TL;DR
If you’re building or upgrading a biotech or life science website, the right website builder depends on your goals, technical resources, and compliance needs.
- WordPress is best for full flexibility, deep customization, and strong SEO, but requires developer oversight and active maintenance.
- Wix is beginner-friendly and quick to launch, but lacks scalability, HIPAA compliance, and advanced integrations.
- Squarespace offers a clean, modern design and decent SEO tools, but has limitations with complex content and custom workflows.
- HubSpot is the top choice for integrated marketing and CRM needs, making it ideal for lead generation in B2B biotech, but it comes at a higher price point.
We evaluated each platform on performance, content management, SEO, integrations, security, visual design, and regulatory compliance. If compliance with GDPR, HIPAA, and accessibility is a top concern, WordPress and HubSpot offer the most control, while Wix and Squarespace may fall short.
Choosing the right website builder is a crucial decision for biotech and life science companies seeking to establish a robust and effective online presence. This guide will help you evaluate four of the most popular platforms in 2025: WordPress, Wix, Squarespace, and HubSpot.
We’ll examine how each builder addresses key requirements, including regulatory compliance with GDPR, HIPAA, and accessibility standards. You’ll also learn how they support content management and scalability, how they perform in terms of speed and mobile-friendliness, and how they impact SEO and organic visibility.
In addition, we’ll look at integration options with CRMs, marketing tools, and analytics platforms, as well as overall ease of use and the level of control you have over hosting and security. Whether you are building a new site or upgrading an existing one, this guide will help you make an informed choice based on your organization’s specific needs.
Key Website Builder Requirements for Biotech Companies
Biotech and life science websites need more than a polished design. They must serve as reliable, scalable tools for communication, lead generation, and compliance. Content management and scalability are critical, since these companies often need to publish complex, evolving information that must stay organized and easy to update. Performance also matters. A fast-loading, mobile-friendly site with strong Core Web Vitals keeps users engaged and improves your search visibility. SEO and organic discoverability are essential for attracting qualified traffic without relying entirely on paid advertising.
Integration with CRMs, marketing platforms, and analytics tools helps teams understand user behavior, capture leads, and measure success. Security and hosting control are important for protecting proprietary research, sensitive data, and maintaining uptime. The site’s visual design should also reflect scientific credibility, using a clean layout and professional visuals that support your brand. Lastly, regulatory compliance with GDPR, HIPAA, and accessibility standards is a must. Your website should support these requirements by design, not as an afterthought.
Analysis of Popular Website Builders
WordPress
WordPress started in 2003 as a blogging tool and quickly evolved into the most widely used content management system in the world. Today, it powers over 40% of all websites on the internet. Its open-source foundation and extensive library of themes and plugins make it one of the most flexible and customizable platforms available. WordPress is especially popular with developers and marketers who want full control over design, functionality, and integrations. Its value lies in its adaptability. It can support everything from simple blogs to enterprise-grade websites.
Content Management & Scalability
WordPress excels at content management. Its block-based editor (Gutenberg) makes it easy to publish and organize content, and custom post types allow for structured data relevant to biotech, such as case studies, publications, or product specifications. WordPress also scales well. Whether you’re managing a small site or hundreds of pages, it can grow with you as long as it’s built on a strong technical foundation.
Performance (Speed, Mobile-Friendliness, Core Web Vitals)
Performance on WordPress depends heavily on your hosting provider, theme, and plugin choices. A well-optimized WordPress site can be fast and responsive, but poorly configured sites often suffer from slow load times and bloated code. Core Web Vitals can be met with the right optimization strategy, including caching, image compression, and lightweight themes.
SEO & Organic Discoverability
WordPress is widely regarded as one of the most SEO-friendly platforms, especially when paired with plugins like Yoast or Rank Math. You can control meta titles, descriptions, schema markup, and more. It also supports custom URL structures and automated sitemaps, giving biotech marketers the tools they need to compete in organic search.
Integration with CRM, Marketing, & Analytics Tools
Thanks to its open ecosystem, WordPress integrates with virtually any CRM or marketing platform, from HubSpot and Salesforce to Mailchimp and Google Analytics. Most integrations are available as plugins, though some require developer support for advanced use cases.
Security & Hosting Control
With WordPress, you control your hosting environment. This gives you the flexibility to choose a provider that meets your security and compliance needs. However, it also means you’re responsible for keeping WordPress, themes, and plugins up to date. Security can be strong, but only with proper configuration and maintenance.
Website Design & Development
WordPress offers full control over design through custom themes and page builders like Elementor, WPBakery, or native Gutenberg blocks. This flexibility makes it ideal for biotech brands that need a clean, professional, and on-brand look. You can also find or create custom templates that align with your unique use cases.
Regulatory & Compliance Requirements
WordPress can be configured to meet GDPR, HIPAA, and accessibility standards, but it doesn’t do so out of the box. Compliance depends on how the site is built and maintained. Plugins and third-party tools can assist with cookie consent, data storage, and accessibility audits; however, you must manage these tools carefully.
