It's not just the website that's getting moved. Your business is being migrated, improved, and optimized...when it's done right. And that's about the best outcome you can achieve from a website migration.

First, know that HubSpot is an application. You can't simply download and zip your current website and then unzip it into HubSpot. What gets migrated is the content. Content includes obvious things like text and images, as well as less obvious things like redirects, special codes, and contact properties. Everything else is rebuilt...templates, page layouts and design, animations, content modules and more are a result of new development efforts.

To facilitate this technical process, a HubSpot website migration expert manages it. This expert oversees the transfer of digital assets from your current website platform to HubSpot's CMS (Content Management System) and potentially the CRM (Customer Relationship Management) system, too - because forms and conversion pages overlap multiple HubSpot Hubs. It is possible to do CMS and CRM migrations separately or together.

Managing the process well is critical. Get it right, and incredible opportunities present themselves. Getting it wrong will likely experience frustration, downtime, and job insecurity. Website migrations offer an opportunity for businesses looking to leverage the advanced features of HubSpot to grow their business.

First, check out the considerations, then learn what can and cannot be migrated.

Six primary considerations for website migrations.

1: Can You Loop in the Right People?

The first step in the migration process is to involve the right people. This doesn't necessarily mean the CEO needs to be involved in every detail, but relevant team members should be included. The involvement of users increases confidence and accuracy of migration results.

Website migration experts coordinate with these key stakeholders to ensure a streamlined migration process. This includes project managers, marketing and sales teams, and IT personnel. Their input and cooperation are essential to identify the current system's limitations and set expectations for the new HubSpot system.

A head's up to sales and marketing execs, great website migrations are never not hands-off, nor are they something to delegate to a junior or external firm. Too many strategic decisions are made during the process to risk in the hands of newbs. It's best practice (and smart) to assign an internal stakeholder to the process who'll work closely with the migration team.

2: What are the Method(s) of Migration?

Next, the expert will determine the method of migration. This could involve using HubSpot's built-in tools or third-party services, or good old manual labor. The method chosen will be based on the business's specific requirements and the complexity of the migration.

The expert will evaluate the current system's structure, the volume of data, and the types of data to be migrated. They will then choose the most efficient and risk-adverse method to ensure the smoothest migration possible.

3: What Data Should You Migrate?

The migration expert leads a team who will then work with your team to determine which data to move and what to exclude. This step is crucial to avoid transferring unnecessary or outdated information to the new system. The data to be migrated could include contacts, sales data, marketing data, and content such as blog posts and pages. The expert creates a migration plan outlining what data will be moved, ensuring that all stakeholders are aware and in agreement.

4: Can You Groom or Prep Your Data Ahead of Time?

Before the actual migration, your internal team must perform a cleanup of the data. This involves addressing issues such as invalid email addresses, contacts with no owner, duplicates, and lost deals, discontinued offers, etc. This step ensures that only clean, useful data is transferred to HubSpot. There's no sense paying to transfer outdated content or data.

5: Who Will Set Up Your New HubSpot CRM and CMS?

The migration team may assign setup tasks or undertake them for you. Adding users, assigning permissions, etc are typically your responsibility. If your process involves the export/import of data, decide cut-off dates well before execution. This step ensures that the new system is ready to receive the data and function as expected and the old system worked as long as needed. Ask the expert to set up HubSpot CMS and CRM if you're not as familiar with the tools.

6: Can You Set and Stick To a Cut-off Date?

Finally, a cut-off date should be established for entering data into the old system. This date is used to migrate the most up-to-date data and prevent loss of updates or new records. After this date, any new actions should be performed in HubSpot. Be prepared for the switch.

Throughout the migration process, the expert will be in regular communication to keep your team informed. Post launch, you'll collaboratively perform testing to ensure that all components of the new system are working as anticipated. Once the migration is complete, consider engaging the migration team to support and train your team make the most of your website on HubSpot.

A website migration expert manages the process of transferring your company's digital assets to HubSpot's CMS and CRM systems. They'll need your participation to ensure a smooth and efficient migration process to meet your business goals.

What Exactly Can Be Migrated?

When migrating to HubSpot, a wide range of data and content can be transferred. Here are some of the key items that can be migrated:

1. Contacts: All your contacts, including their details and associated records, can be migrated to HubSpot. This includes both individual and company contacts.
2. Sales Data: Information related to deals, tasks, and sales pipelines can be migrated.
3. Marketing Data: This includes data related to your marketing efforts, such as email campaigns, landing pages, forms, and CTAs (Call-to-Action).
4. Content: Blog posts, website pages, and other content can be migrated to HubSpot. This includes the metadata associated with these elements, which is crucial for SEO.
5. Custom Fields/Properties: If you have custom fields in your current CRM, these can be recreated in HubSpot during the migration process.
6. Integrations: Many third-party integrations can be reconnected in HubSpot. HubSpot has a robust ecosystem of integrations, so most popular services can be integrated directly.

What Cannot Be Migrated?

While HubSpot supports the migration of a wide range of data, there are some limitations to be aware of:

1. Certain Website Elements: Some website elements, such as certain types of dynamic content, proprietary scripts, or plugins, may not be compatible with HubSpot and therefore cannot be migrated.
2. Some Integrations: While HubSpot supports a wide range of integrations, not all third-party services can be integrated. In HubSpot, integrations primarily sync data. It's important to check if your critical services can be integrated with HubSpot. And if not, what options are available.
3. eCommerce Functionality: If your current website has eCommerce functionality, this may not be fully replicable in HubSpot. While HubSpot does have some eCommerce features and integrations, it may not be able to fully replace a dedicated eCommerce platform. Consider transitioning your products to SiteShop as it is platform-agnostic, easy to use, and very cost effective.
4. Blog Comments: If your current website platform supports comments on blog posts, these comments cannot be migrated to HubSpot.
5. Importing: Some elements, like blog posts, can be imported fairly reliably. Pages, only partially.

While a website migration expert can migrate a wide range of data and content to HubSpot, these are some of the limitations. And it's not just HubSpot...similarities hold true whenever you transition between different platforms. It's important to understand these limitations and plan your migration accordingly. Got a question? Reach out.