Rebuild · Some manual work
Moving your site off GoDaddy.
A GoDaddy Website Builder site is normally recreated. Its backup feature protects content inside GoDaddy, but it is not a portable website package for a different host.
What GoDaddy lets you take
GoDaddy website backups preserve sections, text, and settings for restoration within the GoDaddy product. We inventory and rebuild the public site, then move DNS only after testing.
- Domain registration can stay at GoDaddy
- Original text and images
- Store or contact data that can be exported separately
- Existing business email when DNS records are preserved
What gets rebuilt
- Website Builder sections and theme
- Forms, appointments, popups, and marketing connections
- Storefront and checkout connections
- SEO fields, analytics, and redirects
We can rebuild an informational site as a custom static site.
A GoDaddy site whose job is explaining your services doesn't have to become WordPress. A static site on Cloudflare Workers has no database or plugins to update, and forms and analytics still work.
If your staff publish often or you need store or membership plugins, WordPress is the better fit. We recommend one after looking at the site.
Gather these first
- GoDaddy account access and customer number
- A list of all products in the account: domain, website, Microsoft 365 email, SSL, marketing, and store
- Original images, logo files, downloads, and written content
- Form destinations, appointment settings, product data, and payment connections
- All DNS records or a screenshot/export of the DNS zone
Export from GoDaddy
Step 1
Open My Products and identify whether the site is Websites + Marketing, Managed WordPress, or another GoDaddy hosting product. The migration path is different for each.
Step 2
In Websites + Marketing, create a current backup and publish any changes that should be included in the rebuild.
Step 3
List every page and save original media files. Take screenshots of desktop and mobile layouts, forms, popups, store pages, and confirmation screens.
Step 4
Export products, orders, customers, contacts, and appointments from their respective dashboards when those tools are used.
Step 5
Open the domain DNS page and record A, CNAME, MX, TXT, SRV, and CAA entries. This is especially important when Microsoft 365 email is attached.
Step 6
Add delegated access or invite us only after we tell you what access is needed. Do not share the account password.
Watch for
- Do not cancel Microsoft 365 or delete the domain when canceling the website plan.
- Managed WordPress is often a direct migration; Websites + Marketing is not.
- We change only the website DNS records and preserve mail records unless you ask us to move email.
Questions
Does hosting include migration?
Yes. There is no migration fee. We review the current site first so you know the plan. New features beyond recreating the existing site are scoped separately before we do them.
Will my website go offline?
No. The old site stays up while the new one is built, and we don't cancel the old service until the new one passes review.
Do I have to transfer my domain?
No. The domain can stay with its current registrar and point to us.
What happens to my business email?
We copy every mail-related DNS record before launch. We don't move or cancel email unless that is part of the plan.
Ready to leave GoDaddy?
Send the site address. Moving is free with hosting, and the old site stays up until the new one passes review.