Should You Build Your Website on HubSpot? A Comprehensive Guide

An In-Depth Look at Scenarios, Pricing, Features, and Considerations for Choosing Your Web Platform

Introduction: Setting the Stage – The Age-Old Question

Welcome to this comprehensive guide based on the insightful discussion from HubShots episode 312, “Should You Build Your Website on HubSpot?”. In this guide, we aim to answer a question that frequently arises for businesses of all sizes: is HubSpot the right platform to build your website?.

Just like the classic SEO conundrum of “how long will it take to rank?”, the answer to the HubSpot website question is often, “it depends”. This guide will delve into the various factors to consider, drawing on our extensive experience, having collectively built hundreds of websites on platforms like WordPress before exclusively switching to HubSpot around four to five years ago.

Instead of immediately diving into features and technical specifications, we’ll start by exploring different scenarios to help you determine if HubSpot aligns with your specific needs. We’ll then cover crucial aspects such as pricing, usability, reporting, SEO, and much more, providing a balanced comparison primarily with WordPress, a common alternative.

Our goal is to equip you with the knowledge and insights to make an informed decision about whether HubSpot’s Content Hub is the right foundation for your online presence. For those seeking even more granular detail, we encourage you to explore the in-depth Content Hub breakdown available as a download mentioned in the original episode.

Chapter 1: Understanding Your Scenario: The Most Important First Step

Before even considering features or technical aspects, the most critical step is to define your scenario. What kind of website do you need? What are your primary goals and objectives? Thinking through these questions will lay the groundwork for a sound decision.

Marketing and Sales Sites: A Great Fit For marketing sites focused on lead generation, landing pages, microsites, and conference sites, HubSpot is often a perfect fit. Similarly, for sales sites designed to guide prospects through the customer journey, facilitating meeting bookings, providing collateral, and engaging with sales representatives, HubSpot offers a fantastic platform.
E-commerce Stores: Not the Right Place If your primary need is an e-commerce store, HubSpot’s Content Hub is generally not the recommended solution. Instead, platforms like WooCommerce (often used with WordPress) or, increasingly, Shopify are better suited for this purpose. HubSpot does offer excellent integrations with Shopify, allowing you to connect your marketing and sales efforts with your e-commerce platform.
Learning Management Systems (LMS): Better Alternatives Exist While it might be possible to build aspects of a learning management system (LMS) on HubSpot, dedicated platforms like Teachable or Kajabi are usually a better choice due to their specialized features.
Community Sites: Look Elsewhere For building thriving community sites, HubSpot is not the ideal platform. Purpose-built platforms like Circle or Skool (the platform HubShots uses for their own community) offer the specific functionalities required for community engagement.
Membership Sites: Possible, but Consider Options Building membership sites is feasible on HubSpot, but depending on your specific requirements, other platforms might offer a more tailored solution.
Large Websites (1000+ Pages): Proceed with Caution For huge websites with more than a thousand static webpages (excluding blog posts, which HubSpot handles well), HubSpot might become overwhelming to manage. Large organizations with tens of thousands of pages often rely on enterprise content management systems, and HubSpot may not be the most suitable fit in such cases.

In summary, identifying your primary website scenario is the crucial first step in determining if HubSpot is the right platform for you.

Chapter 2: The Cost and Pricing Landscape: HubSpot vs. WordPress

Cost is invariably a significant factor in any website platform decision. It’s important to look beyond the initial price tag and consider the total cost of ownership.

