Effortless Website Revamp: Discover HubSpot's Content Staging

If you need a website makeover without the risk of messing up your current live website, HubSpot has the perfect solution for you: Content Staging.

• What is Content Staging?
• View Content Staging Dashboard
• Three ways to utilise Content Staging 
• Other actions inside Content Staging
• Publish pages from Content Staging 

What is Content Staging?

Content staging is the staging environment provided by HubSpot. In website development, a staging environment acts as a replica of your live website, enabling you to make modifications, adjust layouts, address bugs, and test changes before launching.

This staging environment operates independently from the live site, ensuring that changes made within the staging environment do not show or impact the actual live website. This functionality guarantees a seamless transition of your updates to the live site.

Here are some major benefits of using Content Staging:

• It mitigates the risk of accidentally going live on Google
• It prevents accidental publication by other team members
• It preserves the continuity of your current website and ongoing work
• Once you publish live, HubSpot automatically handles all URL updates and redirects

View Content Staging Dashboard

Within the Website pages or Landing pages section of your HubSpot portal, select the "More tools" button in the upper right corner and click on "Content Staging".

Inside Content Staging, you will find the option to choose which domain you want to edit, which is perfect if you have multiple domains in your portal. Once you select your domain, you'll see the pages that are published/staged in it. 

You have the option to filter the type of pages you want to view: website pages, landing pages, or all types of pages.

In the content staging dashboard, there are three types of stages:

• Unmodified: Published pages you can choose to modify.

• Stage Draft: Pages you’ve created inside content staging but not yet published in the staging domain.

• Stage Proof: Pages you’ve created inside content staging, and published in the staging domain (not yet live). These pages are available for review and can be selected to go live.

Three ways to utilise the Content Staging tool

1. Update an existing page 
2. Replace an existing page 
3. Create a new staged page
   
   

I.  Update an existing page

Use this option if you want to update your existing page while retaining some of its original elements. Here are the steps:

1. Begin by hovering over the page you wish to replace, then select "Stage" on the right side.
   
   
   
2. In the stage page dialog box, choose “Stage Cloned Page” and click “Stage Page”.
   
   
   
3. This will open a clone of your live page in the content staging editor, allowing you to edit your content in the page editor.
   
   
   
4. After making your edits, click “Publish to Staging.” This action will move your page from the staged draft to staged publish.
   

II.  Replace an existing page

Use this option if you want to create a new page within content staging to replace an existing page and have it displayed on the existing URL. Follow the steps below to replace an existing page with a new one:

1. Begin by hovering over the page you wish to replace, then select "Stage" located on the right side of the page.
   
   
   
2. In the Stage Page dialog box, opt for "Stage Blank Page" and click stage page.
   
   
   
3. Now, select a suitable template for your new staged page. 
   
   
   
4. Confirm your choice by clicking "Update Page" in the confirmation pop-up.
   
   
   
   
5. Next, customise your content using the page editor, and once done click "Publish Staging" to place your page inside "Stage Proof".
   
   
   
   

III.  Create a new staged page
You also have the option to create a new page that hasn't existed before or hasn't been published with a live URL. Here are the steps:

1. Click the "Create a New Staged Page" button on the upper-right corner of the dashboard.
   
   
   
2. Choose whether you want to stage a new Site page or Landing page and provide a name for your staged page. Then, click "Stage new site page."
   
   
   
3. Select a template for your new page.
   
   
   
4. A page editor will open. Edit your content and once done click "Publish to Staging" to move your staged page to "Stage Proof."
   
   
   

Note: If you make any changes to templates, global content, or stylesheets, it will still impact existing live content. Only the edits you make in the page (eg text, sections, images) will not be seen live. 

Tip: If you wish to update an existing URL, it's best to publish first the Staged page that will use that URL. Then once published, you can edit the URL in the page settings. This helps prevent any potential issues from happening.

Other actions inside Content Staging

1. Publish Staged Drafts: Select pages under “Staged Draft” and click the check button above the list to publish them all together to “Staged Proof.”
   
   
   
2. Revert to Staged Draft: In “Staged Proof,” select pages and use the arrow button above the list to move them back to “Staged Draft.”
   
   
   
3. Delete Pages: When you select one or multiple pages in either “Staged Draft” or “Staged Proof,” a delete icon will appear. Use this to delete the selected staged pages. Note that deleting staged pages does not affect your existing live website pages.
   
   
   
4. Edit and View Pages: Hover over a page to see the “Edit” and “View” buttons. The “Edit” button allows you to modify your page content, and the “View” button opens a new tab to preview your staged page.
   
   
   
5. More Options: Click on “More” for additional options such as cloning your staged page, reverting it to draft, publishing it to staged, or deleting it.
   

Publishing your pages in Content Staging to live

Finally, you can now publish your staged pages live. Here's how:

1. In the Content Staging dashboard, navigate to the "Publish" tab. All pages that are under "Staged Proof" will be visible in this tab.
   
   
   

2. Click "Publish all to live domain" if you want to publish all pages that are in staged proof.
   
   
   
3. If you want to publish specific pages, tick the checkbox and click "Publish # pages to live domain."
   
   
   

4. A pop-up will appear. Enter a Publish Job Name and a Publish Job Description, detailing the changes made and the reasons behind them. This information will be displayed in the Log tab of the content staging tool. Then click "Next."
   
   

   
   

5. Review the details of your publishing job, then select the checkbox to confirm and click "Publish."
   

   
   

6. A notification will appear, letting you know your staged pages are now live and visible to everyone. 

    

Content Staging offers a powerful solution for seamlessly updating and revamping your website. Whether you need to make minor adjustments or undertake a complete overhaul, Content Staging provides the tools and flexibility necessary to execute changes confidently.

By following the steps above you can easily navigate the process of staging, editing, and publishing new content or updates. If you're considering a website revamp, use Content Staging to ensure a smooth and seamless transition.

Explore more ways to utilise your HubSpot portal by diving deeper into HubSpot Content Hub features. Download our HubSpot Content Hub Overview Guide today! 

You can also find this guide, along with our other invaluable resources, on our Resources page.