web optimization execs 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 a number of occasions, and it’s most likely value spelling out for the plenty.

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 shortly.
• Content material is up to date or optimized successfully.
• The positioning breaks or goes down. 

All of these platforms ought to have the option that will help you construct a website that’s in good standing with Google. The satan is within the particulars and the way they align along with your crew’s targets, wants and strengths.

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

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

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

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

1. Internet platform flexibility

WordPress is well essentially the most versatile and open of the three platforms in focus right here. You possibly can principally do something you need: add plugins (or not), add code, change and management every little thing. 

The issue is that it’s nearly too versatile, and if in case you have somebody in there who doesn’t know what they’re doing, you may get in hassle quick (extra on that in a bit).

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

Webflow is nice for a sure sort of setup. For example, if in case you have a fundamental advertising website with a weblog and a few function pages and wish to make it look slick, Webflow is a superb alternative. However for those who’re planning to include issues like multi-media useful resource sections and content material varieties, it could possibly 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 custom-made options.

Dig deeper: web optimization throughout web site growth and post-launch: Key issues

2. Internet platform ease of use

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

Webflow has some irritating limitations. For example, its shortcomings on sitemaps are clearly outlined. You possibly can both use an automatic sitemap, which typically 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 illustration, you’ll want to 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 absolutely unhealthy and irritating, and a number of crew members engaged on the identical website will possible maintain logging one another out with out a aware system in place.

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

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

I must also point out that HubSpot has an unimaginable bonus: for those who’re additionally utilizing it as your CRM, integrating the location and CRM is extraordinarily simple in contrast with different set-ups. 

Dig deeper: web optimization and web site design: How you can construct search engine-friendly websites

3. Internet platform safety

Should 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 spite of everything, 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 forth. 

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

You possibly can 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 plenty of “contributors” making modifications to the location with restricted holistic perspective. 

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

One answer, for those who’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 additional prices.

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

Should you’re new to site-building, this won’t seem to be a giant profit, however for those who’ve ever had a WordPress website go buggy at an inopportune time (or a lot of these occasions), it is perhaps sufficient so that you can take a look at the competitors.

Dig deeper: 12 web optimization pitfalls to keep away from throughout a web site platform migration

Abstract suggestions

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

• Should you’re on a good finances and have numerous WordPress experience readily available and perceive that your website would require numerous content material updates and customizations as you go, I like to recommend WordPress.
• In case you have HubSpot as a CRM and don’t aspire to construct the world’s fanciest website, go along with HubSpot.
• Should you prioritize aesthetics, design and interactive options – and have the correct consultants readily available to execute them – Webflow could possibly be your best choice.

A ultimate caveat: Webflow is the latest of the three platforms and constructing a group of followers and builders pretty shortly, so in a few years, this recommendation is perhaps outdated. 

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