You’re at a crossroads. Your company’s website hasn’t been generating nearly enough traffic -- and the resulting void in sales leads has left you scratching your head.
So, you’ve found a friend in HubSpot's CMS (content management system). The benefits are palpable. But what would packing up and moving mean for your current website?
Do you love your site as it is? What if you’re happy with only certain parts parts of your current site? Can you pick and choose pages for “going live” with HubSpot?
No matter the angle, the correct answer is "yes."
So whether you’re saying yes, maybe, or no to HubSpot, here are some options available to you.
There's a reason (or 10) B2Bs flock to HubSpot. The CMS offers an extremely flexible, closed-loop solution for growing a brand and a sales pipeline. Much like with WordPress, there are thousands of integrations available to make it easier to transition and work alongside your other tools.
But perhaps you like your website as it is. You spent months going back and forth with your web dev to make it perfect. It looks great and performs well on both desktop and mobile devices.
Don't worry -- there are several options (which we'll explain below). No matter the exact path, you’ll have access to your familiar site AND a host of tools to help you monitor, analyze, and adjust your marketing strategies to help you attract, convert, and close leads.
It's possible to build a facsimile of your website in HubSpot, no matter the current host. This includes all* of your existing site content and styling. This is a great option if your customers already love and are super-comfortable with the site's user experience (UX).
(*There are limitations we'll cover in a bit.)
You can simply keep your site as it looks and feels now and move it to a new host -- and you’ll avoid the pain of changing your URL! There may also be fewer hiccups that temporarily decrease site performance and rankings in Google Search.
You may like most, if not all, of your current website. But you think some things would be best managed by HubSpot.
No worries. That’s common.
Many companies choose to migrate only their blog domain or landing pages to HubSpot. While it’s not as effective as moving your entire site over, you’ll still have access to the same web analysis, content management, and optimization tools.
Just migrating your blog alone will bring several benefits:
Another sneaky-useful option: The migration of your existing site content into a theme of your choice from HubSpot’s Template Marketplace.
When using a HubSpot Marketplace theme, you can either update or keep your existing branding. Either way, you won't be building a website from scratch.
HubSpot's templates are mobile-responsive, ensuring your site will look on smartphones and tablets. On the downside, buying off the shelf means your site may look similar to a competitor's, and there's slightly less wiggle room for customization.
Migrating a website to HubSpot (or anywhere) is a complicated process with many steps:
You have three options for making a website relocation happen:
HubSpot itself offers website migration as a service. A dedicated "replatforming specialist" will assist you in navigating the relocation, every step of the way.
HubSpot will only do this for subscribers to its Content Hub's Professional or Enterprise tier (and Starter tier in special cases).
The Solutions Partner Program is an ecosystem of third-party agencies that HubSpot entrusts to skillfully execute web design, marketing, sales, and other activities.
If your team lacks the skills or time to update or overhaul your website, an agency can handle the tricky tech stuff:
With fewer customers, a Solutions Partner will probably give you more personalized attention than HubSpot itself.
Of course, if your team has the chops and the bandwidth, you can move a website to HubSpot yourself without having to change its look or function. Just know what you're getting yourself into. These are monthlong projects at least for a dedicated third-party team. ... How long will it take yours?
After choosing HubSpot as a host, you'll have to:
Every CMS, even HubSpot, has its pros and cons. If you want to keep a massive or intricate website 100% intact, you may run into limitations.
HubSpot's in-house service typically excludes migration of these features. Here they are, along with examples of each:
HubSpot CMS presents a strong case for switching web hosts. In additional to the benefits above, HubSpot-hosted websites can integrate seamlessly with other HubSpot platforms (i.e. marketing, sales, customer support). In other words, it's a one-stop shop for generating website traffic and great-fit leads.
Before you pick a fork in the road make sure you know what you're getting into. It pays -- literally -- to understand how SEO and UX work in the modern era of digital marketing and websites. Our free e-book serves as a steady guide for exactly that:
(Editor's note: This article was originally published in April 2017 and was recently updated with fresh insights.)