Deciding on what CMS to use is a decision that can make or break your website creation and maintenance experience. So you’ve narrowed the choice down to HubSpot vs. WordPress, but which one is right for you? In this article, we discuss:
- The differences between HubSpot vs. WordPress
- HubSpot and WordPress pros and cons
- Use cases
- Frequently asked questions
What is HubSpot?
The HubSpot Content Management System (CMS) is a website builder and blogging platform that works with HubSpot’s other services including email, analytics, and SEO services. HubSpot is a CMS that’s built on top of a CRM platform.
What is WordPress?
WordPress is the most popular CMS used by website owners. It’s a free, open-source CMS that allows users to edit and publish website content.
This article will focus on the CMS capabilities of both of these platforms.
Usability
HubSpot provides an intuitive and user-friendly experience, that means you can get started building your website with little technical knowledge. Using the drag-and-drop editor it’s simple to start building out web pages. You are also provided with real-time front-end previews so it’s easy to see what your page will look like straight away and make any adjustments as you go along.
HubSpot also offers a relational database called HubDB. Setting this up requires web developer expertise, however once this is set up you’ll be able to generate and update content within a structured table format.
WordPress is an easy-to-use platform. New users may experience a slight learning curve, however the intuitive interface makes it quick for beginners to get started to build out their site. Posts and pages can be created seamlessly, and additional functionality can be accessed through the use of themes and plugins.
Design
For the actual design of your website, the options offer hugely.
HubSpot provides some default themes that are available for free when you sign up for a HubSpot CMS account. You can also access the HubSpot Marketplace which offers over 500 themes, tailored to different businesses, with both free and paid options.
WordPress in contrast offers a far larger variety of themes. With over 12,000 themes to choose from, the opportunities are endless for designing your website. WordPress is a far more flexible option, with a lot more room for customisation when it comes to design.
Hosting and Maintenance
HubSpot offers a fully-hosted platform with everything included within the licence fee. HubSpot’s content marketing software offers premium website hosting for free, without extra charges based on usage. HubSpot will manage the infrastructure behind your site.
With WordPress CMS (WordPress.org), this is usually self-hosted. You can get WordPress hosting services through WordPress.com however, and other hosting providers provide web hosting services optimised for websites built with WordPress.
Self-hosting your website using WordPress offers several benefits including:
- Full control over your website
- Increased customisation options
- Freedom to optimise for performance and scalability
- Ownership of your data and content
- Cost-effectiveness long term
Security
HubSpot’s hosting automatically applies security updates, and includes built-in security features like SSL certificates, reCAPTCHA and spam filtering.
WordPress however requires manual updates and security management and you’ll need to install security plugins and obtain SSL certificates yourself. There are more potential vulnerabilities through faulty plugins on WordPress, so be careful what plugins you install and make sure to update these regularly to protect against any security vulnerabilities.
Customisation
HubSpot does offer some customisation options, however the scope here is more limited than WordPress, and a web developer’s help would likely be required for significant changes.
WordPress on the other hand is the true leader when it comes to customisation. With over 59,000 plugins to choose from and over 12,000 themes, the opportunities for customisation are extensive. For more advanced customisations, you may wish to enlist the help of a WordPress specific developer to fully optimise your site.
Scalability
As WordPress is usually self-hosted, this tends to offer higher scalability than HubSpot. Its open-source nature and extensive plugin ecosystem make scalability a key benefit of using WordPress.
WordPress can be used for every website from small businesses and simple blogs to large e-commerce platforms. Through plugins and themes you can significantly customise and expand your website. However, WordPress does tend to require more hands-on management than other platforms.
HubSpot is designed to scale with your business growth and does offer built-in tools that can grow with your business without the need for installing additional plugins. However, you may experience limitations due to the more controlled environment.
If customisation options and control are important to you, then we recommend selecting WordPress. If you’d like a streamlined option with less hands-on management, then HubSpot may be the better choice for you.
SEO
HubSpot offers built-in SEO features directly in the platform including custom SEO recommendations for pages and posts as well as a navigation menu editor and SEO analytics. The SEO tools offered by HubSpot can be used even if you have limited SEO experience, meaning you can implement SEO strategies with ease through the platform. HubSpot SEO tools offer a range of features spanning keyword research, on-page optimisation tools, technical SEO tools and a link-building tool.
