Your content management system (CMS) can have a significant impact on your eCommerce business, and finding the best option is often challenging. With so many factors to consider, it's difficult to decide which system will offer more functionality while aligning with your business needs, marketing goals, and technical capabilities. Two of the most popular platforms—HubSpot and WordPress—are similar in several ways, but they also have unique features and benefits. In this article, you'll learn the key points to consider when comparing WordPress vs. HubSpot.
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WordPress vs. HubSpot
Before you look at specific differences between these two platforms, it's important to evaluate them individually. Breaking down their most useful features should help clarify which option is ideal for your business.
What Is WordPress?
WordPress is an open-source platform that has evolved greatly since its launch in 2003. The system was originally meant for blogging, but it now provides users with many functions and tools that make it possible to create websites and launch them with minimal investment. WordPress is the most popular CMS on the market, accounting for more than 43 percent of all websites.
As an open-source project, it has one of the most active online development communities. Thousands of developers have contributed to the platform by creating custom plug-ins, themes, and other tools to help users design and launch websites.
WordPress Features
WordPress has a wide range of features. Here are some of the most important benefits that it offers for eCommerce stores:
Ease of Use
WordPress makes it possible to create and publish your website quickly. You don't need a background in coding or experience as a developer because the user interface is clean and simple, allowing you to easily post and edit content. If you understand how to use a word processor, you know how to use WordPress.
Extensibility & Customization
The built-in features of WordPress allow you to design and create the layout you desire, and you can build just about anything. In addition, there are thousands of themes, widgets, and plug-ins that could help you customize a website and meet your goals.
Affordability
WordPress is free to use as open-source software. However, the cost will vary if you use premium plug-ins or themes. You may also need to pay for web hosting.
Security
Recent improvements to WordPress security measures have helped protect eCommerce sites. Today, the platform regularly releases updates to patch vulnerabilities, offers automatic updates, and encourages the use of security plug-ins. Jetpack Scan is a security tool for WordPress sites that checks plug-ins, themes, uploads, and files for vulnerabilities. Still, it's vital to choose a secure hosting provider that implements robust security measures to protect against cyberattacks. A low-quality provider could leave your site exposed to serious risks.
SEO Plug-ins
WordPress has some embedded SEO tools, including custom titles and descriptions, clean URLs, and auto-generated XML sitemaps. However, plug-ins can significantly expand these capabilities. For example, Yoast SEO lets you define the meta title tags and URL slugs for your pages, and it can help address any technical issues. Rank Math also assists website owners with on-page SEO, including title tags and meta descriptions.
Scalability
WordPress offers scaling flexibility by allowing you to choose hosting services and plug-ins. WooCommerce extensions, for example, help you create a seamless eCommerce experience for a larger pool of customers.
Marketing Plug-ins
In addition to working with an eCommerce email marketing agency, you can use WordPress with plug-ins that support email marketing and lead capture. For instance, OptinMonster is a lead-generation tool that helps grow your email list and boost conversions.
Another option is Mailchimp for WordPress, which supports the growth of your Mailchimp email list and enables you to create sign-up forms. HubSpot also offers a WordPress plug-in with free forms, live chat, email marketing, and analytics.
Design and UX Flexibility
The WordPress Gutenberg editor helps you develop layouts and optimize pages for different devices. You can also take advantage of its drag-and-drop capabilities and page builder flexibility.
WooCommerce Integration
WooCommerce, an open-source eCommerce platform, is a free tool that you can use to build your storefront, increase revenue, and customize product pages. WordPress will integrate with your WooCommerce store and is compatible with more than 100 payment gateways. It also has inventory management and customer analytics capabilities.
What Is HubSpot?
HubSpot is a CMS hub with many tools that you could use to improve your inbound marketing and sales efforts. The integration of its CRM and marketing automation capabilities can streamline customer experiences as well as the process of tracking and managing interactions between your company, customers, and prospects.
HubSpot is well-known as an all-in-one solution for businesses that want to drive traffic and convert leads into customers. It provides tools for social media marketing, content management, web analytics, landing pages, and search engine optimization (SEO). When they use all the available features, businesses can develop and control successful inbound marketing strategies.
HubSpot Features
HubSpot has recently expanded its CMS features, adding website speed optimization, new themes, and improved analytical capabilities. These are some of the most essential HubSpot features worth examining:
Security
HubSpot provides a safe, secure repository for data. It performs automatic backups, and teams monitor the software 24/7 using proprietary, industry-recognized solutions. HubSpot prioritizes compliance with the SOC 2 Type II certification, which is crucial for eCommerce businesses that handle sensitive data.
Ease of Use
HubSpot supports marketers at all skill levels, so you don't need any specialized coding knowledge to use it. The out-of-the-box interface and tools allow for easy editing. In addition, HubSpot provides a learning academy that can help you improve skills, create content, and understand how to use the platform’s tools.
Built-in SEO
HubSpot's built-in SEO tools are always up to date with the latest changes to Google's algorithm. The platform offers on-page optimization advice when you're creating content. It provides integrated SEO tools, including topic clusters and keyword recommendations specifically designed for content marketers.