Wix
Wix launched in 2006 as an all-in-one website builder designed for users with little to no technical experience. It offers a drag-and-drop interface, pre-designed templates, and built-in hosting. Unlike open-source platforms (e.g., WordPress), Wix is a closed ecosystem, meaning that everything from design to deployment is managed within the platform. Its value proposition is simplicity. Wix is built for users who want to get a website online quickly without having to worry about coding, servers, or third-party plugins. That ease of use has made it a popular choice among small businesses, startups, and individuals.
Content Management & Scalability
Wix is user-friendly for basic content management. It’s easy to add and edit pages, blog posts, videos, and images. However, scalability is limited. As biotech companies grow and their content needs become more complex, Wix can feel restrictive. It lacks advanced features like custom post types and hierarchical content structures that are common in more flexible platforms.
Performance (Speed, Mobile-Friendliness, Core Web Vitals)
Wix performs reasonably well out of the box. All sites are hosted on Wix’s servers and benefit from their built-in optimization tools. Mobile responsiveness is included in most templates, but customizations can occasionally create layout issues on smaller screens. Meeting Core Web Vitals is possible, but fine-tuning performance is harder because you have limited control over the backend.
SEO & Organic Discoverability
Wix has made major improvements in SEO over the past few years. It now offers editable meta tags, clean URL structures, built-in redirects, and integration with Google Search Console. However, it still lags behind WordPress in terms of flexibility and advanced SEO options. For biotech companies trying to compete on high-value keywords, Wix may be suitable for early-stage efforts but could become limiting as needs grow.
Integration with CRM, Marketing, & Analytics Tools
Wix offers a range of built-in tools under the “Wix Business Solutions” suite, including email marketing, contact forms, and analytics. It also supports integrations with platforms like HubSpot, Google Analytics, and Facebook Pixel. However, the number of available integrations is limited compared to open platforms, and custom integrations often require a workaround or third-party service.
Security & Hosting Control
Security is handled entirely by Wix. You don’t have to worry about hosting or software updates, which is a plus for teams without IT resources. However, this also means you have no control over server configurations, backups, or firewalls. While Wix is secure for most use cases, companies with strict hosting or data residency requirements may find it insufficient.
Website Design & Development
Wix offers a large library of professional templates, and the drag-and-drop editor makes it easy to create a clean, polished design. For biotech brands, visual credibility can be achieved with careful template selection and strong imagery. However, customization can be limited, and template flexibility decreases as more design elements are added.
Regulatory & Compliance Requirements
Wix includes basic tools to support GDPR, such as cookie consent banners and data request forms. It does not offer native HIPAA compliance and is not suitable for storing or transmitting personal health data. Accessibility tools are available, but full WCAG compliance requires manual effort. If regulatory compliance is a top priority, Wix may not be the best long-term solution.
Squarespace
Squarespace was founded in 2003 with a focus on helping creatives and small businesses build visually impressive websites without needing to write code. It’s an all-in-one platform that includes website building tools, hosting, e-commerce features, and marketing tools. Squarespace stands out for its design-forward approach, offering some of the most polished and modern templates available. Its value lies in aesthetics and simplicity, making it a popular choice among users who want a clean, professional site with minimal setup.
Content Management & Scalability
Squarespace makes content management straightforward. The platform uses a block-based editor that allows you to easily add and organize text, images, and videos. For small to mid-sized biotech companies with relatively simple content needs, it works well. However, it lacks more advanced features like custom content types or complex taxonomies, which can limit scalability if your site needs to grow in structure or complexity.
Performance (Speed, Mobile-Friendliness, Core Web Vitals)
Squarespace sites are hosted on their own infrastructure, which helps maintain consistent performance. Templates are responsive by default, ensuring good mobile usability. However, customization options are limited, and that can make it harder to optimize for Core Web Vitals or tweak performance at a granular level. Sites generally load quickly, but power users may hit walls when trying to push optimization further.
SEO & Organic Discoverability
Squarespace includes most of the basics needed for SEO, including control over page titles, meta descriptions, image alt text, and clean URLs. It also creates XML sitemaps automatically and allows for redirects. However, advanced features like structured data markup or full control over robots.txt files are more difficult to implement. For biotech companies with aggressive SEO strategies, these limitations may pose challenges.
Integration with CRM, Marketing, & Analytics Tools
Squarespace offers built-in email marketing and form-building tools and supports integrations with Google Analytics, Mailchimp, and a few CRMs through third-party services like Zapier. It’s not as integration friendly as WordPress or HubSpot, and the closed ecosystem can limit automation or custom workflows unless you’re using external tools.
Security & Hosting Control
All Squarespace sites are hosted and maintained by the platform, which takes care of updates, patches, and security. This is ideal for small teams that don’t want to manage hosting infrastructure. However, like Wix, you give up control over server configurations and data storage policies. That may be a drawback for companies with specific IT or security requirements.
