6min
WordPress is among the most popular content management systems in the world. While WordPress blogs have evolved into much more than simply being a blog, what's still impressive about it is that when you include all of its features, which are about as comprehensive as any other CMS, WordPress can be used for so many different uses at no charge. Not only that! Outside of everything you can do with it yourself using WordPress plugins and themes and installing just about anything you want on your site; WordPress has a thriving ecosystem of web hosts and developers ready to handle your needs. When you consider how much potential functionality it offers how easy it is to use, and the freeness), we definitely think there are compelling reasons to consider using WordPress for your company’s website.
While WordPress is a good content management system, there are other more feature-rich options available. There's nothing like having a price point that is reasonable and one that also happens to be free. However, it's important to consider the fact that when you compare it with something like HubSpot's CMS Hub which offers a variety of features that make it especially useful for marketing campaigns or email blasts, "WordPress" doesn't seem as great in comparison even if it means there are no monthly hosting fees.
What Exactly Is A 'Free' CMS?
In a technical sense, WordPress is downloadable for free. You can download the whole thing right now. But what comes afterward may be unexpected, especially if you’re just starting out in the world of web design and development. After downloading WordPress, it means you also have to download a number of other tools and plugins that are needed in order for your WordPress site to display the way you want it to look. Some popular websites use WordPress but they were built using dozens upon dozens of other well-designed and high-quality tools and plugins that are specifically used on top of WordPress.
Before building a WordPress website, it is vital to first think about finding a reliable hosting program. Although there are plenty of free options available today, free hosting services often sacrifice the speed and stability of online platforms. Instead, you may want to pay monthly for fast and secure hosting that will complement the business style you are trying to achieve with your website. Connecting with a local web designer or freelancer is also encouraged because they will know all the subtleties which go into designing an effective and clean user interface. Lastly, you're able to create plug-ins of actions so users can create things like photo galleries or comment forms right on their dashboard!
WordPress is NOT an e-commerce solution: it's a CMS. WordPress, while extremely popular and easy to get familiar with, there is a whole lot more under the surface that makes up a well-rounded website platform. Functionality like contact forms, site analytics, messaging solutions, and e-commerce are all essential extras that come at the added cost of premium themes, plugins, designers, and developers. CMS Hub provides you with all of these elements (and many more) at no extra cost so that you can focus on other key aspects of your business - which is why we say when you work with CMS Hub, you’re working from an iceberg up!
This fair comparison compares the WordPress CMS to CMS Hub by taking into account all of the extra fees you might expect to pay if you choose to build your business’s website on WordPress. We estimate the anticipated additional fees you might expect to pay if you choose the WordPress platform and then compare them to those of CMS Hub.
1. Web Hosting
If you use WordPress, you need to specify a host upon which it is installed. As a rule, most WordPress users usually opt for commercial third-party hosts as opposed to setting up and maintaining their own servers.
The cost of WordPress hosting can be affected by your company's willingness to take care of setup and maintenance.
Consider these factors:
- What is your preference: to share a server with other businesses or to have a dedicated server? Although they are often more affordable, shared servers can have performance issues if traffic spikes occur.)
- What amount of storage and bandwidth do you need?
- Do you require 24/7 customer service?
CMS Hub works in a manner that the marketing automation platform is capable enough to host your site on its own servers. The CMS Hub team will also help you migrate data from your old site to their servers for you. The cost of renting this site builder has 3 plans: Basic £19/mth, a professional level at £297 per month and an enterprise plan at £990 per month. These pricing plans look steep when compared to the £8/month with Bluehost, but HubSpot is truly worth it in terms of all they have to offer, including hosting, which is typically one of the most important aspects when it comes creating your site!
