small business or information, as a result of you personal it. You may customise your retailer in any manner you’d like due to the WordPress website editor, extension library, and open supply code.

And you’ll take your web site to any host you’d like, all whereas maintaining the shopper expertise constant.

All of this on prime of highly effective performance, a platform constructed to scale, top-notch safety integrations, and an unimaginable, widespread group able to help you alongside your journey. Plus, in comparison with GoDaddy, WordPress and WooCommerce provide you with all of the necessities you want for free of charge!

There are three main methods emigrate:

  1. Do it your self
  2. Rent a developer
  3. Rent a WooExpert (really helpful)

Regardless of which choice you select, you’ll solely be capable to migrate over primary order data. You’ll have to rebuild your web site design and performance utilizing WordPress and WooCommerce. So, preserve this in thoughts when selecting the route you’d prefer to take.

1. Do it your self

Select a bunch

The simplest choice right here is to make use of GoDaddy for internet hosting, however migrate your retailer to WooCommerce. You may merely attain out to GoDaddy help and request to maneuver from GoDaddy Web site Builder to their managed WooCommerce internet hosting plan

In case you’d like to alter each your internet hosting and your ecommerce platform, we’re right here to assist. WooCommerce works with many various hosts, however listed here are a number of really helpful choices.  

grid of recommended WooCommerce hosts

In case you’d prefer to preserve web site administration easy, however nonetheless get all the pliability WooCommerce has to supply, the Entrepreneur plan on WordPress.com is ideal for you.

Obtain your website information

Now’s the time to obtain and save data out of your present retailer. Whereas the information you may obtain is restricted, it can save you orders utilizing this tutorial.

You’ll additionally need to save any further data, like weblog posts, photographs, and web page content material. You are able to do this by copying textual content and downloading photographs to your pc.

Rebuild your web site

Now you’ll have to construct your web site on WordPress and WooCommerce. To eradicate downtime, it’s greatest to begin constructing your ecommerce website on a brief URL (which your host can present) and preserve your authentic web site in the course of the improvement course of. 

Then, you may comply with our 5 step getting began information, which walks you thru putting in WordPress and WooCommerce, selecting a theme, including merchandise, putting in any extensions you want, and extra.

Just be sure you add any content material that you simply need to preserve out of your previous website to your new retailer (utilizing the identical URL construction). That is significantly essential for sustaining your search engine rankings after your migration.

As soon as your website is prepared, merely level your area title to your new host (if relevant) and luxuriate in your new, extra versatile and highly effective retailer.

2. Rent a developer

In case you don’t have the expertise, need, or time to finish your website migration by yourself, you may at all times rent a developer to care for issues for you. Since WooCommerce is an open supply ecommerce platform, there are a wealth of skilled builders and businesses you may select from. And so they can deal with saving your retailer information and constructing your new website multi functional fell swoop. 

Simply take the time to decide on a vetted developer with glorious opinions, a stable portfolio, and expertise in migrating from GoDaddy Web site Builder to WooCommerce. There are a selection of platforms you need to use to discover a developer, together with Upwork, Fiverr, and Codeable

WordPress.com website

And in case you select to go together with WordPress.com, you may benefit from their website improvement capabilities, which begin at $499 for a WooCommerce website.

For probably the most seamless migration, hiring a Woo Associate Company is the best way to go. Woo Associate Companies are thoroughly-vetted businesses focusing on WooCommerce. There’s a complete listing you could look by means of to seek out the proper match for your small business.

screenshot of the Woo Partner Agency directory

Have particular necessities? Filter by means of the listing primarily based on time zone, language, trade, providers provided, charges, and funds. You may examine every company, look by means of their work, evaluation testimonials, and navigate to their web site for much more data. 

And since each WooExpert is, effectively, an knowledgeable, you may belief that the migration and website construct course of might be top-notch and environment friendly.  

Whether or not you’re able to migrate to WooCommerce from GoDaddy Web site Builder or simply need to be taught extra, don’t wait. Attain out to our help crew to be taught extra about migration and the way we may also help you obtain your small business targets. 

Niall Madhoo Avatar

Niall has targeted on WordPress due its open nature and customizability for over 16 years and WooCommerce for nearly 5 years. He is a Woo Buyer Development Happiness Engineer serving to Woo retailers and businesses get probably the most out of WooCommerce by consulting on greatest practices, website optimization, checkout stream enhancements, and extra. In his free time, Niall tinkers with {hardware} and software program from Linux distros to gaming gadgets and stays an avid lifetime gamer and member of the PCMR.

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