GoDaddy and Authorize.Net: Stripe and PayPal alternatives –
Have you have built a GoDaddy website that sells regulated products or services like premium cigars, CBD, PACT Act compliant vape, functional glass pipes, bongs, or even tactical items like survival goods, collectible knives, or FFL to FFL transfers only to have your payment gateway shut down by Stripe or PayPal?
If so, this article will provide you with the latest updates regarding GoDaddy merchant processing, the newest methods of integrating payment gateways like Authorize.Net, and how to accept credit cards for legal products that Stripe and PayPal prohibit.
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Since 2002, we have helped website owners with payment gateways and high-risk merchant account solutions. You can learn more by visiting our About Us page or contact us any time for some free, friendly advice. We look forward to helping your GoDaddy website process credit card payments online!
Setting up an Authorize.Net account for a GoDaddy website has been a challenge since GoDaddy disabled native Authorize.Net integration in 2019. Until very recently, the only option was to insert very clunky buy now buttons generated by either the Authorize.Net or NMI payment gateway.
This appears to be changing. One of our partners has tested – and is now offering – a simple way to integrate a full-featured high-risk friendly Authorize.Net payment gateway to the GoDaddy Web Site Builder shopping cart. This method utilizes a 3rd party shopping cart that drops into new and existing GoDaddy sites built using the GoDaddy Website Builder.
To process credit card payments on GoDaddy, online businesses whose products are prohibited by Stripe and PayPal often look to alternative payment gateways like Authorize.Net (or NMI). But in order to integrate a high-risk payment gateway into a GoDaddy website’s shopping cart, a few things must be put in place first.
- A 3rd party shopping cart that integrates with Authorize.Net or NMI.
- An Authorize.Net or NMI payment gateway account – generally obtained through a high-risk payment gateway provider.
- A merchant account that is underwritten specifically for your business’s exact products and services.
Of these three, the last one is often the least understood. Although often sold as a “bundle” that combines a merchant account with a payment gateway, services like Authorize.Net are actually just software as a service (SaaS) solutions designed to connect a merchant account with a shopping cart.
Without a merchant account specifically approved for your exact regulated products, you run the risk of having your payment processing shut down unexpectedly or – worse yet – having your money held by your merchant processor.
Because payment gateways and merchant accounts are often sold together – it matters what type of provider you should get them through. High-risk businesses can save a lot of hassle by getting their payment gateway from their merchant account representative, as opposed to going to a gateway provider directly and having them source the merchant account for you.
Need a payment gateway and merchant account recommendation? We can help!
High-risk e-commerce and GoDaddy – tips and resources
If you sell smoke shop items like cigars, vaporizers, functional pipes, bongs, and grinders, or survival and shooting sports items like hunting knives, bear spray, and FFL to FFL purchases, not only should you seek the advice of a qualified attorney before selling anything online, but you should also carefully review all the terms, conditions and prohibitions of your providers.
Many high-risk website owners – especially startups on a budget, like online head shops or FFL to FFL sites – are attracted to GoDaddy. This is because it has huge name recognition and is easy to use at a low cost.
As a result, GoDaddy can be a fit, but you will need to know how to set up the payment gateway and back-end credit card processing correctly. You’ll also need to tread carefully to make sure it all works smoothly.
Learn more about high-risk payment processing, merchant accounts, and payment gateways
Below are some helpful links to information on high-risk payment gateways, merchant accounts, and tips on selling common regulated products.
- Common high-risk payment processing questions and answers
- Authorize.Net for high-risk
- NMI for high-risk
- Alcohol: wine, beer, and liquor payment processing
- Premium cigar payment processing
- CBD payment processing
- Pipes, glass, and bong payment processing
- Tactical payment processing
- FFL to FFL payment processing
At Tasker Payment Gateways LLC, we’re here if you need any help at all. Whether you have questions about GoDaddy payment gateways or want expert help setting it all up, just contact us here or use our contact form at the bottom of this page, and we’ll get in touch as soon as possible.
Our experience with GoDaddy
We like GoDaddy. We’ve referred businesses to them in the past and have helped their clients take advantage of the company’s vast array of products and features. Unfortunately, like many other shopping cart software suites that offer in-house (or closely referred) payment processing, GoDaddy has never had an “out of the box” solution for high-risk products and services.
Like most hosting providers and site builders, their processing solutions do not allow for many common high-risk product types. This isn’t necessarily a deal killer, but it does add complexity.