Even with the FREE and starter plan of CMS Hub, you'll have access to features like the drag-and-drop editor and the ability to create multiple-language websites. All of these are Web design essentials. Plus, you won't get as many things included with WordPress.com, such as: SEO recommendations and optimisation - helping your website how to be found by search engines; conversational bots - chatbots that help optimise user experience; A/B testing - test different versions of content or ad creatives against each other without the need for IT resources or experts; we even have a feature where it links up with Google sheets allowing you to collect data from your customers including feedback; those are just a few examples!
-
Design
WordPress sites typically use templates and CSS to define the way they look. The WordPress Theme Directory includes dozens of free themes, each with its own layout, color scheme, and ease of customisation through custom live editor panels. Premium themes are also available through third-party sites such as Themeforest and range in cost from £2 for a basic theme to over £200 for top-notch features.
Our opinion is that sometimes it is necessary to invest in your website. It's easy to see why investing in premium themes may be beneficial for you when you do so. They can sometimes come with more plugins than free options on sites such as ThemeForest. In addition, some people love the aesthetics of premium themes and don't want to go through the hassle of having to customise one for themselves. Some designers are also willing to work for free until you get a lot of traffic or if it's their first customisation gig but at some point, they too need compensation for their work and original design that we all wish will be used on our own business' website!
A lot of people choose to use WordPress as the basis for their website, and even if you find a theme you like, it will probably be lacking something that makes your business truly stand out. Fortunately, if you're willing to pay a developer, there are options available to help craft your own design. However, searching for a good administrator can become expensive very quickly and cost more than you were hoping to invest in your new site. On the other hand, CMS Hub offers a free page builder that allows users with no coding background to create unique designs themselves. We don't do all the work because we know how busy you are - CMS Hub lets YOU get creative!
There are many free templates available in HubSpot's marketplace. Additionally, there are premium options, ranging from £50 to £500 or more.
-
Plugins
WordPress plugins are a utility that takes advantage of the extensibility of the platform and offers a base level of interactivity with WordPress. Plugins allow you to expand the functionality or add additional functionality to your site with only some clicks. Many plugins are free and can add powerful features to your website, but others come with a cost – usually less than £50/year – that give you custom functionality like e-commerce sites and landing pages.
Plugins can help you secure your WordPress site, as well as provide features like enhancing it, tracking analytics, or even keeping ads off of it. While WordPress continues to become increasingly popular, the number of plugins available grows along with it. However, it can sometimes be challenging to find exactly what you are looking for - especially when so many claim to provide exactly what you need!
Whereas plugins are essential, they are not necessarily cheap. There are popular WordPress SEO plugins such as Yoast SEO, which provide valuable functionality but will cost you £99 for the premium version. Similarly, Analytics Tool MonsterInsights costs £180.00 per year for the most popular pro-level plan - no small amount. The Jetpack plugin offers hodgepodge features like analytics, automated posting to social media sites, spam filtering, and other desirable goods, but can cost users £299 per year depending on whether or not you want a business or individual account.
CMS Hub allows you to easily create your marketing content and publish it across multiple channels with a few clicks of a button. It includes an integrated landing page creator, scatter-shot emailer, SEO/SEM tool for Google Analytics integration, as well as your other forms of lead generation such as a blog platform to keep your visitors up to date on important features and changes, member subscription management and social media integration.
Evaluate Your Own Cost
Choosing a good CMS provider is more of an investment than merely paying the bills. This is because those paying the bills are also taking time and resources to switch over to another one in case, they feel they made a mistake. Therefore, one must evaluate how much it will cost them both in time and money - not just monetarily but also emotionally - to switch from the WordPress platform to another CMS provider like HubSpot. However, the flexible and scalable nature of WordPress allows for increasingly more complex structures to be built out based on an individual client's needs, so flexibility does not always mean added complexity. But we do want you to leave this article with this last takeaway: Don’t toss away premium content management systems such as HubSpot just because of their initial costs. Run the numbers and you may find that HubSpot’s convenience and features can offer your business far more value in terms of revenue than any “free” option could bring you!
