Go Daddy buys maker of mobile app for website creation

IDG News Service - Web hosting provider and domain name registrar Go Daddy has acquired M.dot, the developer of a mobile app for website creation and management by small businesses.

Compatible with Apple's iPhone and iPad, the app will help Go Daddy's customers who are increasingly using their smartphones to manage their online presence as a means to find and acquire customers, the company said Monday.

"M.dot will now get discovered and utilized by many more small businesses and will help them build and promote their mobile presence and become successful online -- wherever they are," the startup said on its website. The app allows businesses to create mobile-optimized websites on their own domains.

The financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.

M.dot was founded by Dominik Balogh and Pavel Serbajlo in June last year.

The M.dot app offers mobile website creation using preloaded templates with custom features, such as store location, driving directions, tap-to-call, galleries, business hours and price lists in a user-interface designed for mobile device screens. It also includes a blog feature, which allows users to write and insert photos and video, and integrates with Facebook, Twitter, Flickr, YouTube and Dropbox.

The M.dot team will operate out of Go Daddy's Silicon Valley office, which is its major new center of engineering and product design, the company said.

Go Daddy in Scottsdale, Arizona, said in December it planned to take advantage of its scale, technology and brand to expand through partnerships and acquisitions aimed at helping small businesses succeed online.

John Ribeiro covers outsourcing and general technology breaking news from India for The IDG News Service. Follow John on Twitter at @Johnribeiro. John's e-mail address is john_ribeiro@idg.com