SEO pros and cons of HubSpot vs. WordPress vs. Webflow

I get requested on a regular basis which internet platform somebody ought to use. The principle choices are HubSpot, WordPress and Webflow. Reply the identical query just a few occasions, and it’s in all probability price spelling out for the lots.

Earlier than I clarify my method to answering the query, the very first thing to know is that Google doesn’t care which internet platform or CMS you utilize; what issues is the output.

Google cares about whether or not:

• Pages load rapidly.
• Content material is up to date or optimized successfully.
• The location breaks or goes down. 

All of these platforms ought to give you the option that can assist you construct a website that’s in good standing with Google. The satan is within the particulars and the way they align together with your group’s objectives, wants and strengths.

I exploit three buckets of standards to assist folks land on their best option:

• Flexibility: In essence, the power to construct and add options and content material. Put one other manner, is it extra open or closed? 
• Ease of use: Does it present loads of useful shortcuts or is there extra guide work concerned? And the way simple is it to seek out assets?
• Safety and reliability.

Let’s look at every of these a bit nearer – particularly, how the platforms differ. 

(Disclosure: I labored at Webflow from 2018 to 2019.)

1. Internet platform flexibility

WordPress is well probably the most versatile and open of the three platforms in focus right here. You’ll be able to principally do something you need: add plugins (or not), add code, change and management every thing. 

The issue is that it’s virtually too versatile, and when you’ve got somebody in there who doesn’t know what they’re doing, you will get in bother quick (extra on that in a bit).

Webflow isn’t as versatile; you possibly can edit the pages and do primary stuff, but it surely’s way more closed and restricted, besides that you need to use very cool design and animation options. Typically, it’s comparatively exhausting to tweak and replace, and the CMS is far much less intuitive. 

Webflow is nice for a sure kind of setup. As an illustration, when you’ve got a primary advertising website with a weblog and a few characteristic pages and need to make it look slick, Webflow is a superb alternative. However if you happen to’re planning to include issues like multi-media useful resource sections and content material sorts, it could actually get inflexible quick.

HubSpot is someplace between the 2; it’s extra closed in nature, like Webflow, but it surely’s extra intuitive to make use of, which makes it simpler for website house owners so as to add extra personalized options.

Dig deeper: SEO during website development and post-launch: Key considerations

2. Internet platform ease of use

WordPress is straightforward to make use of for almost anybody. One massive profit of selecting it’s that there’s an enormous neighborhood of WordPress designers and builders, so it’s simple to seek out good, cost-effective consultants, which helps hold prices in test. The infrastructure is extra mature; choices like WordPress Engine and managed internet hosting help you make quick websites with comparatively little friction.

Webflow has some irritating limitations. As an illustration, its shortcomings on sitemaps are clearly outlined. You’ll be able to both use an automatic sitemap, which usually has mediocre high quality, or edit it manually within the UI each time there’s an replace, which is extraordinarily tedious. 

There are additionally many basic items Webflow doesn’t do; as an example, that you must add GTM code on each web page, not simply as soon as. As a CMS system, it requires many customized fields that the opposite platforms don’t. 

And don’t get me began on permissions; Webflow entry is basically unhealthy and irritating, and a number of group members engaged on the identical website will doubtless hold logging one another out and not using a conscious system in place.

The mix of its tough-to-use nature and a smaller neighborhood of (very design-focused) builders makes Webflow the least accessible choice of the three. 

As for HubSpot, it has excellent efficiency out of the field and does a number of issues a lot better than Webflow. The fundamental SEO and weblog options are excellent. The hardest half is the design – there aren’t loads of internet designers who focus on HubSpot, and it has its personal coding, so it may be troublesome and costly to make HubSpot websites look as subtle as you would possibly like.

I must also point out that HubSpot has an unbelievable bonus: if you happen to’re additionally utilizing it as your CRM, integrating the location and CRM is extraordinarily simple in contrast with different set-ups. 

Dig deeper: SEO and website design: How to build search engine-friendly sites

3. Internet platform safety

In case you’re questioning what the catch on WordPress is, we’ve arrived at that time. 

Whether or not you’re utilizing WordPress Engine, managed internet hosting or managing the location your self, it’s the least dependable of the three choices. 

In any case, the issue with flexibility is that it’s simple to interrupt issues by putting in unhealthy plug-ins, plug-ins with safety issues, and so on. 

Of the three choices, WordPress makes it far too simple to construct a foul website. 

You’ll be able to entry tons of options, add WYSIWYG builders and extra. However that may result in Frankenstein websites that look horrible and carry out worse, not least as a result of it’s simple sufficient to make use of that you simply’ll have loads of “contributors” making adjustments to the location with restricted holistic perspective. 

You probably have an professional group and strict permissions, this isn’t an issue. You probably have safety and internet hosting experience available, you possibly can mix these strengths with WordPress’s flexibility to handle industry-specific safety necessities. (Fintech, with its further safety wants, is a superb use case.)

One answer, if you happen to’re inclined to make use of WordPress, is to make use of a managed-service internet hosting platform like WP Engine, which affords safety for further prices.

Webflow and HubSpot – particularly Webflow – are constructed to maintain issues tighter and controlled, which makes their websites more durable to interrupt. 

In case you’re new to site-building, this won’t look like a giant profit, however if you happen to’ve ever had a WordPress website go buggy at an inopportune time (or lots of these occasions), it may be sufficient so that you can have a look at the competitors.

Dig deeper: 12 SEO pitfalls to avoid during a website platform migration

Abstract suggestions

To wrap issues up in a tidy set of suggestions, right here’s what I inform folks:

• In case you’re on a decent finances and have a number of WordPress experience available and perceive that your website would require a number of content material updates and customizations as you go, I like to recommend WordPress.
• You probably have HubSpot as a CRM and don’t aspire to construct the world’s fanciest website, go together with HubSpot.
• In case you prioritize aesthetics, design and interactive options – and have the suitable consultants available to execute them – Webflow could possibly be your only option.

A last caveat: Webflow is the latest of the three platforms and constructing a neighborhood of followers and builders pretty rapidly, so in a few years, this recommendation may be outdated. 

Regardless of which platform you find yourself selecting, be sure you keep on high of updates and functionalities and be sure you have a secure testing atmosphere and the requisite guardrails to maintain your website in good working order.