The Internet’s first gatekeepers are getting older, and the Web is leaving them behind

GoDaddy, the world's biggest provider of domain names and a major cheerleader of risqué TV ads, saw its stock price climb 30 percent on April 1, to about $26 a share, during its first day of public trading. But the initial public offering also brought out its share of detractors for a company loaded with debt, beset by competition and unable to turn a profit.

Amid a slew of stock offerings by major tech upstarts, 18-year-old GoDaddy -- a geezer in Internet years -- seems to be increasingly showing its age. More than half of all American small businesses as of 2013 still did not have a Web site, giving GoDaddy a big opportunity for growth. But small companies also have more ways than ever to get their word out without a Web site, including social media sites like Facebook, rating sites like Yelp and directories like Angie’s List.

In a field of nameless registry services, GoDaddy made its name with the help of time-worn marketing gimmicks, like scantily clad women, Super Bowl ads and celebrity cameos. Race-car driver Danica Patrick, their longtime spokeswoman, helped ring in the bell at the New York Stock Exchange. But to succeed as a company, the firm is pushing to grow beyond its cheeky ad campaigns -- like that depressing spot in 2015 of the puppy being sold online -- and further into the wallets of small mom-and-pop shops looking for an easy way to get online.