The HubSpot Portal Manifesto: Configuration Over Customization
A New Vision for HubSpot Customer Experience
Rethinking Customer Portals
Traditional Approach
For too long, we've approached customer portals backward. We begin with the portal interface and think about what we want to show customers. Then we build complex custom objects, create heavy integrations, and develop expensive solutions to surface that information.
The Problem
This leads not only to bloated projects and unsustainable solutions but, more critically, creates a permanent dependency on external developers for every change and enhancement.
The Natural Value Flow Approach
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Start with Value Flow
Instead of starting with the portal interface, we must begin by understanding how value naturally flows through our customer relationships.
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Leverage HubSpot's Platform
HubSpot's platform already contains the essential building blocks for managing this flow - we just need to configure them properly and make them visible to customers.
3
Enable Internal Ownership
This isn't just about efficient implementation - it's about enabling internal teams to truly own and evolve their customer experience.
Value Movement in Business
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Opportunities become commitments
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Commitments become deliverables
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Deliverables require coordination
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Coordination needs visibility
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Visibility enables trust
Each of these represents a natural point where value is created, tracked, and delivered. The portal simply becomes a window into this existing value flow, not a separate system requiring complex integration and ongoing developer support.
The Power of Native Objects
Designed with Purpose
HubSpot's native objects weren't designed by accident. They represent carefully considered patterns for managing business relationships.
Unlock Powerful Capabilities
When we work with these patterns instead of against them, we unlock powerful capabilities that our teams can understand, manage, and modify without deep technical expertise.
Modular vs. Custom
Think of it as the difference between custom furniture and modular systems. Custom pieces might perfectly fit today's needs but become constraints when those needs change. Modular systems can be reconfigured and expanded as needs evolve.
Configuration Principles
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Start with Native Flow
Understanding how value naturally moves through HubSpot's objects should drive portal design. Configuration becomes about making this flow visible and accessible rather than rebuilding it.
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Enable Don't Recreate
Instead of recreating functionality in custom objects, enable native capabilities through proper configuration. This creates a foundation that internal teams can understand and evolve.
3
Progress Through Pipelines
Use pipeline configurations to manage status progression rather than building custom state management. Pipelines provide built-in automation, reporting, and visibility that teams can modify without coding.
4
Properties Over Objects
When additional data is needed, add custom properties to existing objects before creating new ones. This maintains natural relationships while enabling easy adaptation.
5
Templates Over Code
Leverage HubSpot's template capabilities and module framework instead of custom development. This ensures maintainability and enables business users to make changes.
Implementation Reality: Traditional vs. Configuration Approach
Traditional Approach
- 600+ hours of development
- $150,000-200,000 implementation cost
- Heavy custom development
- Complex integrations
- Permanent developer dependency
- Rigid architecture
- High maintenance costs
Configuration Approach
- 60+ hours of configuration
- $30,000-50,000 implementation cost
- Native capability enablement
- Built-in integrations
- Internal team ownership
- Flexible architecture
- Low maintenance needs
The Path Forward
Begin with Value Flow
Map how value moves through your customer relationships before thinking about portal interfaces.
Trust Native Patterns
HubSpot's object model represents proven business patterns. Work with these patterns rather than reinventing them.
Configure First
Exhaust configuration options before considering custom development. Most requirements can be met through proper setup.
Focus on Visibility
Make existing value flow visible rather than recreating it. The portal should reveal, not rebuild.
Enable Evolution
Build solutions that your team can grow and adapt rather than requiring constant external support.
Breaking Free from Custom Prison
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Custom Development Approach
Complex, expensive solutions requiring ongoing developer support
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Configuration Over Customization
Sustainable solutions enabling natural growth
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Empowered Teams
Internal capability and ownership of digital evolution
The custom development approach has created a prison of our own making. We've convinced ourselves and our customers that complex, expensive solutions requiring ongoing developer support are necessary for good customer experience. This simply isn't true.
Benefits of Configuration Approach
Deliver value faster
Create sustainable solutions
Enable natural growth
Reduce technical debt
Focus on customer outcomes
Own our digital evolution
A Call to Action
It's time to stop building portals and start enabling them. The tools exist. The patterns are proven. We simply need to shift our mindset from custom development to thoughtful configuration, from external dependency to internal capability, from rigid solutions to flexible platforms.
Approaching Your Next Portal Project
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Map the natural value flow
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Identify native objects that support it
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Configure appropriate pipelines
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Enable proper visibility
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Trust the platform
Empower your team to drive evolution without constant external dependency.
Breaking Free from the Custom Development Mindset
The Old Way
Building complex systems that require constant external support and limit flexibility.
The New Way
Embracing the power of configuration to create solutions that evolve naturally with customer needs.
Let's break free from the custom development mindset and embrace the power of configuration. Our customers deserve solutions that evolve naturally with their needs, and our teams deserve the ability to drive that evolution without constant external dependency.
The Future of Customer Experience
Visibility
Making value flow visible to customers and internal teams.
Accessibility
Ensuring that information and processes are easily accessible to all stakeholders.
Natural Flow
Aligning with the natural progression of business relationships and value creation.
The future of customer experience isn't about building more complex systems - it's about making value flow visible, accessible, and natural. HubSpot's platform enables this future today. We just need to embrace it and empower our teams to own it.
Embrace the Power of Configuration
HubSpot's platform provides the tools and patterns we need to create powerful, flexible customer experiences. By embracing configuration over customization, we can unlock the full potential of our teams and deliver sustainable solutions that grow with our businesses.