This is what we do, we solve problems, and we love doing it. We help high-risk website owners find payment gateways, software, chargeback mitigation, and processing solutions that work with their shopping cart of choice. We’ll help even if that cart’s preferred partners, like Stripe or PayPal, don’t work in your industry.
Why GoDaddy?
GoDaddy is a popular and useful choice when starting a website or for simple hosting needs. The website you build is often free with hosting from GoDaddy, and GoDaddy can be set up with high-risk payment processing as long as the merchant account is set up correctly, and you swap out the default GoDaddy Website Builder shopping cart as discussed above.
High-risk sales are changing with GoDaddy
Off and on, for the past few years, we’ve had some real challenges with assisting high-risk clients in getting set up and accepting credit cards on their GoDaddy sites. This was the case years ago because GoDaddy’s preferred processing did not allow common high-risk product types like electronic cigarettes and FFL dealers, and they did not offer any third-party options (like the options we recommend).
We temporarily solved this problem a couple of years back. Our high-risk clients were able to process their sales based on the helpful information we relayed from an inside contact in the GoDaddy sales department. This information made it possible for us to enable our clients to prosper when using the GoDaddy site builder.
It seemed to us at the time that the only real difference was that accepting credit card payments for high-risk products required the merchant to use a third-party gateway processing combo like our Authorize.Net high-risk specific solution. This also meant that the merchant was expected to do most of the site building themselves, compared to the more one-on-one assistance GoDaddy otherwise provided.
It was a solid solution for merchants who had committed to GoDaddy’s GoCentral (GoDaddy’s standard site builder) while looking to sell high-risk items. However, the old way of making high-risk sales work is no longer an option. This means that many high-risk business owners need a new way to sell their products while using GoDaddy.
Common high-risk products section
Generally, you won’t be able to use GoDaddy’s GoDaddy Payments or similar solutions like Stripe or PayPal for your high-risk product sales. However, you can use GoDaddy to create your website and e-commerce platform and then integrate high-risk compatible processing.
Our trusted, independent agents have the experience and resources needed to incorporate the right high-risk payment gateway and merchant account along with the knowledge required to swap out the native GoDaddy cart for a 3rd party cart that allows high-risk integration.
Please thoroughly read our Foxy Cart information page if you’d like to learn more about our preferred, high-risk, 3rd party shopping cart recommendation.
Although making GoDaddy high-risk compatible sounds intimidating, we have established some valuable insights over the years that make it far more straightforward than it sounds.
Contact us any time for some free, friendly advice or to be introduced to a trusted, independent agent that will take the time to go over all the details with you.
Let’s go through some examples of products that generally require a specialized high-risk setup.
Does GoDaddy allow FFL to FFL transactions?
Yes, you can sell legal FFL products using GoDaddy. That said, there are three things you need to know:
- You need to use a suitable high-risk merchant account with your payment gateway
- Few payment gateways are high-risk “out of the box.”
- You need to swap out the GoDaddy cart with one that allows high-risk integrations.
Once that’s in place, you can safely and reliably sell your FFL to FFL products using GoDaddy.
If you’d like help, contact us here or at the bottom of this page.
Does GoDaddy allow CBD sales
Yes, you can sell various CBD and hemp products, including Delta 8 and Delta 10, using GoDaddy with the correct merchant account and high-risk payment gateway.
You can use an Authorize.Net payment gateway with GoDaddy too. First, however, you need to make sure your gateway connects to a high-risk merchant account on the back end.
You also need to integrate your new payment gateway with an appropriate, high-risk-friendly 3rd part shopping cart.
If you’d like us to take care of this for you, get in touch with us here or through our contact form at the bottom of this page.
Does GoDaddy allow alcohol sales
Yes, you can sell alcohol from a GoDaddy website with a high-risk payment gateway and merchant account. However, please be aware of the intricacies that come with selling alcohol online. As long as everything is above board, you can use an Authorize.Net or NMI payment gateway for your business. However, depending on your business model and needs, we might recommend using NMI for your GoDaddy alcohol site.
Remember, you’ll also need a high-risk merchant account to integrate with your gateway and use a 3rd party shopping cart that is high-risk friendly.
Get in touch with us if you’d like us to take care of setting you up with a high-risk payment gateway, or contact us via our form below should you have any questions.
Does GoDaddy allow cigar sales?
Yes, with the right payment gateway, merchant account, and 3rd party shopping cart, you can sell premium cigars using GoDaddy.
