Thinking about a new website but don't know where to start? One of the first and most important steps is choosing the platform on which to build your website. There are a number of options on the market today, but in this article we'll look at two of our favourites - HubSpot CMS and Webflow.
Both are among the top solutions, but each approaches web development a little differently. Let's take a look at how they differ and when it makes sense to choose one, the other, or both.
Simply put: Webflow is "design-first", while HubSpot is "growth-first".
|
Area |
Webflow |
HubSpot CMS (Content Hub) |
|
Main benefit |
Superior design and control over site appearance |
Website linked to marketing and CRM in one environment |
|
Working with the website |
Visual creation and editing, suitable for design-intensive sites |
Editing via modules and templates, often more convenient for marketing teams |
|
Blog and content management |
Yes |
Yes |
|
Forms and leads |
Yes, often with connection to external CRM |
Yes, leads are stored directly in HubSpot CRM |
|
Automation |
Rather via integrations (e.g. CRM / third party tools) |
Part of the HubSpot ecosystem (as planned) |
|
CRM |
Not part of (to be handled externally) |
Part of the platform |
|
Site speed |
Top-notch (generates very clean code, fast loading) |
Excellent (but speed can sometimes be reduced by added marketing and measurement scripts) |
|
Developer replaceability |
Easy - huge community of developers and freelancers, very easy to find a replacement |
More challenging - requires more specific knowledge (e.g. HubL language), fewer developers on the market |
|
Templates |
Huge selection of templates with high level of design that are significantly cheaper |
Smaller selection of templates, premium options tend to be more expensive |
|
Customer support |
Average - mostly handled through email tickets and community forums |
Great - very fast and proactive support (often live chat and phone depending on the plan) |
|
Cost of development |
Standard (great competition in the market keeps prices down) |
Approximately 20% higher (you pay for more specific know-how and connection to the ecosystem) |
|
Typical usage |
Brand and marketing websites, campaigns, agency workflows |
B2B websites with an emphasis on lead generation and business follow-up |
|
Pricing model (simplified) |
You mainly pay for the website (hosting + team if applicable) |
You pay for the plan and users, often as part of a wider stack |
Webflow is the ideal choice when visual impact, speed and the ability to control the site in detail is key - without the limitations typical of template solutions.
Webflow is primarily a web development platform. The moment you need to tightly integrate a site with CRM, automations or more complex lead work, integration with other tools usually comes into play - often just HubSpot.
HubSpot CMS is suitable for companies that want the web to fit seamlessly into their processes - from first contact to the work of the sales team.
The Webflow vs. HubSpot CMS debate often comes across as a choice between the two. In practice, however, it doesn't have to be either-or. In some cases, combining both platforms - each in the role in which it is strongest - makes the most sense.
A typical scenario might look like this:
In practice, this means that Webflow provides a superior visual and user experience and data collection through forms, while HubSpot processes, segments, automates communication and delivers relevant information to marketers.
This approach works particularly well for:
Both platforms are often described as "simple to use" - and for day-to-day content management, this is indeed true. The difference is more about what you want to create on the web and what knowledge you need to do it.
In Webflow, you can take care of the day-to-day editing of your site without too much trouble: edit text, replace images, add new sections, publish blog articles or prepare a simple landing page. To feel confident in the environment, you need a basic sense of design and an understanding of how the site is put together (sections, layout, responsive behaviour).
In addition to editing content, you can often handle tasks in HubSpot that are directly related to marketing: creating landing pages, setting up forms, running email campaigns, and evaluating results in reports. Practically, a basic understanding of marketing and how CRM works - i.e. working with contacts, segmentation and follow-up activities - will help.
Summary: Yes, both platforms are usable without a technical background. But if you want to use their capabilities to their full potential - for example, with more complex templates, custom components, automations or integrations - it pays to have an experienced person on hand, either in-house or through an agency.
"Do you lack in-house capabilities? At FORECOM, we can take care of the complete implementation and subsequent management of Webflow or HubSpot CMS - so that the solution makes sense not only today, but also as you grow."
Price is often one of the main factors when making a decision. But with both platforms, it's important to understand that you're not just paying for the "site", but for the range of features, the number of users, and the overall ecosystem into which the site fits.
HubSpot offers a CMS as part of the Content Hub in four tiers. All paid plans automatically include premium hosting, SSL certificate, custom domain connection and complete security management.
The higher the plan, the more features you get (e.g. automation or reporting). A significant advantage of HubSpot is language management - in the Pro and Enterprise plans you can natively create multiple languages (and in Enterprise, multiple independent domains) without paying extra for each additional language.
With Webflow, pricing is divided into Site plans and Workspace plans. With the Site plan, you primarily pay for top-notch hosting for one specific site and the ability to connect your own domain.
The most common plans (billed annually):
What's not included in basic and extra:
Choosing a platform is not a question of which is "better", but of what your company's website is intended to do. In some places the goal is to quickly and elegantly build a presentable website, in others the website should be tightly connected to lead generation, communication and business processes. It makes sense to choose one solution based on these priorities - or to combine them cleverly.
Don't have anyone internally to check with to see which option is best for your needs? We'd be happy to go over it with you. We implement both Webflow and HubSpot, and help clients with the selection of the right platform, architecture design, implementation and subsequent development.
If you're not sure which path is right for you, schedule a free, no-obligation consultation with us - together we'll go over your goals and recommend a specific next step.
It depends on what level of CMS you're comparing them to. For basic usage (site management, blog, basic SEO and forms), the price difference may be less than it seems: Webflow is typically paid mostly "per site" (hosting/CMS plan), while HubSpot is based on the plan you choose and often the number of users. There is a more pronounced price difference for advanced scenarios - HubSpot jumps in price in Professional/Enterprise plans due to the range of features, while in Webflow the price increases more according to the limits of the site and team collaboration.
Yes - Content Hub (formerly CMS Hub) can be purchased and used on its own, without Marketing Hub, Sales Hub or other modules. But it's good to know that even with the "CMS only" option, you remain in the HubSpot environment, so some elements (e.g. contacts from forms) are naturally stored in the HubSpot CRM database. This doesn't mean you have to pay for additional Hubs - just that the CMS works within one platform, not as a completely separate system.
Yes, especially if a strong brand and quality presentation is important. However, for B2B companies with a more complex business process, it is often complemented with a CRM tool (e.g. HubSpot) to work effectively with leads.
For regular web management, usually not. However, for more advanced customizations, custom components, integrations, or automations, an experienced specialist is very helpful and will often speed up the process significantly.
Yes, and in some cases it makes the most sense. Webflow can serve as a design frontend, while HubSpot provides CRM, marketing automation and business data work.