The Myth of “Free” WordPress While WordPress itself is open-source and free to use, it requires hosting to run. Think of hosting like renting a house – you need a reliable place with good infrastructure. Quality WordPress hosting, whether managed or dedicated, can range from $50 to $500 per month or even more, depending on traffic and storage needs. Investing in good hosting is crucial for performance, security, and stability.
HubSpot Content Hub Pricing Tiers To build a website on HubSpot, you need to utilize Content Hub, which offers three main pricing models: Starter, Professional, and Enterprise.
Starter: An Affordable Entry Point The Starter version of Content Hub begins at $15 US per month. This tier allows you to build functional marketing or sales websites, and surprisingly, even some medium-sized businesses successfully operate their entire website on Content Hub Starter. At this lower end, HubSpot’s all-in-one offering can be more cost-effective than factoring in good WordPress hosting alone.
Professional: The Middle Ground Challenge Content Hub Professional is priced around $450 US per month. This is where some businesses might experience “sticker shock” when comparing it to the cost of WordPress hosting. However, it’s crucial to remember that Content Hub Professional includes more than just website hosting; it offers a range of integrated marketing tools that can save time and effort. Combining Content Hub Professional with Marketing Hub Pro in the Marketing Plus pack can make this tier more affordable and valuable.
Enterprise: Value at the High End Content Hub Enterprise can go up to $1,500 US per month. Interestingly, businesses considering enterprise-level website systems often find this price competitive, as other similar platforms can cost significantly more.
Additional Costs: Themes, Plugins, and Developers Both WordPress and HubSpot have potential for additional costs beyond the platform fee.
- WordPress: You might need to purchase themes (ranging from $50 to thousands of dollars) and plugins (from $10 to $200+ annually per plugin) to extend functionality. Customization often requires developer costs. Furthermore, hidden costs can accumulate with annual fees for page builders, form builders, cookie management systems, and sliders. Failing to renew these can lead to security vulnerabilities and lack of updates.
- HubSpot: Similar to WordPress, you can purchase themes (from around $200 to $1,500) and occasionally modules. However, well-built premium themes like Clean and Power (used by Ian and Craig) often include a wide range of features and regularly receive updates, potentially reducing the need for additional module purchases or custom development for common functionalities like accessibility updates. It’s important to choose themes wisely, ensuring they are properly integrated with HubSpot and actively maintained. Free themes in the HubSpot marketplace can sometimes lack flexibility and offer a less optimal user experience.
HubSpot’s Built-In Value: Avoiding Hidden Fees A significant advantage of HubSpot is that many essential tools, such as a page builder, form builder, cookie management, and even A/B testing (in higher tiers), are built directly into the platform. This eliminates the need for multiple paid plugins and the associated management and renewal hassles often encountered with WordPress.

When evaluating the cost, consider not just the platform fee but also the expenses related to hosting, themes, plugins, development, and the time spent managing these various components.

Chapter 3: Usability and Management: A Tale of Two Systems

Ease of use and ongoing management are crucial factors, especially for marketing teams who may not have dedicated IT support.

HubSpot’s Intuitive Page Builder: Consistency Across Platforms HubSpot’s drag-and-drop page builder is highly praised for its intuitiveness and user-friendly experience. This consistent builder is used not only for website pages but also for emails and other areas within HubSpot, creating a unified workflow. While older HubSpot templates might have been less flexible and relied on custom coding, the current page builder offers a much more modern and efficient experience. Investing in well-designed themes further enhances the page builder’s capabilities.
The Evolution of HubSpot’s Design Tools It’s important to note that HubSpot’s design tools have evolved significantly over time. Users who had experience with HubSpot’s earlier versions might find the current page builder and theme ecosystem to be a vastly improved experience.
The Importance of Quality Themes in HubSpot Choosing a well-supported and feature-rich theme (like Clean or Power) in HubSpot is essential for maximizing usability and flexibility. Free themes, while offering a starting point, can often be limited in functionality and customization options, potentially leading to frustration. Investing in a premium theme can save significant time and effort in the long run. It’s crucial to check a theme’s features, number of templates and modules, management within HubSpot, and update history before purchasing.
WordPress Management: Hosting and Plugins Managing a WordPress site involves keeping the core software, themes, and numerous plugins up to date. While managed WordPress hosting can handle some of these updates, plugin conflicts and security vulnerabilities can still arise.
HubSpot’s Hands-Off Management and Security A key advantage of HubSpot is that the security and management of the core system are handled entirely by HubSpot. This includes updates, security hardening, and performance optimization, even at the Starter and free tiers. This significantly reduces the administrative burden compared to WordPress, where these aspects are the website owner’s responsibility.

HubSpot offers a more streamlined and managed experience, particularly appealing to teams without dedicated technical resources, while WordPress provides greater control but requires more active management.

Chapter 4: Functionality and Customization: Flexibility vs. Ease of Use

The ability to customize and extend website functionality is a crucial consideration.

