HubSpot Updates Rolled Out in February 2021

by Melanie, on 23 Feb 2021

We understand how frustrating it can be to feel like you're not getting the most out of your software. Are there features you don't know about that you could be using? For the parts you do use, are you maximizing the benefits? Can you use it more efficiently?

We hope our regular blog posts on the topic help you stay on top of HubSpot product updates and feel confident using more of its features.

HubSpot rolled out a LOT of updates this month, so we've whittled the list down to the ones most relevant to our clients (although, there are others that we like, such as the system and knowledge base now being available in italiano!)

An honorable mention also goes to HubSpot's updated Acceptable Use Policy, which prevents groups from using HubSpot to promote, encourage, or facilitate hate speech, violence, or discrimination.

Which of the following updates do you find most helpful? Leave us a comment below!

CMS HUB

bulk import of website images

We built the Strategic Piece website using HubSpot CMS and, having worked with several other platforms at previous companies and with clients, I really do think it's the easiest CMS I've used.

Is it the cheapest? No. But definitely easy to use and very powerful.

One headache for new HubSpot customers eager to get their website running on the same platform as their marketing, sales, and service functions has been migrating content.

However, this has largely been eliminated by new functionality for moving website images in bulk.

Note: A couple of the other improvements made to HubSpot CMS also apply to other parts of the platform, so we've included them under Marketing Hub.

system MANAGEMENT

Fiscal Year Settings & Filters

Not every company follows a calendar fiscal year, especially those with global operations, so HubSpot has a new feature in beta that allows companies to specify their fiscal year.

We see this being especially helpful to our clients in the UK, where reporting and filters will better align with their broader business operations.

Settings Interface

Left unchecked, software grows arms and legs over time. It starts to feel like a Frankenstein type of system. In response, HubSpot has revamped the layout of its Settings page.

The new UI/UX groups settings in a way that is more intuitive for users.

The only downside is that it will take those like us, who are very familiar with the old interface, a while to re-learn where things are!

WORKFLOWS

Delay Workflows Until TAsk Completed

Even after you've tested workflows, there's still a nagging uncertainty: what if something goes wrong? What if that email gets sent before it should because we needed something else to happen first?

Marketers and sales ops teams will be able to sleep easier knowing that they can now include an extra check-and-balance step in their workflows to make sure a task has been completed before the workflow advances.

For example, if you want to make sure a prospect is given a demo and the notes have been uploaded before a follow up email is sent, you can now create those as Tasks and include a checkpoint in the workflow.

Clone & Move workflows

No more rebuilding workflows from scratch if you already have something you like that just needs tweaking.

HubSpot mentions a helpful use case for this: when your sales team goes through a reorganization and you want to change lead assignments.

I also see it being really helpful when you want to replicate lead nurturing workflows for a new but very similar marketing campaign.

MARKETING HUB

SEO Audit Tool

HubSpot has rolled out several updates to their SEO tool over the past few months, and we are all for it!

Twelve new factors have been added to the SEO scan checking for on-site issues.

Many SEO issues can be avoided simply by using technical checklists, so I'm glad to see HubSpot including this in their marketing toolbox.

One of the new checks looks for images that are slowing down page speed, since you want to keep your site running as fast as possible and images can slow things waaaaay down.

Rich Text Contextual Toolbar

A key theme across many of this month's updates is making the user interface as intuitive as possible. If you are creating content in a rich text module (e.g. a web page, blog post, or landing page), a smaller, more relevant toolbar will appear when you add elements like video and buttons (CTAs).

Lazy IMAGE Loading

Lazy image loading might not sound like a good thing but you will actually want to set many of your images to be "lazy." It means that if a page is loading slowly, the images will load last. This once again helps a critical SEO factor: page load time.

Chat

There are two new things of interest in HubSpot's chat tools this month.

First, your website visitors can now play videos within the chat widget. This is awesome because so many help files now include video. We expect to see more and more companies using video functionality as a core part of their customer support operation.

HubSpot has also revamped the UI/UX of chatflows to be more consistent with other parts of the software. We love this continued effort to make the software consistent and intuitive.