Exhibit One: GoDaddy, a company that used to be the (arguably) best-known web hosting company on earth, but is now moving to calling itself a cloud platform. While the semantics may be debatable, and some would argue about GoDaddy's cloud title, the fact is that this positioning is a smart move given the ascendancy of Amazon Web Services, Microsoft Azure, Google Cloud Platform, etc.
Exhibit Two: WordPress, the open source content management system that is used by gazillions of individuals and organizations to host their blogs (and other content). WordPress is easy, quick and, most importantly, free, and has gained mass adoption for all those reasons.
So it only seems natural that GoDaddy would look to opportunities around the WordPress world to increase its market penetration. And so we have it today with the news of an expanded GoDaddy program which is targeted specifically for web designers and developers.
The GoDaddy Pro Program now includes Pro ManageWP, which allows users to control all of their WordPress websites in one place, regardless of host. A result of GoDaddy's recent acquisition of ManageWP, a high-end WordPress site management tool, this new offering allows web professionals to execute bulk updates for plugins and themes, perform security scans, monitor performance and uptime, and generate branded client reporting from a single dashboard.
The underlying theme here is one of delivering new tools for web professionals that sit alongside GoDaddy's core hosting offerings. Alongside the product offerings, the Pro Program offers higher levels of technical support and a listing on GoDaddy’s directory of web designers and developers.
The full Pro Program, which is available to designers and developers for free, includes:
- Pro ManageWP -- WordPress site management tools that enable one-click bulk updates for multiple WordPress sites.
- GoDaddy Pro Clients -- A singe place to manage client accounts without having to juggle multiple client passwords. From one dashboard pros can see all client product purchases, shop for their clients or send them a shopping list for needed purchases.
- GoDaddy Pro Rewards -- Provides product discounts and promotions. Pros also earn in-store credits on all purchases.
- GoDaddy Pro Connect -- A new online directory bringing experienced web designers and developers together with small businesses who need help creating or updating their website. Using this directory, small businesses can more easily find local web professionals they trust. Web developers and designers can create a profile and earn GoDaddy client referrals.
GoDaddy is tapping a big opportunity here and a fantastic route into its target small business market:
"More than 50% of small businesses hire a web professional to build or maintain their websites every year, and this is true for many of our 14 million customers," said Jeff King, SVP of Hosting at GoDaddy. "We continue to strengthen our partnerships with web pros globally, especially through our world-class platform and Pro Program that provides innovative tools and great economic benefits."
This is a logical addition and has limited cost to GoDaddy, while offering significant value for its customers. Altogether a win/win.