Migrating WordPress to HubSpot: A Complete Checklist

HubSpot10 min read

A WordPress-to-HubSpot migration can be done in six phases: audit, content export, theme building in HubSpot, content import, 301 redirects, and SEO/AEO verification. An average SME site (40-150 pages) can be migrated in 4-8 weeks. The biggest risks: broken redirects (rankings will suffer), lost custom fields from ACF, and form integrations that don't transfer 1-to-1. This checklist covers every step so you don't forget anything.

Phase 1 — Audit of your current WordPress site

  • Generate a complete sitemap (XML + manual) — Yoast/RankMath can do this.
  • List all plugins with their function and whether they will be replaced by HubSpot. Especially critical: form plugins (Gravity Forms, Contact Form 7), e-commerce (WooCommerce), membership, custom fields (ACF).
  • Inventory custom post types and their fields. These must map 1-to-1 to HubSpot custom objects or a HubDB table.
  • Export Google Analytics and Search Console data for the top 100 pages: traffic, keywords, conversions. This will be your reference after migration.
  • Create a list of pages with inbound links (Ahrefs, SEMrush, Search Console). These must receive redirects.

Phase 2 — Content export & cleanup

  • Export all posts, pages, custom post types via WP All Export or native WP export. CSV format is most flexible.
  • Clean up the export: remove draft versions, old landing pages, duplicate content.
  • Decide which content you won't bring along — often 20-30% of a WordPress site is outdated. A migration is a good time to dump dead weight.
  • For media: download the entire wp-content/uploads folder. Upload to HubSpot File Manager or an external CDN.

Phase 3 — Build HubSpot theme

  • Start with a HubSpot starter theme (CMS Hub Starter, Marketers Pro, or a custom build).
  • Build modules that replace your WordPress blocks: hero, content block, CTA, image-text, FAQ, etc.
  • Implement schema.org JSON-LD (Organization, BreadcrumbList, FAQPage, Article, Service where relevant). HubSpot doesn't do this by default — you build it into your theme.
  • Test on desktop and mobile, in all major browsers, and for Core Web Vitals (Google PageSpeed Insights). Goal: all metrics green.

Phase 4 — Content import into HubSpot

  • Import pages via HubSpot's CSV import (Settings → Tools → Import). Map fields: title, URL, body, meta-description, OG-image.
  • For blog posts: use the Blog Import (CSV or XML). Categories and tags will be included.
  • Custom fields (from ACF) go to HubDB tables or HubSpot custom objects. Expect 4-12 hours of configuration depending on complexity.
  • Include authors and publication dates for blog archives and SEO signals.

Phase 5 — 301 redirects (critical!)

  • Build a complete redirect map: old WordPress URL → new HubSpot URL. For 100% of published URLs.
  • Import redirects into HubSpot via Settings → Website → Domains & URLs → URL Redirects (CSV bulk import).
  • Verify each redirect after go-live: curl -I https://oudeurl.nl/pagina should return 301 → new URL.
  • For 404 pages that have no direct equivalent: redirect to the most relevant parent page, not to the homepage. Google sees "redirect-to-home" as a soft 404.

Phase 6 — Verification & monitoring

  • Submit new sitemap via Google Search Console and Bing Webmaster Tools.
  • Monitor daily for the first 30 days: index coverage in Search Console, 404 errors, and organic traffic per page.
  • Expect a temporary dip of 10-25% in organic traffic in weeks 1-3. With good redirects, this should recover after weeks 6-8.
  • Keep an eye on HubSpot's URL redirect reporting for unexpected 404s.

Common mistakes

  • Building redirects only on go-live day. Do it beforehand, test on a staging domain.
  • Underestimating ACF fields. A site with 30+ custom fields is a mini-application. Allocate time for mapping to HubSpot custom objects.
  • Not including SEO meta-data. Title tag, meta-description, and focus keyword per page must transfer 1-to-1. Yoast export → CSV import into HubSpot.
  • Leaving images in WordPress. Migrate them or you'll get 404s on all in-content images.
  • No monitoring after go-live. Weeks 1-4 are crucial for catching problems before Google learns patterns.

Frequently asked questions

How long does a WordPress-to-HubSpot migration take?

For an average SME site (40-150 pages): 4-8 weeks from kick-off to live. For large content sites (500+ pages, custom post types, e-commerce): 10-16 weeks.

What does such a migration cost on average?

For an SME site in 2026: €8,000 - €25,000 including theme building, content migration, redirects, and SEO verification. Larger migrations can cost €40,000+.

Will I lose rankings during the migration?

With good 301 redirects and preservation of content structure: no, at most a temporary dip of 10-25% that recovers within 6-8 weeks. With bad redirects or major content changes, a loss of 30%+ can be permanent.

Can I also migrate WooCommerce to HubSpot?

HubSpot does not have full-fledged e-commerce functionality. For product sales, you stick with Shopify or WooCommerce and connect both to HubSpot for marketing/CRM. A complete e-commerce migration to HubSpot is usually not a good idea.

What do I do with my comments and forum posts?

HubSpot does not support native comments. Options: migrate to Disqus (third-party), archive comments as static content per blog post, or omit them. For most B2B blogs, comments are not a ranking factor.

How do I handle authentication/login if I had WP-Members or a similar plugin?

HubSpot CMS Pro/Enterprise has "Memberships" as a feature. Migrating from WP-Members to HubSpot Memberships requires a separate export/import and re-inviting members via email.

Ready to get started?

Read our approach for migrating WordPress to HubSpot, or schedule a brief introductory meeting — we'll take a no-obligation look and provide an honest estimate of scope, costs, and lead time.

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