1. Account creation
To set up a website with GoDaddy, you first need to create an account:
Visit the GoDaddy website creation page
Sign up for GoDaddy with an email address, Google account, or Facebook account.
Select Start for Free to build your website for free.
Note: The free plan only provides website building for one second-level domain name, e.g. http://yoursitename.godaddysites.com. If you want to create a website with your own top-level domain name, you need to upgrade to the paid plan.
2. Select the industry and website name
Select the business category.
If industry is not available, then feel free to choose the closest industry. Just be sure to choose a template that matches your business, as GoDaddy will suggest templates that are appropriate for the type of business.
The next step is to choose a site name, this is the name that visitors will see when they search for your site, or you can change it later, don’t spend too much time here.
After choosing the site title, GoDaddy will create a sample homepage.
3. Selection of themes
It is possible to use the basic layout generated in the previous step when selecting an industry, and then, edit it to fit the brand, or choose a new layout.
A theme is just a layout to which text, pages and images can be added, even after publishing. If it doesn’t fit, replace it later on.
Click Template in the upper right corner of the dashboard to change the theme and Try a New Look to see more templates.
You can change the colors, fonts and buttons to match your style. Then, click select in the lower left corner to activate the theme.
4. Customize your website
GoDaddy has several templates generated based on the industry chosen. If you want to create a website that suits your business, then you may want to design pages, sections, images, and text that fit the brand’s style.
In this section, and in the design of the site’s features, Godaddy also gives the user enough convenience, at most a few trials, can be done. However, it may still be partially difficult for the uninitiated. Then, recommend the use of elfsight widget tool, the tool will be all the site features are made into a widget, according to their own business needs, the choice of widgets can be.
For example, making various forms on the site, inserting Google reviews to enhance sales, etc.
The method/steps are as follows:
- Add picture
Once the image is selected, click Update to the right of the image to add the image to the site. After the image is added, alternative text (i.e., the image Alt attribute) is added to describe the image to the user.
Click on the image and the screen displays the Edit menu to add filters and effects and crop the image.
Alternatively, a corporate logo can be added as follows:
Click on the website name and then, click Upload or create a logo to select the logo from your computer, click the Insert button and the logo appears.
Then, click Done to continue to the next step
- Add text
This step is very simple.
Click on the sample text to highlight, delete or add. There are several text editing options available: italics, bold, numbered lists, bullets, and size.
However, do not add a new text box to the site, as GoDaddy does not allow clicking and dragging text boxes, only adding a new section.
- Add new section
The site includes a title, about us, contact us, privacy policy and terms and conditions.
To make the site unique, add more features such as menus, blogs, calendars, social feeds, video and photo galleries. To do this, click on the plus (+) icon on the dashboard to remove unwanted sections as well.
GoDaddy allows you to add up to 20 sections per page and change the elements in the header and footer areas. However, no additional headers or footers can be added.
Click on the existing text to change the title or subtitle.
If you want to replace the title image, click on the image itself and then click on the Cover Media button to replace the title image. Then, click Change image to add an image or set of stock images, and a Feed to describe this image.
Edit the call-to-action (CTA) button:
Click the button itself to open a sub-menu to edit the action text, link to the site URL, and reposition the button.
Visitors will be looking for information such as contact information, terms of service, privacy policy, or links to social media accounts in the footer, so these pages and links need to be created.
Click Accent to change the background color and enter information in the fields detailing the company name, address, and phone number.
Next, click Social Accounts to link the account to the website.
- Add new page
After adding text and images to your website, you have to create the page structure. To do this, click Website in the upper right corner of the dashboard to view the page structure.
Click the plus ( + ) icon on the Site Navigation menu to add a new page, rename, copy and delete the created page.
It is also possible to add external links and drop-down menus. If you want to reorder the pages, click the icon next to the plus ( + ) icon.
GoDaddy also allows a page to be set to private, making the content viewable only for specific users. For example, it can be set to only be available to users who have a code, link, or account.
5. Manage Settings
The Setting tab contains site profiles and tracking features that share business information with visitors and help optimize the site, which can be edited and enabled and new features added.
Website introduction
All details about the site are included in the site profile.
Basic Information: Fill in information such as website name, email address, phone number and physical address.
Social Media Links: connect to social media accounts including Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, TikTok, Pinterest, Yelp, and Discord.
Favicon: Upload an icon that you want visitors to see next to the website name.
Be indexed by Google and show up in Google search results: click Start
Optimizing to optimize the site for keywords. goDaddy helps identify keywords that are relevant to the site.
Site History
Analysis and tracking
This setting tracks and analyzes visitors’ interests to leverage Google, Facebook, Pinterest and Google AdSense.
So, if already subscribed to a tracker or analytics, then add their IDs.
Additionally, set the cookie banner to inform website visitors that cookies are being used, and you can customize the default cookie message to suit your industry.
6. Enhance your website
GoDaddy offers advanced features such as appointment scheduling, pop-ups, and social media integration, and also allows users to run an online store and customize domain names.
Learn how to enhance your site with the available features below.
Click the Popup button at the bottom of the site to add a popup message, edit images, text, and choose where the link will appear on the page.
For appointment scheduling, click on “Services” under the “Website” tab.
Here, you can include images and details of pricing, staff availability, Zoom integration and advance booking. Fill in the fields and click save.
Additionally, this is a great place to integrate your social media accounts with your website.
Add buttons to direct visitors to social media pages with a single click.
To do this, click Add a New Section and select social .
If you want to run an online store, you can add products and their names, sizes, categories, descriptions, shipping details, etc., or import these details from a CSV file or from other platforms such as Square and eBay.
However, GoDaddy does not allow receiving cryptocurrency payments.
7. Preview and publish the website
Before the website goes live, check how it looks to visitors on desktop and mobile devices.
Browse through each page to make sure that information such as contact information, hours of operation, etc. is correct, and check for spelling errors, broken links, and the general layout of the site.
If corrections are needed, click Edit Site. If everything is ready, click Publish to publish the site.
8. Customize the domain name
To publish a site on a custom domain, either connect to your existing domain or purchase a new domain from GoDaddy.
If you purchased the domain from GoDaddy, click Publish to be taken to the Choose a Domain page and then connect the domain to the site.
How to buy a domain name from GoDaddy:
Select Choose a Domain and click Buy a domain only. After you find a suitable domain name, click Buy and make a payment as shown below.
If you have your own domain name, but not bought it here, then select I already have a domain and then, click on I have a domain outside of GoDaddy and follow the prompts.
After completing all payments and processes, the website will go live.
