Revamping GoDaddy’s Domain Ownership Protection
Making an Invisible Product Feel Valuable
tl;dr.
GoDaddy’s Domain Ownership Protection (DOP) safeguards customer domains from hijacking, accidental loss, and email spoofing.
Customers were paying for protection they couldn’t see, the challenge was to make GoDaddy’s Domain Ownership Protection feel visible, reassuring and valuable.
Over 11 months, I led a phased UX revamp that made DOP’s protection visible, understandable, and trustworthy, turning a quiet background feature into a visible proof of safety.
👁 688%
increase in Activity Log visits after relocation
🖱 286%
increase in user engagement and clicks
💰 12.46%
rise in DOP orders (~38,000 new orders annually)
the invisible product problem.
DOP quietly did its job in the background, but users never saw evidence of that protection.
Without visible signals or clear language, most customers didn’t understand what they were paying for, leading to low engagement, unclear value perception, and drop-offs at renewal time.
Domain Ownership Protection brings in,
$22M+
in annualized revenue
~9M
domains have DOP
the approach.
A phased revamp focused on building perceived value through visibility, clarity, and reassurance.
1
Discoverability
Surfaced protection in high-traffic areas so users could see it working
2
Comprehension
Rewrote incomplete and confusing copy into clear, reassuring language
3
Simplification
Re-moulded complex data into digestible, human and contextual formats.
4
Expansion
Added new tangible features that deepened the product’s value and purpose
Each phase built on the previous one, steadily improving understanding, trust, and engagement.
ADD BEFORE AFTER SCREENS HERE
the impact.
Visibility
688% ↑
increase in Activity Log visits after relocation
Engagement
286% ↑
increase in user engagement and clicks across redesigned areas
Conversions
12.46% ↑
rise in DOP orders (~38,000 new orders annually)
key learnings.
Visibility drives trust
people believe in what they can see.
Clarity outperforms fear
reassuring copy builds stronger confidence.
Incremental design changes compound
each phase added measurable value.
UX can humanise the most technical concepts
Even complex protocols can feel simple with the right UX
outcome.
Transformed GoDaddy’s Domain Ownership Protection from an invisible background feature into a visible, trusted part of the domain experience, reinforcing the company’s promise of peace of mind for millions of small-business customers.
detailed case study.