When it comes to building a healthcare website, choosing the right healthcare content management system (CMS) is crucial. At Digital Elevator, we’ve helped numerous healthcare organizations create HIPAA-compliant websites that are both user-friendly, secure, and scalable based on marketing requirements. 

With today’s healthcare organizations demanding more options and features than ever, selecting the right platform means balancing ease of use with industry-specific needs like HIPAA compliance and CRM integration.

Given our experience with these platforms, we are excited to share our list of the five best CMS platforms for healthcare organizations, tailored to different business needs and budgets.

1. WordPress

Best For: Customization and flexibility

Pricing: Free  

WordPress powers over 40% of websites globally, and for good reason. Its open-source nature allows for endless customization, making it an excellent option for healthcare organizations with specific design needs. Paired with healthcare-specific themes and plugins, WordPress can create a feature-rich, user-friendly site that performs well for both patients and administrators.

It’s generally accepted as the platform of choice for most web design and marketing agencies, and is, by far, the most popular healthcare CMS amongst our clients. If SEO, ongoing blogging or content marketing and a diverse developer pool are important to you, it’s hard to beat WordPress. 

Features:  

• Thousands of themes and plugins  
• User-friendly interface  
• Built-in SEO tools  
• Integrations with CRM and marketing automation tools  

HIPAA Compliance: Out-of-the-box WordPress is not HIPAA compliant. However, with the right plugins (such as two-factor authentication and SSL certificates), WordPress can be customized to meet HIPAA standards. It’s crucial to ensure secure hosting and ongoing monitoring to protect sensitive data.

2. Drupal

Best For: Large healthcare organizations with complex data needs

Pricing: Free

Drupal is known for its robustness and scalability, making it an excellent choice for healthcare systems that require multiple functionalities and content types. If your healthcare organization needs a highly customizable website with complex workflows, Drupal’s enterprise-level CMS can deliver.

Used by hospitals, pharma, and health systems organizations, Drupal, like WordPress, is open-source, lending to it’s limitless capabilities, integrations, and customization capabilities.

Features:  

• Strong security features out of the box  
• Modular system for enhanced flexibility  
• Built-in access control to protect sensitive patient data  
• Multilingual capabilities

HIPAA Compliance: Like WordPress, Drupal requires customization to meet HIPAA compliance standards. Add-ons for encryption, two-factor authentication, and role-based access control are essential to ensure the protection of patient data. Additionally, Drupal’s extensive security modules make it easier to secure sensitive information.

3. HubSpot

Best For: Marketing-driven healthcare websites

Pricing: HubSpot’s CMS Hub starts at $25 per month but can range up to $1,200 per month for enterprise features.

HubSpot is primarily known as a marketing platform, but its CMS has been gaining traction among healthcare organizations due to its built-in CRM capabilities. HubSpot is ideal for healthcare providers who are heavily focused on lead generation, patient engagement, and marketing automation.

We’ve seen a drastic rise in healthcare marketing clients that use HubSpot, and while we find the CMS itself to be a bit more rigid than WordPress, the all-in-one marketing suite HubSpot provides can save healthcare organizations time and money as opposed to integrating these features into other CMS’.

Features:  

• Built-in CRM and marketing tools  
• Easy integration with email and social media marketing  
• Drag-and-drop editor  
• SSL certificates included

HIPAA Compliance: HubSpot does not offer out-of-the-box HIPAA compliance but provides enterprise-level security features like SSL and encrypted databases. However, they are working on a HIPAA compliant product that is currently in beta (enterprise customers only).

4. Webflow

Best For: Design-focused healthcare organizations

Pricing: Plans start at $14 per month for basic websites, with professional options scaling up to $39 per month or more for advanced features.

Webflow is a fantastic option for healthcare providers looking for a visually stunning website with a strong emphasis on design and user experience. While it doesn’t offer as much flexibility for backend customization as WordPress or Drupal, Webflow’s clean design interface and easy-to-use tools make it a popular choice for healthcare professionals focused on branding.

The other great thing about Webflow is that it is an all-in-one platform where the CMS and hosting are all included in the subscription. Similar to what Shopify has done with eCommerce, Webflow has simplified what may be overtly tedious tasks (such as website hosting maintenance) for small healthcare teams.

Features:  

• No-code design editor  
• Responsive templates  
• SEO tools built in  
• SSL certificates included

HIPAA Compliance: Webflow does not natively support HIPAA compliance. For healthcare organizations, Webflow can be paired with HIPAA-compliant form builders to gather and store patient data. For sensitive HIPAA information, Webflow may not be your best option.

5. Wix

Best For: Small healthcare practices and clinics with limited budgets

Pricing: Plans range from $17 to $159 per month, with options for custom domains and premium templates.

Wix is known for its ease of use, making it a great option for smaller healthcare practices that need a simple, functional website without the need for heavy customization or advanced features. Its drag-and-drop editor allows anyone to build a site quickly, but larger organizations may find it too limiting.

Wix is not recommended for HIPAA compliance as it does not offer functions for data storage, transmission, or maintenance. However, if your organization is on a tight budget and needs more of a “business card” website, it is a rather flexible option.

Features:  

• Drag-and-drop website builder  
• Hundreds of customizable templates  
• Built-in SEO tools  
• Mobile-optimized designs

HIPAA Compliance: Wix is not HIPAA compliant out of the box. It can be used for healthcare organizations, but only for websites that do not handle sensitive patient information. 

Choosing the Best Healthcare CMS

Choosing the right CMS is a critical decision for healthcare organizations in 2024. Whether you’re a small practice looking for an affordable, easy-to-use platform like Wix, or a large healthcare system that needs the flexibility and security of Drupal, it’s important to consider factors like HIPAA compliance, scalability, and the specific needs of your patients and administrators. 

At Digital Elevator, we have years of experience building secure, user-friendly websites on platforms such as WordPress, Shopify, and Webflow, and we’re here to help you navigate your CMS decision to ensure your new site is not only functional but also compliant with healthcare industry standards. Reach out to our team today to discuss your next website.