Digital marketing is experiencing some controversy. The CMS champion of decades, WordPress, is under scrutiny. Yeah, HubSpot is threatening to oust WordPress from the top spot.
While we may be joking, Lpd Themes is a theme developer who works with many CMS platforms. We've noticed a new trend during the past few months - more and more of our clients are interested in moving over to the HubSpot CMS. We heard so much about it that we changed our business model and started offering HubSpot CMS Hub development services.
That is true! Since we have experience with both HubSpot and WordPress, I thought I'd take a moment to answer one of the newest frequently asked questions: which is better for my website, HubSpot or WordPress?
The Ultimate Showdown Between HubSpot and WordPress
Now that we know what we're talking about let's get down to it. I will take you into the ultimate CMS showdown, where we break down every essential feature you're looking for in a CMS, from usability and SEO friendliness to cost. Let's start with the basics:
HubSpot CMS: What is it?
HubSpot is an up-and-coming company. However, it does have some pretty cool features that have begun to place it on a par with WordPress. The reason you're even here is probably because of them.
Several years ago, HubSpot released this CMS to complement its existing marketing, sales, service, and growth tools. So what's the big deal? You already know WordPress as your trusted, respected content management system. HubSpot is your challenger, your usurper.
What is WordPress?
Most people are familiar with WordPress, one of the most popular content management systems. It powers some of the world's most popular websites, and you could compare it to Coca-Cola or Pepsi in web development.
WordPress is an Open-Sourced CMS. Therefore, anyone can create WordPress plugins, fixes, and modules. You have the entire world working toward improving it.
This post will cover the following topics:
- The Difference Between HubSpot and WordPress
- Editing, Design, and Customization
- Blogging & Content Management
- Tracking and Analytics
- SEO
- Marketing Tools
- Cost
- Which one is best for you: HubSpot or WordPress?
The Difference Between HubSpot and WordPress
Launching and Website Setup
You probably want to know: how quickly can I start my website?
With HubSpot and WordPress, you can download and start building your website with out-of-the-box themes. Setting up and launching a site with either CMS option is quite simple. HubSpot has an edge in terms of time because the company hosts its sites. Choosing an excellent hosting platform can take a few minutes if you have a WordPress site.
If you are okay with using a theme, then both options will provide you with the functionality you need.
The Launch and Setup Winner: HubSpot
Finally, the WordPress CMS themes have stopped dominating the market. There are a lot of paid and free HubSpot themes available on the Assets marketplace so that you will not have to face a bunch of obstacles when it comes to designing your site.
When migrating your WordPress site, you can quickly relaunch your site using the GrowFast HubSpot theme if your site does not have any special features.
Editing, Design, and Customization
Customization is a hallmark of WordPress. Approximately 30% of all websites in the world are built with WordPress. As a result of so many people using WordPress, you can almost always find a forum that has already solved your issue. Almost anything can be customized with HubSpot - you can do anything you want.
The more people who use the HubSpot CMS, the better it will become, and HubSpot is working on making it more user-friendly. However, there was limited ability to edit and customize web design.
For most business users who employ a team to manage their website, the changes won't make much difference. In this case, you'll need to hire a HubSpot developer to customize your design every day.
Winner of Customization: Tie
Both of these platforms offer you tools that you can use to create a customizable website.
Blogging & Content Management
Both of these CMS platforms were originally built with blogging in mind. When it comes to content management, they're both workhorses that pack a massive punch of power.
WordPress started as a blogging platform, which means they know how to make blogging easy. It's easy to make your WordPress blog look great with tagging, scheduling, featured images, embed, and custom design features.
HubSpot's CMS also got its start as a blogging tool. Way before you could build your website on HubSpot, you could host your blog there. And thanks to HubSpot's robust marketing background, you can do some pretty cool things with analytics and content management. HubSpot makes analyzing your content marketing strategy easy.
And as far as the technical aspects of posting a blog, HubSpot is right on par with WordPress. HubSpot has all the same blog design capabilities as WordPress.
The Content Management Winner: HubSpot
We have to give HubSpot credit for superior management and analytics.
Tracking and Analytics
This last part provided a significant lead. Anyone who markets knows that the site will only be as good as the analytics.
WordPress does not come with built-in analytics, but there are a lot of features and plugins that you can add for free. However, whatever you are looking for, you can find it in the plugin library for WordPress.