Website Design & Development
Squarespace is known for its sleek, modern templates that make it easy to establish visual credibility. It’s a strong choice for biotech companies that want to present a polished brand image. However, its design system can be rigid. If you need highly customized visuals or interactions, you may find the platform limiting without custom development work.
Regulatory & Compliance Requirements
Squarespace includes built-in support for basic GDPR features like cookie banners and privacy tools. It does not offer HIPAA compliance and is not recommended for storing sensitive user information. Accessibility tools are improving, but full compliance still requires manual testing and configuration. Companies with strict regulatory needs will need to evaluate compliance carefully.
HubSpot
HubSpot launched in 2006 as a marketing automation tool and quickly grew into an all-in-one platform for marketing, sales, service, and content management. Its website builder, the CMS Hub, is designed for businesses that want to tightly integrate their website with their marketing and CRM operations. What makes HubSpot unique is its native connection to a powerful CRM and marketing automation suite, giving users a full view of customer interactions. Its value proposition centers on alignment. HubSpot helps companies unify their website, marketing, sales, and service tools in one place. This makes it a compelling option for B2B biotech companies that rely on lead nurturing and detailed analytics.
Content Management & Scalability
HubSpot CMS is easy to use, even for non-developers. Its drag-and-drop editor, templating system, and modular content structure allow teams to manage everything from landing pages to blog content without coding. It’s also scalable. As your biotech company grows, you can build out complex content structures, create multi-language sites, and manage user permissions, all from within the platform. It handles high volumes of content well and is built with enterprise needs in mind.
Performance (Speed, Mobile-Friendliness, Core Web Vitals)
HubSpot-hosted sites are fast by default. The CMS uses a globally distributed content delivery network (CDN), automatic image optimization, and responsive templates to maintain strong performance. Sites typically meet mobile-friendliness and Core Web Vitals standards out of the box. You don’t need to manage caching or server optimizations manually, which is helpful for teams without a dedicated developer.
SEO & Organic Discoverability
HubSpot includes a robust set of built-in SEO tools. Users get guidance on optimizing each page, automated sitemap generation, customizable meta tags, and structured data capabilities. The platform also supports topic clustering and pillar page strategies, which are useful for biotech companies targeting technical or scientific keywords. While it doesn’t offer the same granular control as WordPress, it covers most SEO needs for mid-sized and enterprise businesses.
Integration with CRM, Marketing, & Analytics Tools
This is where HubSpot stands out.
Its website builder is natively connected to the HubSpot CRM, allowing marketers and sales teams to track user behavior, segment contacts, and automate follow-ups. It also integrates with Salesforce, Google Analytics, LinkedIn Ads, and many other tools via HubSpot’s App Marketplace. If your biotech team relies on data to drive decisions, HubSpot offers one of the most comprehensive ecosystems available.
Security & Hosting Control
HubSpot handles hosting, security, and updates internally, which reduces IT burden. Sites are hosted on a secure infrastructure with built-in SSL, a web application firewall, and DDoS protection. You can also set up custom CDN configurations and domain security settings through the admin panel. While you don’t have low-level access to server configurations, the platform meets enterprise-grade standards and includes tools to monitor performance and uptime.
Website Design & Development
HubSpot offers a flexible design system with prebuilt themes, custom modules, and drag-and-drop editing. While it’s more structured than WordPress, it allows for a good balance between customization and ease of use. Developers can build reusable components using HubL (HubSpot’s templating language), and marketers can update content without needing to touch code. For biotech companies, this means faster turnaround times on site updates while still maintaining brand consistency.
Regulatory & Compliance Requirements
HubSpot includes features to help with GDPR compliance, such as cookie tracking, consent management, and data access tools. It does not natively support HIPAA compliance and should not be used to store or transmit protected health information. For accessibility, HubSpot offers guidance and tools to build WCAG-compliant pages, but like most platforms, full compliance depends on how the site is built and maintained. It’s a solid choice for companies focused on B2B lead generation rather than patient-facing healthcare content.
Choosing the Right Website Builder
Choosing the right website builder is more than a design decision. It’s a strategic investment in how your biotech or life science brand communicates, converts, and grows. Each platform covered in this guide offers a different mix of strengths. WordPress gives you the most flexibility and control, but it requires more hands-on management. Wix and Squarespace make it easy to get started quickly, but they may hit limits as your content or compliance needs grow. HubSpot offers the strongest alignment between marketing, CRM, and website performance, making it ideal for B2B companies focused on lead generation and growth, but the cost may be too high for startups.
As you evaluate your options, consider your current team’s resources, your content strategy, and the role your website plays in the customer journey. Whether you need tight compliance, seamless integrations, or full creative control, the right platform will support—not limit—your long-term goals.
Need help deciding what’s best for your team? At Samba Scientific, we’ve helped plenty of biotech companies build websites that meet regulatory standards, connect to marketing tools, and drive real results. Contact us for a free consultation.
