search engine optimization execs and cons of HubSpot vs. WordPress vs. Webflow

I get requested on a regular basis which net platform somebody ought to use. The principle choices are HubSpot, WordPress and Webflow. Reply the identical query a number of instances, and it’s most likely price spelling out for the lots.

Earlier than I clarify my strategy to answering the query, the very first thing to know is that Google doesn’t care which net 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 positioning breaks or goes down. 

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

I take advantage of 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 approach, is it extra open or closed? 
• Ease of use: Does it present a whole lot of helpful 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 somewhat 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 little thing. 

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

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

Webflow is nice for a sure kind of setup. For example, in case you have a primary advertising and marketing web site with a weblog and a few characteristic pages and wish 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 varieties, it could possibly get inflexible quick.

HubSpot is someplace between the 2; it’s extra closed in nature, like Webflow, however it’s extra intuitive to make use of, which makes it simpler for web site house owners so as to add extra custom-made options.

Dig deeper: search engine optimization throughout web site growth and post-launch: Key concerns

2. Internet platform ease of use

WordPress is straightforward to make use of for almost anybody. One large 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 specialists, which helps hold prices in verify. The infrastructure is extra mature; choices like WordPress Engine and managed internet hosting permit you to make quick websites with comparatively little friction.

Webflow has some irritating limitations. For example, its shortcomings on sitemaps are clearly outlined. You’ll be able to 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 example, you could 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 staff members engaged on the identical web site will doubtless hold logging one another out and not using a conscious system in place.

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

As for HubSpot, it has excellent efficiency out of the field and does a lot of issues significantly better than Webflow. The essential search engine optimization and weblog options are excellent. The hardest half is the design – there aren’t a whole lot of net designers who specialise in 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 also needs to 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: search engine optimization and web site design: How you can construct search engine-friendly websites

3. Internet platform safety

In the event 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 nasty web site. 

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 just’ll have a whole lot of “contributors” making adjustments to the location with restricted holistic perspective. 

You probably have an professional staff 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 deal with 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 presents 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 the event you’re new to site-building, this may not look like a giant profit, however if you happen to’ve ever had a WordPress web site go buggy at an inopportune time (or lots of these instances), it may be sufficient so that you can take a look at the competitors.

Dig deeper: 12 search engine optimization pitfalls to keep away from throughout an internet site platform migration

Abstract suggestions

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

• In the event you’re on a decent funds and have a lot of WordPress experience available and perceive that your web site would require a lot 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 web site, go together with HubSpot.
• In the event you prioritize aesthetics, design and interactive options – and have the suitable specialists available to execute them – Webflow may very well be the best choice.

A closing 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, ensure you keep on prime of updates and functionalities and ensure you have a secure testing surroundings and the requisite guardrails to maintain your web site in good working order.