HubSpot got its start as a marketing company, and that is how they continue to dominate the market. It is not any surprise that their tracking and analytics features are crazy. Each HubSpot platform comes with built-in analytics, and you can get better data based on your subscription level. Tracking and analytics that are page-level already built-in is a big dream for a webmaster.
Winner of Analytics: HubSpot
HubSpot earned the win this round because the analytics are built-in. There is no need to set up any plugins or reports to be downloaded. Whatever you feel like looking at, conversions, clicks, sessions, traffic, etc., you can see at a glance.
When it comes to the page level, you can see where people convert and when they convert. If you use any of the other tools from HubSpot, then all of the data will be available too. You can check to see which email your landing page traffic came from, how many leads were converted, and much more.
SEO
That is another battle between customized and built-in.
WordPress has tons of SEO plugins, such as YoastSEO, the top one. However, as a platform, WordPress does an excellent job setting your site up to be successful. Clean code makes it easy for Google to crawl, and it will not hurt your search engine rankings. You can even download a plugin to compress images, check out the potential for your SEO rankings, and more. There is not much more than you can ask for.
HubSpot is there if you want more. They have built-in SEO features, and there is no need to download a plugin. They are pretty powerful, and because it is a marketing software, the SEO is done well. Yet, some users have complained that HubSpot does not give you the same access to markup code as WordPress does, but that is what makes HubSpot great.
Winner of SEO: HubSpot
Each SEO feature on HubSpot comes within the CMS, so there is no need to set up, download, or lose extra time.
Marketing Tools
That means things like landing pages, chatbots, pop-ups, call-to-actions, interstitials, and more for marketing tools. The CRM offers many more tools than that, but this is just a comparison of the marketing tools that come with just the CMS, which is what is meant when someone mentions authentic website-specific marketing tools.
WordPress has all of these, but you have to find the plugin that you will like the best to build it. All of the other tools are user-friendly, and you can create a pop-up or chatbot look integrated with your branding guidelines.
HubSpot comes with built-in tools. Even though you do not get the same type of customization as WordPress, you get the benefits of wrapping analytics from every one of those tools into your existing platform. You can get from analytics to chatbots simply using the same platform you edit your site.
Winner of Marketing Tools: HubSpot
Even though it may make you wonder, it was a close call. Both options offer similar levels of marketing tools. However, WordPress makes you go through looking for and then adding plugins, while HubSpot has these tools built-in.
Cost
That is the most significant part. The cost of these CRMs.
WordPress is pretty much free, and it is free to start a site, but you will need to pay for hosting. Then, there is a chance that you could pay for an upgraded theme or some plugins, and then you can end up paying around $200 yearly for a simple website.
HubSpot is not free. You can check out their CMS pricing for more detailed information, but you could pay $270 a year to almost $15,000 just for the CMS Hub. If you are looking for the whole package, that is an expensive cost.
That may deliver a bit of a shock to some. However, with that being said, most companies that are a good fit for HubSpot are businesses investing in marketing and who expect that the site will contribute to their sales. What does the ROI deliver if you see it from that perspective? HubSpot is great for meeting people where the budget is, but even though there could be a discount, it will not beat $350.
Winner of Cost: WordPress
That is not a huge surprise. If you are looking to save money, then WordPress will be the best option. It is free and will probably be that way for a long time. HubSpot comes with a hefty price, and it will not go away.
Which one is best for you: HubSpot or WordPress?
If you looked at the stats, then you know that the breakdown looks like this:
WordPress is best for someone who cares about customization and cost. If you want to change even the smallest detail of your website and want to do it on your own, then WordPress will be the best option.
HubSpot is best for businesses that are serious about marketing. It performs better in analytics and SEO and has some serious features to boost lead generation potential. These capabilities have a cost, and you can take a hit on the number of items you can change and control on your own, but you need to decide what is important to you.
So, which one is right for you? HubSpot or WordPress? Ask yourself, who are you?
If you are a marketing manager or director who uses HubSpot CRM and wants to have all of the tools on the HubSpot portal, HubSpot CMS is the best choice.
If you do not use HubSpot CRM, HubSpot CMS will not provide all its value, so go with WordPress.
If you are still not sure?
Hopefully, this post can help you understand if HubSpot or WordPress is the best CMS for you. If you get stuck, we will be happy to answer any questions you have.
