After building close to 300 websites by 2014 (primarily in Drupal) I decided to introduce HubSpot to our agency and clients. Although by then HubSpot had had website building capabilities for a number of years, the 2013 rebrand of their website platform to the Content Optimization System introduced increased capabilities for developers. In 2017 HubSpot launched their Growth Driven Design initiative which added additional feature.
Their biggest leap forward was adding drag and drop capabilities in 2020. This added a new layer of options for marketers to build websites without the aid of developers but still allow developers some measure of critical control over the environment. The platform is designed from the perspective of, "Let's give our marketers all the awesome options that a developer has but not require them to understand code.
Three Problems For HubSpot Themes
The HubSpot drag and drop interface is pretty amazing but there are some challenges that are inherent with any system that is trying to be easy.... that challenge is trying to balance making it easy for one group while still allowing another group the full measure of control they might need.
What usually happens (and HubSpot is no different) is that developers with full control introduce complications for the marketers who want it easy.
For a developer, a HubSpot module isn't all that difficult to build. What is difficult, however, is ensuring that the simplicity intended from the platform isn't lost. Developers have a hard time understanding that what is easy for them is not always easy for non-developers.
1. Controlling the Wrong Things
The first issue we see is that the users can't control the things that are most critical in an easy way. For example, I've seen Hubspot themes that don't make it easy to change the width of a page or change colors throughout the site. There are commonly no centralized controls for things as simple as a button. If I want a button from page to page to look the same, in most themes, I have to edit it on each page.
2. Inconsistency from Developers
I think this second issue is an even bigger issue. That is inconsistency from developers. This problem can be as simple as where you set the width of a page to how you set colors for various elements. It can also be in how elements are added to a page. So, you might have one module that works really well but then you have a new learning curve for another module that you add to the page. As a side note, this isn't different than Wordpress or Drupal themes (or any other for that matter). Different developers prioritize different things.
3. Themes lack the modules needed
In any platform, when a theme developer creates a theme, they usually build the minimum needed for their purpose. They build a few modules then sell it as is. That means that you might get great options from a theme you don't like and terrible options from a theme you do like. That then requires a lot of extra work to try to marry the two up.
Enter Sprocket Rocket
Over the last few years, I've had the opportunity to work with a number of themes. Both free and paid themes. One of the most popular in the HubSpot theme directory is Sprocket Rocket. Even their free version provides a wide variety of options that work well for many small companies. It doesn't solve all the issues I identified above but it does solve a lot of them. It allows the full power of HubSpot and starts to provide a standard that can be applied across the board.
In my opinion, Sprocket Rocket is the gold standard for theme building in HubSpot. You can use it as the basis for creating new modules yourself or simply use their modules.
I'll share just two examples of websites I've built using Sprocket Rocket.
Louder Confidence
Louder Confidence was actually my first site I used Sprocket Rocket for. I have built quite a few sites using a variety of other themes from the HubSpot Marketplace and even tried using some the Theme Forest (highly don't recommend Theme Forest) but this one was a cool first test. There are a fair bit of customizations (that you might not even notice) but it's a simple implementation for a small company. They are using HubSpot Content Hub Starter.
Take a peek at their site at https://www.louderconfidence.com/
Image Systems
Image Systems (ISBS) is another example of a simple, small business website. We are just starting to get their marketing off the ground even though they have been in business for over 20 years. We have a lot of flexibility in how we can organize the site with Sprocket Rocket. While they are using HubSpot Content Hub Starter now, we have significant opportunity for scalability as their website grows to meet their marketing goals.
Take a peek at their site at https://www.isbscorp.com/
Is Sprocket Rocket right for you?
Well, I can't really answer if Sprocket Rocket is right for you without understanding your goals. But, if I was a betting man, I'd take the bet every day that it probably is. I'm using it for my website here. I love it. It not only allows for simple things for small business but can offer significantly advanced options as well. The pro version of Sprocket Rocket sells for $3,000 (but I can get a big discount off that if you reach out to me).
I said above that I think Sprocket Rocket is the gold standard in HubSpot theming. Even the free version can likely provide you all the options you need but the pro version adds a lot of options for your advanced needs. Why not check it out and see how it can work for you?