HubSpot’s SEO tools include keyword optimisation tools so you can see how to optimise keywords on your site. You can clearly see recommendations ranked in priority order with information on what pages to update and actions to take.
HubSpot provides a content strategy tool with suggestions on topics to build content around, as well as powerful SEO data monitoring tools to analyse your website’s performance and assess the impact of your optimisations. With HubSpot’s SEO marketing software you can track your keyword data and topics to help inform your content marketing strategy, as well as integrate with Google Search Console and HubSpot’s CMS tools to support your inbound marketing efforts.
WordPress offers SEO tools through plugins like All in One SEO, Yoast and Rank Math. This offers a variety of choices as well as options to optimise for everything, from technical SEO optimisations to on-page SEO optimisations. This allows you to create more advanced and customised SEO strategies, and provides enhanced flexibility.
If you prefer an all-in-one solution for SEO, without reliance on third-party plugins, then HubSpot may be the right choice for you. If you prioritise customisation options and flexibility, and are able to invest more time in advanced SEO strategies, then WordPress would be the preferred choice.
Content management
HubSpot offers a streamlined content management experience with real-time editing with instant preview. HubSpot hosts blogs on a subdomain, which could negatively impact user experience.
WordPress was originally developed as a blogging platform, and allows you to create a variety of content types. In contrast to HubSpot, you can house your blog on the same URL structure as your main site.
WordPress is stronger for blogging than HubSpot CMS due to the flexibility and customisation options offered.
Support
HubSpot provides different support channels depending on your subscription level, included in the cost. HubSpot also provides a Help Center and the HubSpot Academy including resources, documentation and guides. Although smaller than WordPress’s, HubSpot does have an engaged user community where you can get help from others.
WordPress’s large community of users and developers means support is always available from other users through areas such as the WordPress.org support forums. WordPress.com offers support guides, and the WordPress Development Stack Exchange is a dedicated Q&A platform for WordPress developers. You can also gain third-party support from dedicated WordPress agencies and developers.
WordPress relies more on community-based support compared to HubSpot which provides more dedicated support. The choice between HubSpot and WordPress on this basis depends on your technical expertise as well as your preference for community-based vs. platform provided support.
HubSpot vs. WordPress: Key differences:
- Flexibility: WordPress offers more customisation options, however HubSpot provides an all-in-one solution with integrated tools.
- Purpose: WordPress is a general purpose CMS which can be used by all kinds of websites, whereas HubSpot is largely focused on marketing and sales.
- Usability: WordPress is intuitive and user-friendly, however HubSpot may be preferable for beginners and non-technical users due to its streamlined approach.
- Scalability: WordPress is highly scalable for any type of website. HubSpot on the other hand is more geared towards businesses focused on inbound marketing or sales.
HubSpot vs. WordPress FAQs
Is HubSpot or WordPress better?
For website owners who prioritise flexibility and ability to customise, WordPress would be the preferred option. For those who would prefer an all-in-one solution, HubSpot may be the better choice.
Is HubSpot good for building a website?
Yes, depending on the websites you are trying to create. HubSpot is a useful tool to create websites focused on inbound marketing and SEO.
Can HubSpot work with WordPress?
HubSpot offers a plugin that can be used on websites powered by WordPress to add HubSpot forms to WordPress pages and posts among other features.
Is HubSpot CMS good for SEO?
HubSpot is SEO-friendly, and does offer several built-in SEO features that allow you to make everything from on-page, technical to content SEO optimisations.
Find out more about WordPress vs. other platforms in our guides: WordPress vs. Wix vs. Squarespace, WordPress vs. Joomla, WordPress vs. Drupal, WordPress vs. Webflow, WordPress vs. Umbraco and Headless CMS vs. WordPress.
Yellowball has an award-winning team of WordPress website designers to get your ideal WordPress website up and running. Visit our portfolio to see some of the amazing things we’ve been able to achieve with WordPress. Have a vision for your website? Talk to us! We’ll make it a reality.
