Where To Build Your Business Website

Jonathan Weiss

February 2, 2016   Follow
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Acquisition

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Deciding which platform to build your business website on is a pretty big decision. It’s not something you will likely change for at least 2 years, or even longer if you’re smart enough about how you approach website creation.

So let’s pause there for a second. Look in your wallet and pull out your bank card.

Can you remember why you chose to go with that bank? Perhaps it was their interest rate, the low fees, or was it maybe because it was the bank you’d always been with? Well, when you’re deciding on a platform for your website the same principles apply. Many people will stick with what they know, even if it’s not necessarily giving them the best possible return on investment.

The two platforms that we deal with the most are HubSpot and WordPress. Of course there are other solutions available such as Squarespace, Drupal, or Magento, though in our experience, they haven’t been as flexible as these two options. For the purpose of this discussion, we'll be sticking to the ones which we use the most and feel are the best fit for inbound marketing: HubSpot, and WordPress. 

Before we get started, this isn’t a HubSpot vs Wordpress battle. They are very different solutions and as such, each will favour different types of businesses. HubSpot is an all in one marketing solution, and while you can build a Frankenstein version of HubSpot using Wordpress, that’s not its purpose as a platform.

It should also be noted that you don’t need to build your website on HubSpot to use its marketing and sales platform. If you’re asking where to build your website and you already have HubSpot, there’s no debate, you can probably stop reading. Build it in HubSpot.

If you’re not on HubSpot yet, then here we go, let’s find out which one is better for your business.

5 Reasons WordPress is Right for Your Business: 

Wordpress is an open-source beast of a platform. It boasts a massive, loyal and well established user base within the web development community - largely due to its enormous list of plugins.

Build your business website on Wordpress if:

✅ You're an E-Commerce Business

Of course there are dedicated ecommerce platforms that you could build your website on but they all have their own limitations and lack some of the experience and functionality elements you get with Wordpress. There are a whole heap of ecommerce plugins available for Wordpress and plenty of developers out there experienced with implementing them.

✅ You Have an Inhouse Web Developer.

Either that, or you have someone you’re happy to go back to when you need to tweak things such as templates and style sheets. Wordpress is great and easy to use when built properly, and most developers are familiar with it. The downside is it’s not as simple for non-dev team members to make changes as HubSpot’s drag and drop system, but if you have a dev readily available to make small changes, then you’ll be fine.

✅ You are a Techie Person and Love Using Plugins 

Think of Wordpress as a starter pack platform. You get a great foundational platform to begin with, but where it really starts to come into its own is the sheer volume of plugins available for almost everything you can think of. If you think you’re someone who would love to test thousands of different plugins and use them in combination to create a pimped out beast of a website, then you’re going to have a blast using Wordpress.

✅ You're a Small Business and Need Something Cheap

One of the biggest drawing cards for Wordpress is that it’s actually free, excluding the hosting and domain costs. That’s for the bare bones of Wordpress though, so it is what you make it. While a lot of plugins are free, the best ones generally need to be paid for, and the same applies to themes.

✅ You Need a Blog

Wordpress is the largest self-hosted blogging platform in the world and it’s hardly surprising to see why so many people and businesses choose it for this reason. If you’re looking to build a website that serves primarily as a blog, then Wordpress is the clear choice. Its ease of use and open-source add-ons extends you the freedom to make it as simple or complex as you want.

5 Reasons HubSpot is the Right Platform for Your Business: 

HubSpot is a marketing platform first, but has increasingly become a powerful platform to build a website on. The Content Optimisation System, or COS, intends to make it as intuitive as possible for even the least tech-savvy of people, without skimping on features.

Build your website on HubSpot if:

✅ You Want Your Marketing Team to Become Junior Developers

As mentioned, the drag and drop system that the COS makes it much easier for marketers to make simple changes to the website layout. The recent update to the inline editor also makes tweaking content a breeze.

✅ You Want to Use Personalisation and "Smart" Content

Do you want your business website to look different depending on who is viewing it? HubSpot’s personalisation tokens and “smart content” are all built in, no dev work required, and allow you to tailor your content to your visitor, dictated by different factors such as their location, source, or any known contact property you set up in your contact database.

✅ Your Website is Built for Lead Generation and Nurturing

HubSpot is built for the inbound marketing methodology, which is intrinsically more suited to B2B oriented companies who are focused on generating and nurturing leads. That’s not to say it doesn’t suit B2C companies, as those with a longer consideration period will find the platform just as valuable.

✅ You Appreciate Excellent Customer Support

Customer support is something HubSpot does incredibly well. In my experiences, I don’t think I’ve ever had to wait longer than an hour for my request to be answered, and they rarely fail at solving the problem. They also guide me through the solution so I have a cheat sheet if I stumble into the same trouble again - great for self-taught tech marketers.

✅ You Want to Merge Your Marketing and Sales Efforts 

If you’re using HubSpot for your website, you’d presumably be using it for marketing and sales as well. Having your tools for lead management, digital marketing, and analytics all in one place makes it an awesome experience when done properly. The best part is that every few months Hubspot take massive strides forward in the platform, continuing to practice what they preach in growth-driven design by improving their product constantly.

Ok, I Think I Know, But Can You Tell Me Again?

Choosing where to build your business website comes down to a few key factors. I’m sorry to break it to you but I can’t give you a definitive answer here. All have their advantages and disadvantages. As a marketer I prefer HubSpot, but there are plenty of businesses that would be better off with Wordpress. With either platform you can take advantage of the benefits of a growth driven design plan to increase your online presence and add value to your ideal customer. Want to learn more? Of course you do! We planned for that and placed this handy ebook all about Growth Driven Design just below here. 

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