…Is one way to express this case study. As a WordPress agency, who partners with WP VIP and WooExperts you might find it surprising that our website was on HubSpot CMS just until recently. Shocker, right? But why did we switch to HubSpot in the first place? What challenges were on the way? And how did we end up here? Let’s see.
We like to challenge ourselves
When we embarked on the journey of first transitioning from WordPress to HubSpot CMS, we knew we were in for a challenge. While WordPress offers an array of advantages, it’s essential to acknowledge that HubSpot CMS can be a suitable solution in certain scenarios. Back then, we decided to explore a more robust enterprise solution for our needs. We had concerns about WordPress’s capabilities years ago, but as time passed, we found ourselves grappling with the limitations of platforms like HubSpot CMS. The costs were escalating with every change, and we began to realize that these constraints were becoming a real pain in the…neck. This led us to a realization – perhaps it was time to embrace WordPress fully. But anyway, here are some reasons why HubSpot CMS was our choice back then:
All-in-One Platform: HubSpot is an all-in-one platform that integrates various marketing, sales, and customer service tools. It provides a comprehensive solution to centralize marketing efforts and manage customer lifecycle seamlessly. With HubSpot, you manage your email marketing, CRM, marketing automation, lead generation, and analytics, all within a single platform. Till this day we still use some of them! Like Marketing or Analytics.
CRM Integration: HubSpot’s CRM is robust and tightly integrated with its marketing tools. This integration allows to track and manage customer interactions effectively, create personalized marketing campaigns, and nurture leads throughout the sales funnel.
The challenge – to be honest we knew that it’s going to be harder and more challenging than WordPress (which we knew in and out at the time). It didn’t stop us from trying. Because how could we find a better way to learn HubSpot than actually working with it?
In summary, HubSpot’s strengths lie in its all-in-one platform, integrated CRM, focus on inbound marketing, dedicated marketplace, and robust support and training resources. These factors made HubSpot a favorable choice for OSOM at the time. A sozlution with a strong emphasis on marketing, sales, and customer relationship management.
It is not a secret that HubSpot CMS is not an Open Source solution. With WordPress website expansion is way easier. There are more resources, more possibilities and most importantly no limitations. But in detail these things were main reasons we wanted to switch back to WordPress:
Flexibility and Customization:
HubSpot’s rigid framework meant we had to adhere to their CMS rules and development roadmap, which often limited our ability to fully use our creativity and knowledge. For instance, HubSpot’s lack of support for advanced web technologies like webp image format or the ability to block email domains in meeting forms was a hindrance. On the other hand, WordPress provided us with unparalleled flexibility and customization options. Whether through plugins or custom development, we had the freedom to modify and adapt the platform to suit specific needs.
Ease of Use and Workflow:
While HubSpot CMS is often seen as incredibly easy to use, in practice, for most of our team members, a well-implemented and configured WordPress proved to be more intuitive and straightforward (honestly, even our marketing team found it way easier to use and learned how to work with WordPress, which, to be fair, was quite big achievement).
Cost-Effectiveness and Scalability:
With HubSpot CMS, we found that every additional feature or functionality came with an increasing price tag. This limited our ability to create customized solutions without imposing excessive financial burdens. In contrast, WordPress proved to be more cost-effective and highly scalable, allowing us to expand without significant cost increases. The decision to return to WordPress was driven by the cost-effectiveness, scalability, flexibility, and customization options it offered. The ability to tailor solutions to meet specific needs, the compatibility with existing systems, and the ease of use contributed to a more streamlined and efficient workflow for our team. Returning to WordPress proved to be a strategic move that allowed us to have freedom and independence while achieving our goals.
The ultimate goal for the project
As we embarked on the migration of our own website from HubSpot CMS to WordPress, we found ourselves facing a significant challenge that required both technical expertise and strategic decision-making. The question arose: Should we replicate the existing structure, with all its complexities, or take this opportunity to revamp and streamline our website for improved performance and user experience?
Our team of experienced developers and marketers engaged in intensive brainstorming sessions, weighing the pros and cons of different approaches. We were determined to strike the right balance between preserving familiarity for our existing users and embracing the potential for improvement.