WordPress: Highly Customizable WordPress is renowned for its high level of customizability. Its vast ecosystem of themes and plugins allows for extensive modifications and the addition of virtually any feature imaginable. You can build custom themes and engage in custom coding to achieve highly specific requirements.
HubSpot: Powerful with the Right Approach While HubSpot might initially seem more restrictive compared to the open nature of WordPress, well-built themes like Clean and Power offer significant customization capabilities within the platform’s framework. The drag-and-drop builder, with its reusable modules and sections, empowers marketing managers to make updates and build pages quickly without needing developer intervention. HubSpot prioritizes speed to market and ease of use for website management.
Design Limitations: Understanding Platform Capabilities vs. Implementation In terms of design, virtually anything achievable on other platforms can also be done on HubSpot. The front-end design is driven by HTML, CSS, and JavaScript, which are accessible across different platforms. Perceived limitations often stem from the skills of the developers implementing the design or budget constraints rather than inherent platform restrictions. More complex design flourishes might require custom development on any platform, including HubSpot.
Key HubSpot Functionality: A/B Testing and Personalization A significant advantage of HubSpot, particularly at the Professional tier and above, is the native integration of powerful marketing functionalities like A/B testing and personalization. These features, which often require plugins in WordPress, are built directly into HubSpot, allowing for sophisticated optimization and tailored user experiences.

WordPress offers unparalleled flexibility and control over customization through its open architecture and extensive plugin ecosystem, while HubSpot provides a robust and user-friendly environment with key marketing functionalities built-in, especially when utilizing well-designed themes.

Chapter 5: SEO and Performance: Driving Traffic and User Experience

Search engine optimization (SEO) and website performance are critical for online visibility and user satisfaction.

HubSpot’s SEO Tools: Robust and User-Friendly HubSpot’s built-in SEO tools are generally considered very good and often meet the needs of most marketing managers. While advanced WordPress SEO plugins like Rank Math or Yoast SEO might offer a few more niche features, HubSpot covers the essential aspects effectively. Many users find HubSpot’s SEO tools to be world-class and well-integrated within the platform.
WordPress SEO: Advanced Tools Available WordPress benefits from a wide array of powerful SEO plugins that offer extensive control and advanced features.
The Speed and Performance Debate: Beyond the Platform Website speed and performance are influenced by various factors beyond the underlying platform. Heavy site functionality, complex interactions, and the use of numerous third-party scripts (like those embedded through Google Tag Manager) can significantly impact loading times on both WordPress and HubSpot. A real-world example highlighted that a perceived performance issue on a HubSpot site was actually due to the extensive use of tracking scripts in Google Tag Manager, not the HubSpot platform itself. Optimizing these external factors is crucial for achieving good performance regardless of the CMS.
The Impact of Third-Party Scripts (e.g., Google Tag Manager) As demonstrated by the HubShots example, the number and implementation of third-party tracking scripts can have a substantial impact on website performance. Regularly auditing and optimizing these scripts is essential.
Native Performance Features in HubSpot HubSpot natively handles aspects like content delivery networks (CDN) and caching, relieving users from the need to manage these separately.
WordPress Performance: Relying on Hosting, CDN, and Plugins Achieving optimal performance on WordPress often requires configuring CDNs, implementing caching mechanisms (usually through plugins), and choosing a high-performance hosting provider.

Both HubSpot and WordPress can achieve good SEO and performance. HubSpot offers built-in tools and handles many performance aspects natively, while WordPress requires more manual configuration and reliance on plugins and hosting choices.

Chapter 6: Reporting and Analytics: Understanding Your Website Data

Understanding website traffic and user behavior is essential for making informed decisions.

HubSpot’s Built-In Analytics: Convenience and Integration HubSpot includes built-in analytics that track website traffic, conversions, and marketing performance. This data is integrated with the CRM and other HubSpot tools, providing a holistic view of your marketing and sales efforts. Because HubSpot hosts the website, it can inherently track page views without relying solely on tracking scripts. While high-level traffic data is readily available, it’s important to note that users blocking cookies may not be fully tracked.
WordPress Analytics: Dependence on External Tools WordPress itself does not have built-in analytics. Users typically need to integrate with Google Analytics or use analytics plugins to track website performance. While some plugins might offer basic analytics within the WordPress dashboard, comprehensive analysis usually requires navigating external platforms.
Cookie Blocking Considerations It’s important to recognize that cookie blocking can affect the accuracy of analytics data on both HubSpot and WordPress.

HubSpot offers a more integrated and convenient analytics experience within its platform, while WordPress relies on external tools for website data analysis.

Chapter 7: Security and Hosting: A Critical Foundation

Website security and reliable hosting are non-negotiable for any online presence.

