What you can take from GoDaddy and what you cannot
GoDaddy's backup only restores inside Websites + Marketing and code download belongs to Airo AI Builder, so Theo rebuilds from the live address, not from a file.
As of October 2026 the only website plans priced on godaddy.com are Airo AI Builder tiers; Starter is $9.99 a month billed annually or $19.99 month to month, and no renewal price is stated. The Websites + Marketing tiers, Basic $9.99, Premium $14.99 and Commerce $20.99 a month on an annual term for the first year, renewing at $16.99, $29.99 and $34.99 (also the month-to-month prices), were last shown on GoDaddy's pages on September 30, 2026.
| Leaving GoDaddy | With Theo | |
|---|---|---|
| Pages, text and photos | No export from Websites + Marketing | Rebuilt from the address; the current look matched on request |
| Domain | Stays registered at GoDaddy | Pointed at the new site, root and www |
| Microsoft 365 from GoDaddy, its own subscription | Keeps working; email records left alone | |
| Online store | Products export as a CSV; the checkout does not move | Shopify connected directly, or two other options below |
| Work after launch | You | Theo, on Starter and Pro |
| Price | Airo AI Builder Starter $9.99 a month billed annually, $19.99 month to month, renewal not stated; Websites + Marketing no longer priced publicly | Basic $29.99 a month; Starter $69.99, free for the first 30 days; Pro $129.99 |
How Theo moves a GoDaddy website
- Enter the GoDaddy address when you start the free build. Theo carries the wording and photos across, keeps the current look on request, and usually has a first preview ready within minutes.
- Ask for changes in chat, in plain English, then publish; the new site sits on a temporary address until the domain is connected, and the GoDaddy site keeps serving visitors meanwhile.
- Point the domain at Theo from your GoDaddy account: root and www, forwarding and parking off, email records alone; GoDaddy's records usually update within a few hours.
- Connect Search Console and Analytics; old addresses that still earn traffic or links are redirected on every plan, and on Starter and Pro Theo submits the new pages to Google.
Keeping your domain at GoDaddy
The domain can remain registered at GoDaddy; Theo asks only that it point at the new site, root and www, with forwarding and parking off and the email records untouched, and the old site keeps answering until GoDaddy's records update. Because nothing transfers, GoDaddy's 60-day transfer lock after a registration, transfer or contact change never comes into it; move the registration later if you want to. Connecting your domain walks through each step.
What happens to Microsoft 365 email from GoDaddy
Microsoft 365 from GoDaddy is its own subscription, renewed on its own even when the first year came free with a website plan; connecting the domain to Theo changes only the website records, so mail keeps arriving. If the mailbox came bundled with the website plan, keep the email subscription when you cancel that plan; the mail itself is not touched by the move.
What to do with a GoDaddy online store
A store built on the Websites + Marketing Commerce plan does not travel as a store: products export as a CSV, orders print from the browser, and after a downgrade GoDaddy keeps the products and orders for 30 days, then deletes the shop work. Theo does not run a checkout, so there are three options, in this order.
- Move the store to Shopify, which Theo recommends and connects to directly on every plan: products, prices and stock appear on the Theo site with a cart, and checkout completes on Shopify.
- Keep the GoDaddy store and move it to shop.yourdomain.com, with the Theo site on the main domain.
- If that is too hard, leave the current site and store where they are and add a separate Theo site on a subdomain such as blog.yourdomain.com.
What happens to your Google rankings during the move
Rankings follow the redirects: once Search Console is connected, old addresses that still earn visitors or links send people and Google to the matching new pages, on every plan. What happens to rankings when you move your website explains the pattern.
In Search Console expect a dip in clicks for a few weeks as old addresses leave Google's index and the new ones settle; compare the four weeks after the switch with the four weeks before, and check the Pages report for old addresses listed as not found.
In Theo's audit of 5,974 small business websites, 56 percent of the 145 GoDaddy Website Builder sites with search data got an estimated zero visitors a month from Google search, against 48 percent across the 4,027 sites with search data; both figures are in The State of Small Business Websites 2026.
What changes after the move
GoDaddy's Statement of Support for Websites + Marketing explains how to add pages and content but excludes creating pages, adding copy or images and getting ranked on search engines; its SEO wizard and AI visibility score hand you opportunities to act on yourself. Theo vs GoDaddy Website Builder sets the two side by side.
On Theo the work after launch is in the plan. Starter ($69.99 a month, free for the first 30 days) and Pro ($129.99) include keyword research, weekly pages and posts, technical and speed fixes, pages submitted through Search Console and work toward citations in ChatGPT and Google AI Overviews, none of it using chat credits. Basic, at $29.99 a month, is the site and hosting only.
How long a move from GoDaddy takes
The first preview usually arrives within minutes; the review takes as long as you give it, since the GoDaddy site keeps running; the domain switch usually takes effect within a few hours once GoDaddy's records update, and Google then needs a few weeks. Before anything moves, run the free audit: it shows what the current site earns from search, the number to measure against later. Moving your website to Theo covers the steps shared by every platform.
Frequently asked questions
How much does it cost to move a website from GoDaddy to Theo?
Nothing beyond the plan, and the first build is free. Starter is $69.99 a month with the ongoing search work, free for the first 30 days. Basic is $29.99 for the site with hosting, and Pro is $129.99. The extras are top-up credits, a domain bought through Theo and the optional backlink packages.
Can I export my GoDaddy website?
Not from Websites + Marketing; its backup restores only inside that product, and code download belongs to Airo AI Builder. Theo rebuilds from the live address, so no export is needed.
Do I own the new site, and can I cancel?
Yes to both. The site and its content are yours, and you can copy the site and its images if you ever move again. There is no contract; cancel whenever you want and the confirmation tells you the date the subscription ends.
Do I have to transfer my domain away from GoDaddy?
No. It stays registered at GoDaddy and you point it at the Theo site from your GoDaddy account, root and www, with the email records untouched. A transfer is a separate choice for later.
Will my GoDaddy email stop working if I move my website?
No, as long as the email records are left alone when the domain is pointed at Theo. Microsoft 365 from GoDaddy is its own subscription that the website switch does not touch; keep it running, and if it came bundled with the website plan, check its renewal with GoDaddy.
Can I keep my GoDaddy online store?
Yes, though Theo recommends the first of three options: move the store to Shopify, which connects directly to the Theo site. Otherwise move the GoDaddy store to shop.yourdomain.com with the Theo site on the main domain, or, if that is too hard, leave both where they are and add a separate Theo site on a subdomain such as blog.yourdomain.com.