My worlds have recently collided: at MTR, there is a lot of interest from clients about moving their websites from WordPress to HubSpot.
At home, my kids want their own bedrooms. They promise to keep them clean, eat their vegetables, and possibly make peace in the Middle East . . . if I would just move my office downstairs so they can have the extra bedroom.
And when I explore options of each, there is actually quite the parallel -- moving my office and moving websites -- it is all about ROI.
If I were to actually consider the kids’ plan, I have the option to simply move my stuff downstairs, or I have the opportunity to take additional steps and redesign the once family-oriented space into an office that's uniquely mine.
Such is the conundrum faced by many of our clients when they want to “migrate” their website from WordPress or another CMS to HubSpot’s CMS Hub. They want to know how to minimize the investment and maximize the returns.
The kids claim their own bedroom would make them fight less and do their homework in peace. HubSpot is often used to eliminate friction and add force to your flywheel.
A very secure platform, purpose-built for marketers, easy-to-use and quick to master, HubSpot is used by some of the world's leading companies to overcome some of marketers’ hairiest obstacles, often making its value a no brainer for our clients.
If you have ever dealt with security breaches to outdated WordPress widgets, or reporting from multiple platforms that just never matches up, or having to get into your developers’ queue when your website updates are not their top priority, then you just know.
* Not actually me, either. Photo by Andrea Piacquadio from Pexels.
That is...you know you should “migrate.”
But you don’t exactly know how you could “migrate” in a way that ensures ROI.
To bust one of the industry myths, there is actually no such thing as a migration into HubSpot. There is no way to “copy & paste” or “transfer” pages - in essence, your pages need to be rebuilt on HubL.
It is similar to the problem of “migrating” my office. I have a desk that does not fit through the door - so it needs to be taken apart in the upstairs bedroom and then rebuilt in the downstairs office. Like your pages.
When it comes to moving to HubSpot, a migration is actually a rebuild - albeit a less time-consuming and less costly one.
Nonetheless, this rebuilding process takes resources. And when you need to invest resources in marketing, you must be able to show a return on that investment.
For this reason, more than any other, we typically do not recommend a “straight” migration: a one-to-one re-creation of your existing site on the new platform. To your visitors, your site will look and feel the same -- there will be little to no improvement in its metrics; and therefore, no possibility to show return on your investment.
While you could do a complete redesign while transitioning to the HubSpot CMS, a typical all-out website redesign could cost somewhere between $30,000-$100,000 and take 2-5 months, and that is often too heavy a burden for a project that was often unexpected and unbudgeted. Typically, not a wise investment.
There are basically four options for "migrating" your site:
We call the fourth option the “Premium Migration,” but it is important to understand what you get and what you don’t before you decide which path to take.
The intent of the Premium Migration is to deliver a site on HubSpot CMS Hub relatively quickly, relatively cost-effectively, and show ROI. To do so, we make some improvements during the process. However, a premium migration is not a full redesign.
Here is an example: A hero module that starts like this:
Here is an example of a structural change that would NOT be included in a Premium Migration.
This blog was structured to show recent blog posts in date order:
Making that into this requires structural and functional change. It is now broken down essentially as two blogs (one for wholesale and one for patients) with a featured post and tags by topic. This would be considered a redesign, not a premium migration:
This would be akin to turning the windows into French doors, upgrading the wiring inside the walls, and adding plumbing for a wet bar.
If you give the elements on your page a name (heading, CTA, paragraph) and discover that the changes you want to make can still be called the same thing, you likely have a Premium Migration on your hands. It doesn’t matter that your headline is in a new font, a different color, or new placement...it is still a headline - green light (but if it was a “featured post” and needs to become a “headline,” no go).
Not sure? Just contact us - we promise not to bite (nor sell you anything that you don’t need -- which is much worse).
When you opt for a Premium Migration Service, you get:
A GDD-Ready, responsive, theme-based, drag & drop HubSpot website that is easy to maintain, change, and extend by yourself or with a HubSpot partner of your choice. The deliverable will include:
Assuming full cooperation and easy collaboration with you, a full premium migration can take 15-20 working days.
The fixed fee will be calculated based on the scope of your project. Migration projects can take between $2,000-$20,000, depending mostly on the number of pages to be migrated. If you need additional design support, that will be provided at an hourly fee.
Have any questions? Want us to scope your project so you have an actual timeline and budget for your scenario? Let’s chat!
To go back to my office “migration:”
And listen here, kiddos, promising me #4 may actually get me to consider your sordid plan.