HubSpot’s Fully Managed Security and Hosting HubSpot provides fully managed security with a dedicated security team, including 24/7 monitoring and the provision of SSL certificates. This eliminates the need for website owners to worry about these critical aspects. HubSpot boasts a high reliability score for its website hosting, with minimal downtime experienced over the years. Crucially, you never experience downtime due to plugin conflicts as you might on WordPress. This robust security and hosting infrastructure is available even at the Starter tier.
SSL Certificates: Hassle-Free with HubSpot HubSpot automatically provides and manages SSL certificates for websites hosted on its platform, eliminating a common technical hurdle and potential point of failure often encountered with WordPress.
WordPress Security and Hosting: A Shared Responsibility With WordPress, security is a shared responsibility between the website owner, the hosting provider, and the plugin developers. While good managed WordPress hosts often provide security features and may offer SSL certificates, it’s still up to the website owner to keep the core software, themes, and plugins updated and to choose secure and reputable plugins. Expired security certificates can lead to website access issues without timely renewal.
Service Level Agreements and Reliability Reputable WordPress hosting providers often offer service level agreements (SLAs) guaranteeing a certain level of uptime. While HubSpot doesn’t explicitly state an SLA for website hosting, it has demonstrated very high reliability in practice.
The Problem of Plugin Conflicts in WordPress A common cause of website downtime on WordPress is conflicts arising from plugin updates or incompatibilities. This issue is non-existent on HubSpot due to its closed and managed ecosystem.

HubSpot offers a significant advantage in terms of security and hosting by providing a fully managed environment, reducing the burden and potential risks associated with self-hosted WordPress.

Chapter 8: Integrations and Plugins: Extending Functionality

The ability to connect your website with other essential tools is vital for business operations.

HubSpot’s Integration Ecosystem and API HubSpot has a robust ecosystem of native integrations with numerous third-party applications. For functionalities not covered by native integrations, HubSpot’s API allows for custom connections to be built.
WordPress’s Extensive Plugin Library WordPress boasts an incredibly vast library of plugins that can extend its functionality in countless ways. This provides immense flexibility in integrating with various services.
Missing Native Integrations in HubSpot (e.g., Instagram Feed) While HubSpot has many integrations, there can be instances where a specific native integration is missing. A common example mentioned is the lack of a direct, out-of-the-box Instagram feed integration. In such cases, workarounds or third-party tools might be necessary.
HubSpot’s Built-In CRM, Marketing Tools, and Payment Options A key strength of HubSpot is the tight integration of its website platform with its CRM, marketing tools, and even payment options. This seamless integration streamlines workflows and provides a unified view of customer interactions.
WordPress Integrations via Plugins WordPress readily integrates with CRM systems (including HubSpot), marketing automation platforms, payment gateways (like Stripe and WooCommerce), and various other services through its plugin ecosystem.

Both platforms offer extensive integration capabilities. HubSpot provides seamless integration within its own ecosystem and a growing number of native third-party connections, while WordPress relies heavily on its vast plugin library for integrations.

Chapter 9: Support: Getting the Help You Need

Reliable support can be a lifesaver when encountering technical issues.

HubSpot’s Multi-Channel Support (Email, Chat, Phone) HubSpot offers email and in-app chat support for Starter plan users. Professional and Enterprise users also benefit from phone support and more readily available chat support. Phone support is often highly responsive, with quick call-back times. This direct access to support can be invaluable when facing critical issues.
WordPress Support: Varied and Dependent on Hosting and Plugins Support for WordPress can vary significantly. Managed hosting providers often offer chat support for hosting-related issues. However, issues related to specific themes or plugins usually require reaching out to the theme or plugin developer, or engaging a developer directly. If a plugin breaks your site, your hosting provider will likely not be responsible for fixing it.
The Client Support Advantage of HubSpot A significant benefit of HubSpot’s support model is its direct accessibility for end-users. If a client makes a change in HubSpot and encounters an issue, they can directly contact HubSpot support for assistance. With WordPress, clients often end up contacting their agency for support, who then might need to troubleshoot plugin issues or contact the hosting provider, adding an extra layer of complexity.
Centralized Support with HubSpot’s All-in-One Platform If you are using HubSpot for sales, marketing, service, and your website, you have a single point of contact for support across all these functions, simplifying the process of getting help.

HubSpot offers a more centralized and readily accessible support system, particularly beneficial for non-technical users, while WordPress support is more fragmented and dependent on the specific component causing the issue.

Chapter 10: Migration: Moving Your Website

The process of moving an existing website to a new platform is an important consideration.

