In April, HubSpot added its' latest Hub to the family: CMS Hub. If you haven't read about it yet, CMS Hub is HubSpot's stand-alone content management system that makes building and editing your website as simple as a few clicks.
But is it a more definite contender than already well-known content management systems? Decide if CMS Hub is right for your organization by taking a look at a comparison of it versus two popular competitors: Wix and Squarespace.
Contender #1: CMS Hub
CMS Hub is not like a traditional CMS. The tool is useful for companies who feel restricted by other platforms that require regular developer involvement and maintenance. Instead, the features aim to put more power back into your marketing team's hands as well as your development and IT departments. Essentially, its goal is to make your internal teams happy while creating a remarkable experience for your leads and customers.
What Are the Pros of CMS Hub?
CMS Hub, rated #1 on G2 Crowd's picks for content management systems, removes the tediousness of managing a website with its robust features. Specifically, it:
- Works seamlessly with Marketing, Sales, and Service Hub
- Comes free with all HubSpot professional portals
- Offers universal themes that help marketers easily update the look and feel of their entire website without having to dive deep into stylesheets or codes
- Provides a drag and drop editor for making simple changes, like font styles, colors, modules, and more on the fly
- Allows developers to leverage local development workflows and the tools they prefer
- Integrates with your inbound marketing strategies like SEO, forms, live chat, and CRM information
- Helps businesses scale and grow
- Makes managing content across multiple languages simple with A/B and adaptive language testing
- Connects to the HubSpot App Marketplace where users can select from thousands of apps, integrations, and plugins
- Works with HubDB to create dynamic content
- Offers premier security right out of the box
What Are the Cons of CMS Hub?
While CMS Hub's features are robust, there are a few drawbacks such as:
- Certain features, like serverless functions and membership content, are only available in CMS Enterprise
- Pricing can be hefty for some smaller companies
- Familiarity with HubSpot isn't needed but can help
Contender #2: Squarespace
Squarespace, another popular choice, is a Software-as-a-Service CMS platform that helps users build and host websites using pre-built templates.
What Are the Pros of Squarespace?
Like CMS Hub, Squarespace is recognized as a system that simplifies web design and development. It's great for companies that want to go live quickly with a site, which is made possible by Squarespace’s:
- Inexpensive monthly or upfront pricing plans
- Elimination of the need to know code
- Extensive library of pre-built templates users can make simple edits to with the style editor
- eCommerce functionality with individual pricing plans
- In-house website security
What Are the Cons of Squarespace?
Getting up and running with Squarespace is easy, but there are limitations to this specific tool, like:
- It’s challenging to export data should your company outgrow Squarespace and need a more flexible platform
- Doesn't come with SEO tools
- Professional photography, or high-resolution source-imagery, is necessary
- Themes cannot be easily customized – i.e., no drag-and-drop editor, making marketing reliant on developers
- Navigation is restrictive, which can pose a problem for larger websites
Contender #3: Wix
Wix is by far one of the most recognized website building systems on the market. This cloud-based service lets users design and create their own sites or online stores without having to code.
What Are the Pros of Wix?
Wix is a preferred solution for users who want an out-of-the-box solution. Wix:
- Loads sites quickly
- Hosts and installs the software you need
- Provides eCommerce tools
- Makes editing templates simple through a drag and drop UI (there are also 500 pre-built templates to select from)
- Connects to the Wix App Marketplace to extend the system's capabilities
- Offers three ways to build your site: Artificial Design Intelligence, Editor, or Corvid by Wix
- Has three simple pricing plans
- Captures data for email marketing and other inbound campaigns
What are the Cons of Wix?
While Wix has been a reliable service since 2006, there are some disadvantages to using the tool. Specifically:
- The free plan forces Wix branding and advertisements
- Templates are not interchangeable, meaning you'll have to start over from scratch if you want to switch templates
- Wix sites can look similar due to limitations in editing
- Premium plans, which allow for unique eCommerce functionality and more flexibility, are only available for one site
What's Your Pick?
All three of these resources can help you build a website to attract and convert leads, but depending on your needs, one option may work better than another. For any additional information on these choices – especially CMS Hub – drop us a line. We're here to help!