Of course, you won’t be able to use GoDaddy Payments (or Stripe, for example), as that would violate their terms and conditions. However, by using either NMI or Authorize.Net as your payment gateway and setting it up for high-risk payment processing, you can safely sell cigars from your GoDaddy site.
Please remember that you also need a high-risk merchant account and compatible 3rd party cart to integrate with your Authorize.Net or NMI payment gateway.
If you’d like Tasker Payment Gateways LLC to set it all up for you, don’t hesitate to get in touch. We’ll happily integrate it with your site or answer any questions you may have.
Does GoDaddy allow pipe and glass sales
Yes, you can accept payments for pipe and glass products from a GoDaddy site. However, you can’t use GoDaddy Payments and should avoid relying on other solutions like Stripe and PayPal, as you’ll likely find your business on their prohibited business lists.
With either an NMI or Authorize.Net payment gateway – that is correctly set up – you can sell pipe and glass products from your GoDaddy site.
We always encourage you to do your research to see whether your business conflicts with GoDaddy Payments, Stripe, and PayPal’s terms and conditions. However, in our experience, we’ve found you’re likely not able to use their services.
Are you looking for help setting up a high-risk payment gateway and merchant account for your pipe and glass GoDaddy site? Contact us today! We’re always happy to help.
Does GoDaddy allow vape sales
Yes, you can sell vape, e-liquid, pods, and various vaporizer accessories on GoDaddy. However, to accept payments safely, you need to use a third-party shopping cart, payment gateway, and merchant account. Therefore, it would be best not to rely on GoDaddy Payments, Stripe, or PayPal.
Additionally, you should make 100% sure you speak with a qualified attorney and that you are fully up to speed with the impact of the Pact Act.
Please read our Vape Payment Processing Updates page to learn more about the Pact Act and other issues that affect online vape sales.
What you need to sell vape products from a GoDaddy site is:
- A high-risk Authorize.Net or NMI payment gateway
- A high-risk-friendly merchant account
- A high-risk friendly GoDaddy compatible 3rd party shopping cart
Please keep in mind that not all gateways are high-risk friendly, so if you plan to get your accounts yourself, you need to ask for a high-risk account and gateway – specifically.
Please contact us if you have any questions. Our trusted, dedicated agents are more than happy to set it all up for you to start selling your vape products from your GoDaddy site sooner and more efficiently.
Does GoDaddy allow tactical gear sales
Yes, you can sell survivor and tactical gear and merchandise from a GoDaddy site. You just need to make sure you’re using a third-party shopping cart, payment gateway, and a high-risk friendly merchant account.
We want to underline that you shouldn’t rely on out-of-the-box payment solutions when you’re selling tactical products and gear.
If you have any questions about how best to sell your tactical gear from a GoDaddy site, contact us here. We’re happy to help.
An important note on high-risk sales and GoDaddy
We know of no high-risk category restrictions on what legal products can and cannot be sold through GoDaddy storefronts. This makes them an option for some merchants looking for the ease of setting up a site through GoDaddy with the high-risk friendliness of a properly set-up Authorize.Net payment gateway. However, it is a lot more involved when integrating high-risk friendly payments with GoDaddy than it once was.
Alternatives to GoDaddy for high-risk site owners
While it’s still possible to sell various high-risk products using GoDaddy via the older method of setting up a buy now button within the gateway, It’s not the easiest way to sell high-risk products online.
The 3 step GoDaddy Authorize.Net integration method outlined above has far greater potential, although even that method is still more complex than setting up payments on other site builders would be.
If you’re looking for all-in-one e-commerce solutions, there are plenty of site builders that offer e-commerce functionality to high-risk business owners. This includes Shopify, WooCommerce, and, BigCommerce. All three of these will give you “the whole package” to create, manage, and sell your products.
Please check our pages for these e-commerce platforms individually to see which might be better for you. Or you can, of course, always contact us directly. Whichever solution you choose, you will need 3rd party processing, and that is where we come in. We’re more than happy to help you find the best high-risk friendly e-commerce solution for you and your business. For more information, please click on the brand names here;
Need GoDaddy high-risk payment gateway advice?
Depending on your industry, we will recommend that you connect a specific payment processor to the Authorize.Net gateway. This piece is essential in order to avoid shut down merchant accounts and held money. Our preferred partners and independent agents will set it all up for you. Contact us first before getting too far down the line with this process.
Feel free to contact us with any questions or for a high-risk GoDaddy payment gateway recommendation.