The General Process of Website Migration Regardless of the platforms involved, migrating a website typically involves moving content, SEO elements, and potentially rebuilding design elements.
Blog Content Migration: Generally Straightforward Migrating blog content from various platforms into HubSpot is generally feasible.
Page and SEO Element Migration: Requires Rebuilding Moving static pages, landing pages, and SEO-specific configurations often requires rebuilding or manually copying elements between platforms. A direct “lift and shift” of an entire website between fundamentally different platforms is rarely seamless.
Content Staging in HubSpot: A Powerful Feature HubSpot’s content staging environment is a significant advantage during website redesigns or migrations. It allows you to build and preview new pages or sections in a separate environment before publishing them live, offering granular control over the deployment process. This feature is often more complex to implement on other platforms like WordPress, where a full staging site is typically required.
Rethinking Website Architecture During Migration Often, a website migration is coupled with a website refresh, involving changes to design and site architecture due to evolving business needs. In such cases, a simple content migration is less of a focus than strategically rebuilding the site on the new platform.

Website migration, while possible between most platforms, often involves more than just a simple transfer of data, particularly for design-heavy sites. HubSpot’s content staging feature offers a significant advantage for managing the rebuilding and deployment process.

Chapter 11: Scalability and Future Growth: Planning for Expansion

The chosen website platform should support your business’s future growth.

HubSpot’s Integrated CRM for Scalability HubSpot’s strength lies in its integrated CRM, which seamlessly connects your website, marketing efforts, sales activities, and customer service. This all-in-one approach fosters scalability by streamlining business processes and providing a unified view of your customer interactions.
Potential Customization Restrictions in HubSpot While generally not a major issue, some highly specific customizations might feel more restrictive in HubSpot compared to the open flexibility of WordPress. However, this is usually only a concern when trying to force HubSpot into scenarios where it’s not the ideal fit.
HubSpot’s Fit for Specific Scenarios HubSpot’s scalability is most evident within its intended scenarios, such as marketing and sales-focused websites that leverage its CRM and integrated tools.
“Lock-in” Concerns: Understanding the HubSpot Ecosystem A common concern about HubSpot is the potential for “lock-in” since the website and other business functions reside within the HubSpot ecosystem. Unlike WordPress, where you can move your website to different hosting providers, a HubSpot website remains on HubSpot’s infrastructure. However, your content remains yours and can be exported. Think of it like a managed hotel experience – you can’t take the hotel room with you, but everything you need is provided. Whether this is a bug or a feature depends on your perspective – the convenience of an all-in-one platform versus the flexibility of independent components.
The Future of Migration: The Role of AI Looking ahead, advancements in AI-powered tools are likely to simplify website migration between platforms, potentially mitigating “lock-in” concerns. Tools that can replicate website designs and content across different systems are already emerging and are expected to improve.
Rethinking Your Website During Growth As your business grows and evolves, website refreshes and platform evaluations are common, making the idea of a simple “lift and shift” less relevant than strategically rebuilding on the most suitable platform.

HubSpot’s integrated platform offers strong scalability for businesses that align with its core functionalities, while WordPress provides greater platform portability but requires managing the interconnected components independently.

Chapter 12: Final Thoughts and Recommendations: Making the Right Choice

Drawing on the insights from HubShots, here’s a summary of when you might choose HubSpot or another platform like WordPress:

Choose HubSpot if:

Your primary need is for marketing sites or sales sites.
You desire ease of use and a consistent user experience.
You value built-in tools for marketing, sales, and service.
Security and hosting are a priority that you prefer to have managed.
CRM integration is crucial for your business processes.
You want an all-in-one platform for your online presence and customer interactions.
You want to avoid the hassle of managing hosting, updates, and plugin compatibility issues.
Your marketing team has limited IT support and needs a tool that “just works”.

Choose WordPress if:

You require maximum flexibility and customization options.
You want full control over every aspect of your website and its integrations.
You have a team of WordPress experts in-house who can manage hosting, security, and development.
You need to easily integrate a full-fledged e-commerce store using WooCommerce.
You have a significant number of existing blog comments that you want to retain seamlessly (migration to HubSpot can be challenging in this regard).

Ultimately, the best platform depends on your specific scenario, technical expertise, resources, and long-term goals. Carefully consider these factors and weigh the pros and cons of each platform to make an informed decision that will best serve your business needs.

Conclusion: Your Path to Choosing the Right Platform

Selecting the right platform for your website is a critical decision with long-term implications. By understanding your specific needs, evaluating the costs and benefits of platforms like HubSpot and WordPress, and considering factors such as usability, functionality, support, and scalability, you can confidently choose the foundation that will best support your online success. Remember to explore the additional resources mentioned, such as the in-depth Content Hub guide and the HubShots community, for even more detailed information.