Inbound Marketing
HubSpot provides a variety of tools for creating and managing successful marketing and sales strategies. Among other things, they handle marketing automation, web analytics, social media management, and email marketing. For example, Groove helped Caragh Nursery increase sales by 140 percent using HubSpot email marketing.
Scalability
HubSpot is a highly scalable platform. It supports customer relationship management (CRM) and customer data platforms (CDP) to help businesses leverage data for growth.
Automation
HubSpot's marketing automation software is quite sophisticated. It features workflow automation, personalized email sequences, and data-driven retargeting. You can use it to visualize and customize workflows. It also automates lead scoring and nurturing, notifications, and follow-ups.
Design and UX Flexibility
HubSpot has recently made several design enhancements. They include new theme modules, drag-and-drop tools, and design features that support responsive and mobile-optimized eCommerce pages.
eCommerce Capabilities
eCommerce business leaders may integrate their HubSpot websites with popular platforms, including Shopify and BigCommerce. With a few clicks, businesses can synchronize their customer data for automated marketing efforts. Two-way syncs allow you to share real-time information between platforms, so you always have a clear understanding of your store performance.
Digging Deeper Into the WordPress vs. HubSpot Debate
The battle between WordPress vs. HubSpot is a well-established debate in the marketing world because these platforms offer different tools and systems for building your online business. Weighing the pros and cons of each option will help you better understand how they perform and recognize the best ways to use them.
Drag-and-Drop Simplicity With HubSpot
As an out-of-the-box editor, HubSpot has drag-and-drop functions that let you quickly build templates for on-site content. It also has a live editor, so you can actively see the changes that you’ve made. With WordPress, you might have to flip back and forth between the editor and preview when you want to see your changes.
Impressive Extensibility With WordPress
One thing that WordPress excels in is extensibility. You are free to customize websites based on your needs. With HubSpot, when you want to customize, you need to either create your own custom modules or browse the HubSpot Marketplace. In either case, more complex customization could potentially require you to hire an actual developer, which could be both time-consuming and expensive.
Sophisticated Blogging Capabilities on WordPress
Both HubSpot and WordPress offer blogging tools, but this is an area where WordPress shines. Its extensive blogging options include customizable content blocks and reusable elements. HubSpot's blogging functions allow you to create and customize content, and you can develop topic clusters with their enhanced content strategy tools.
Stronger SEO Capabilities With HubSpot
HubSpot outpaces WordPress to the greatest extent when it comes to built-in marketing and SEO functions. This area is HubSpot's specialty as a marketing company, so the SEO is automatically in sync with your site content.
This isn't to suggest that WordPress can't also provide strong optimization, but some advanced capabilities are only available if you install third-party plug-ins. These add-ons can be a bit of a hassle if they don’t work with your theme or other potential plug-ins, and sometimes a developer is necessary to help with the setup process. If you use HubSpot, everything is integrated into the software from the get-go.
Choosing the Right Platform
Determining the right platform for your business can be confusing because you have to look at the whole picture. To start, think about what kinds of resources or users will interact with the platform. Ask yourself about your goals and budget.
Business Needs
Companies that want a holistic approach tend to look at all the different angles while focusing on the consistent growth of traffic, leads, and sales. In this case, HubSpot can be a powerful platform and may be a better solution. On the other hand, if you are only looking to create content or set up an eCommerce store, or if you don’t mind getting your hands dirty setting up all the necessary tools, WordPress might be a good place to start.
If you're still struggling to decide which platform is a better fit, don't hesitate to reach out for support. As a HubSpot eCommerce agency partner, Groove can provide guidance and insights into both options.
Budget and Overall Value
Let's break down the typical cost of WordPress vs. HubSpot. WordPress offers many free tools and themes. However, if you want to build a professional online business, you'll also need to consider the cost of hosting, additional setup work, and the maintenance of premium plug-ins and themes. Those expenses can quickly add up, making the total cost at least as high as HubSpot’s price, depending on your needs.
For example, WordPress offers a $25 per month business plan with managed hosting and support. On top of that, you might pay anywhere from $20 to $200 per year for the license to use a single premium plug-in. These costs are relatively affordable for many businesses, so a company looking to create a simple website on a tight budget might benefit from WordPress.
HubSpot charges a substantial monthly fee, which might initially make it seem inferior to WordPress. However, you have to consider all the services and features that it includes. For businesses looking to have everything in one place, HubSpot is a solid solution. It has all the tools you need to help your business perform well.
In terms of the specific cost, HubSpot has tiered pricing for companies of different sizes. For instance, their professional customer platform is appropriate for small and midsize businesses. The cost starts at $450 per month. For enterprise companies, the plan starts at $1,500 per month.
Explore Your Options With WordPress vs. HubSpot
At Groove Commerce, we're serious about building a strong foundation for businesses to grow. When you’re focusing on inbound marketing, it’s nice to have everything shipped in one box and ready to use—that's why HubSpot is our preferred option. However, with that said, we don’t want to discredit WordPress or discount it as a solution for eCommerce. It's an excellent starting platform for many businesses, and we build websites on it regularly. At the end of the day, these platforms are meant to serve as stepping stones to help you achieve your business goals.
Contact the Groove team to learn more about WordPress vs. HubSpot or request a free audit of your existing site.
