How to Move Your Website Off GoDaddy's Website Builder (Without Losing Rankings or Email)

If you built your website with GoDaddy's website builder and now want out, you're not alone. Owners usually reach this point for the same reasons: the editor feels limiting, the monthly bill keeps climbing, or the site just isn't bringing in business.

Quick answer: Most GoDaddy builder sites can't be exported, so you rebuild the site on a new platform. To do it safely:

1. List every page address and save your content.
2. Rebuild on the new platform, keeping the same page addresses (or adding 301 redirects).
3. Point your domain to the new site without touching your email (MX) records.
4. Check that the site and email both work, then cancel GoDaddy.

You don't need to transfer your domain to move your website.

The good news is that leaving is very doable. The steps below explain each part, including the two things you can break if you're not careful: your Google rankings and your email.

First, figure out which GoDaddy builder you have

GoDaddy has renamed and reshuffled its builders several times, and in 2026 it sells three different things that sound alike. Which one you have decides how hard the move is. GoDaddy's own help page, Which GoDaddy website builder do I have?, matches each one to the plan you pay for:

• Websites + Marketing. The classic GoDaddy builder: you picked a template and edited it. If you've had your site for a few years, it's probably this one.
• Airo AI Builder. A newer, separate product where you describe the site you want in a chat and it builds it for you.
• Airo for WordPress. Included with GoDaddy's Managed WordPress hosting. Despite the Airo name, your site is a regular WordPress site.

Not sure? Look at what you're billed for in your GoDaddy account under Products. A Websites + Marketing plan means the classic builder.

What you can and can't take with you

Websites + Marketing: plan on a rebuild

GoDaddy doesn't offer a way to export a Websites + Marketing site and import it somewhere else. Its built-in backup is for restoring the site inside GoDaddy, and GoDaddy's backup help page says it covers sections, text and settings, but not blog posts, images, products, appointments or marketing emails.

So the move is a rebuild: you (or whoever you hire) recreate each page on the new platform, copying over the text, photos and videos. If you run an online store, products can be exported to a spreadsheet from the Products page, which saves some retyping.

Airo AI Builder: you can download the code

GoDaddy says you can export the full source code of an Airo AI Builder site at any time. Check which plan you're on, since downloading the code may require a paid plan.

That's real ownership, with one catch: the download is code (React and Tailwind), not a site you can open and edit. Inside Airo, the chat was your editor. Once you leave, changing a headline or swapping a photo means editing code, and the site needs somewhere to be hosted. For a non-technical owner, that's the part that stalls the move.

This is where we can help without starting over. We can take the code Airo gives you, host it, fix the things AI builders tend to skip (page titles and descriptions, speed, accessibility) and connect it to HungryHub, so you can edit your own text and photos again without touching code. If the code turns out to be a tangle, we'll tell you, and a clean rebuild is usually the better buy.

Airo for WordPress: the easy one

This is WordPress, so it moves like any WordPress site. Many WordPress hosts offer to migrate a site for you, or you can use a migration plugin. Your pages, posts, images and page addresses come along intact.

Before you touch anything: make a list of every page

This step protects your Google rankings, and it's the one most people skip. Google knows your pages by their exact addresses, like yoursite.com/services/kitchen-remodeling. If those addresses disappear when you move, the rankings attached to them can disappear too.

1. List every page address. Open yoursite.com/sitemap.xml in your browser, which usually lists them all, and paste them into a spreadsheet. If your site is connected to Google Search Console, its Pages report shows which ones Google has indexed.
2. Note which pages matter most. In Search Console, look at Performance to see which pages actually get visitors from Google. Those are the ones to protect first.
3. Save your content. Copy the text of each page into a document, and download your original photos and videos. If your videos are on YouTube, you only need the links.
4. Write down your page titles and descriptions. They're in each page's SEO settings in the GoDaddy editor. Reusing them keeps your search listings consistent.

With 100 pages or more, this list becomes your project checklist. Every page gets a row, a status and its new address.

Pick where you're going

There's no single right answer. It depends on who will maintain the site after it moves:

• Squarespace if you'll update the site yourself and want something polished with little upkeep. It's a good fit for many service businesses.
• WordPress if you want the most flexibility and don't mind keeping plugins and updates current, or paying someone to.
• A custom site if the website is a real source of leads and you'd rather have it built around your business than squeezed into a template.

We compare the main options, with current pricing, in the best website builders for small businesses.

Rebuild, and keep your page addresses

As you recreate each page, give it the same address it had on GoDaddy whenever the new platform allows it. Where an address has to change, set up a 301 redirect from the old address to the new one. Squarespace, WordPress and custom sites all support redirects. A redirect tells Google the page moved, so its ranking carries over instead of turning into a "page not found."

A move is also a good time to clean up. Pages that get no visits and say nearly the same thing as another page can be combined. Just redirect the old address to the page that replaced it.

Keep your email working

This is the part that worries people most, and it's simpler than it sounds. Your email is separate from your website. If you use Google Workspace or Microsoft 365, your mailboxes don't live at GoDaddy and don't move. What matters are a few settings on your domain, called DNS records, that tell the internet where your email goes.

You have two safe options:

1. Leave your DNS at GoDaddy (simplest). Only change the records your new website platform asks for, usually an A record and a CNAME for "www." Don't touch the MX records, which handle your email. Your email never notices the move.
2. Move DNS to the new provider. Before switching, copy every email-related record (MX, plus the TXT records for SPF, DKIM and Google's verification) to the new DNS provider exactly as they are. Only then change your nameservers. If you skip this, your email stops arriving until the records are fixed.

Either way, take a screenshot of your current DNS records at GoDaddy before you change anything. It's your undo button.

Move your domain last (or not at all)

You don't have to move your domain away from GoDaddy to move your website. Many owners leave the domain registered at GoDaddy and just point it at the new site. If you do want to transfer it, do it after the new site is live and your email is confirmed working.

Two things to know about domain transfers:

• A domain usually can't be transferred within 60 days of being registered or transferred. ICANN, which sets the rules for domain names, approved shortening that lock to 30 days in 2026, but as of November 2026 the change hasn't taken effect yet.
• When you request the transfer, GoDaddy gives you an authorization code to enter at the new registrar. Your DNS records may not come along automatically, so have that screenshot handy.

Cancel GoDaddy last

Keep your GoDaddy website plan active until:

• The new site is live on your domain.
• Your old page addresses either work on the new site or redirect to the right new page.
• You've sent and received email from your business address.
• Google Search Console shows the new site (submit your new sitemap there).

Then cancel the website plan. Paying for one more month of overlap is cheap insurance.

How long does it take?

A five-page site can be moved in a weekend. A site with 100 pages or more is a project: each page has to be rebuilt by hand, checked and redirected, and that adds up quickly, especially with photos and videos. If you have several sites, multiply accordingly.

That's usually the point where it makes sense to get help, either with the whole move or just the risky parts (the page list, the redirects and the DNS switch).

Want a second set of eyes?

If you're planning to leave GoDaddy, start with our free website audit. We'll look at your current site, the pages that matter in Google and what a move would involve. If you'd rather hand off the whole thing, tell us about your site and we'll give you a straight answer on time and cost.