We’ve interviewed GoDaddy Pro team members to discuss the launch of their new sub-brand, the EXPAND 2021 virtual conference, and their vision for web developers and designers.
Featured in this interview:
- Adam Warner: Global Field Marketing Senior Manager
- Branca Ballot: VP of Marketing
- Tara Wellington: Senior Director of Product Management
Q: Hi Adam! For those readers who are not familiar with GoDaddy Pro, can you explain what it is and who itβs for?
Adam: GoDaddy Pro is an experience totally tailored to the unique needs of website designers and developers. Itβs an app, a platform, and a community. Itβs not just for GoDaddy customers either.
We built GoDaddy Pro from the ground up to empower web professionals to grow their business and save time on routine tasks, so they can focus on delivering amazing sites for clients. This year, weβre particularly focused on emerging freelancers and side hustlers, but we have something for everyone from helpful friends to big-time agencies.
Q: What would you say are the biggest goals you want to accomplish with GoDaddy Pro?
Adam: Our goal is to help web designers and developers efficiently deliver results, connect to a community of other web professionals, and help them grow their business.
Q: GoDaddy Pro isnβt exactly new. Whatβs changed in the past year?
Branca: Itβs true, the name βGoDaddy Proβ has been around for years initially representing a program weβd created for web designers & developers. Earlier this year, GoDaddy Pro became our official GoDaddy sub-brand for web designers & developers.
Over the past couple of years, we have significantly increased our investment in researching the audience, connecting with the community, and building a cross-functional team of people who understand their unique business needs.
Many of our team have run their own freelance web businesses previously and others still have their side hustles. We’re a team of passionate Makers ourselves. The journey has been exciting, and we know that the years to come will bring more exciting products, experiences, and benefits specifically designed for this audience.
Q: What does the GoDaddy Pro team look like today?
Branca: We are a truly global, diverse team spanning product, marketing, engineering, creative, and customer service β all passionate, web-pro-savvy individuals working to better serve professionals who help others with their presence on the web, or as we call them, Makers of the Web.
Many of our team members are from acquired brands, including ManageWP, Sucuri, Host Europe Group, Media Temple, CoBlocks, Poynt, SkyVerge, and Jilt. And our team continues to grow!
Q: What is the Hub, and how did it get to where it is today?
Tara: The Hub was built to save time for web devs and designers, whether they use GoDaddy products or not.
The features help web pros efficiently manage multiple sites, clients, and projects. We built on what ManageWP started, and added project management, dedicated pro support, and integration into the overall GoDaddy experience. We will be at feature parity with the legacy dashboard soon and have a ton of new features we will be adding in the months and years ahead.
Itβs completely free to join the Hub and use most of the current tools, including bulk WordPress updates, security scans, backups, and performance checks.
We have so much we want to do, and our roadmap is constantly evolving along with the feedback we are receiving from customers. As Branca said, it has been a journey, and you can stay tuned as the vision unfolds with our monthly Hub Updates.
Q: The Hub boasts that it saves web professionals 3 hours per month for every site they manage. How did you measure this and make it happen?
Tara: We did a global study of over 2000 customers and compared the results of those using our bulk site maintenance tools against those who were manually performing the same functions.
We are hoping to increase this as we integrate more features that reduce time spent on routine site maintenance, client management, and project tracking tasks.
Q: GoDaddy Pro is putting on its first virtual event – can you tell us more about EXPAND 2021?
Adam: EXPAND 2021 is a free virtual event for web designers, developers, and other digital pros. We have a compact schedule of eight speakers over two days – including pros from Google, WooCommerce, and more – ready to share their secrets on starting and growing a thriving business.
Our event platform features a live chat to meet with other attendees and talk shop. Expected attendees include web designers and developers, SEO experts, marketing gurus, and many other talented individuals.
The βexpand timeβ concept is meant to highlight the fluid nature of time.
Q: What was it like planning EXPAND 2021?
Adam: The idea for a GoDaddy Pro conference was born in 2018 when GoDaddy Pro was still a collection of tools, rather than the first official sub-brand of GoDaddy and the Hub experience that it is today. GoDaddy Pro has been committed to supporting and participating at events and in the community since the beginning.
On a personal note, my team is responsible for event marketing. Itβs been a tough year with the shift to virtual. So, this event represents a huge milestone for me.
The core purpose of GoDaddy Pro, Expand 2021, and our meetups are exactly the same as my personal purpose; to empower and inspire the next generation of web designers and developers to deliver for their clients and create successful self-sustaining freelance businesses.
Expand 2021 is, in some way, my opus for giving back to the community that raised me and giving the new generation a head start in following their own passions.
Q: How can people find out more about GoDaddy Pro, the Hub, and EXPAND?
Adam: You can register for free for EXPAND 2021. You can catch up with GoDaddy Pro online in a bunch of different ways:
- Try out the Hub.
- Follow us on Twitter.
- Read our stuff on the GoDaddy Garage.
- Watch our stuff on YouTube.
- Drop in on the GoDaddy Pro Community.
- Register for our other free virtual events.