Ultimately, after thorough consideration and collaborative decision-making, we crafted a plan. We identified areas where we could simplify things and optimize the overall performance – which was the main goal for this project. Simultaneously, we recognized the importance of preserving the core functionalities that had contributed to our previous success.
To pull the whole thing off in Osom Style, as always, we used our own boilerplate called Juniper, which in long story short is a time saver built on Timber and Bedrock. You can find more info here. (link do artykułu)
The migration process.
The project was divided into several phases, each encompassing specific objectives and tasks. Let’s explore our workflow in detail:
Gathering Project Information
During this phase, we conducted thorough internal discussions to identify our website’s specific requirements and goals. We analyzed the existing features, content, and design elements, and identified areas that needed or could be improved. This step allowed us to establish a clear vision for the project and set realistic objectives and timeframes.
Preliminary Estimation
Based on the gathered information, we estimated the scope of the project and assessed the required development efforts. We considered the complexity of the migration process (especially for the blog content) , the need for custom functionalities, and the integration of existing content into the new platform. This estimation helped us establish a timeframe and allocate resources effectively, as our dev team was still working on commercial projects.
Development
We migrated our website from HubSpot CMS to WordPress, which was not a perfectly smooth transition. This involved recreating the design elements, restructuring the content, implementing necessary customizations and a few extra hours to the timeframe. We leveraged the flexibility and extensive plugin ecosystem of WordPress to enhance the website’s functionality and improve the overall user experience.
Testing
Thorough testing was conducted to ensure that the migrated website met our quality standards and sections or features we wanted to stay the same actually are the same. We performed functional testing, compatibility testing across different browsers and devices, and checked for any inconsistencies or issues. Any identified bugs or discrepancies were promptly addressed and resolved to guarantee a smooth and error-free browsing experience for our users.
Migration
This phase involved the careful transfer of our existing content, including text, images, and media files, from HubSpot CMS to WordPress. We ensured that all data was accurately mapped and migrated to the new platform. This step required meticulous attention to detail to maintain data integrity and minimize any disruptions during the transition.
Deployment
After completing the migration and testing processes, we deployed the new WordPress website. We thoroughly reviewed the website’s performance, ensured proper functionality across different browsers and devices, and optimized its loading speed. At this point we set up analytics on our website and integrated data streams with our accounts to ensure seamless data flow. We also implemented necessary security measures to protect our website and its visitors.
The key phase of the project was the migration process itself, with a particular focus on migrating the blog. This phase posed a significant challenge as HubSpot lacked automated tools to run the migration seamlessly. To tackle this obstacle, we adopted a meticulous approach that involved manual extraction, conversion, and import of the blog content into WordPress.
Throughout the migration process, our team remained vigilant, paying close attention to any potential issues or discrepancies. We conducted thorough quality checks and implemented necessary adjustments to ensure that the migrated blog section seamlessly integrated into the new WordPress environment.
The migration of the blog section was a crucial phase of the project as it played a significant role in preserving our valuable content and maintaining the continuity of our online presence. Despite the absence of automated migration tools, our meticulous and hands-on approach allowed us to successfully migrate the blog to WordPress, ensuring a smooth transition and uninterrupted access to our blog content for our audience.
The end
Of course, like any platform, WordPress has its ups and downs. Yet, when you take a holistic view of the entire landscape, it’s clear that WordPress emerges as the most rational, overall solution. Unless you have exceedingly complex needs or hold strong anti-WordPress sentiments, it becomes evident that WordPress is probably the logical choice for companies with objectives similar to ours.
Alongside the transition in CMS, we retained several of HubSpot’s tools that we had been utilizing, such as their CRM, analytics and email marketing capabilities, which you might recognize through our once-a-month super Osom To Know newsletter (link) delivered right to your inbox.
Our transition from HubSpot CMS to WordPress was a journey of discovery. It showcased the resilience and adaptability of WordPress as it effectively addressed our enterprise-level requirements. As we weathered the challenges and embraced the benefits, we learned that WordPress isn’t just a powerful CMS – it’s a comprehensive business solution that can rise to the needs of dynamic industries like ours.
Is there a project on your horizon? Brief us in!
Let us know when you’re free, and we’ll schedule a short intro meeting online. You tell us about your project, we will ask questions, you will ask questions and max. 30 minutes later, we will know if we’re the right fit.