HubSpot Content Staging: Design, Review, and Publish with Ease

You’re in the middle of drafting a blog post or designing a new landing page. You have some great ideas, but your audience is not ready to see them yet.?

You may want to refine the content, adjust the design, or ensure everything looks perfect before it goes live. In this situation, you need a way to work on your content privately, without affecting your website's live version.

HubSpot Content Staging is a feature that lets you create, edit, and preview content before it is published on your website.?

Think of it as a sandbox or a testing ground where you can work on your content privately. This allows you to review and make any necessary changes without affecting the live version of your website.

Let’s explore how HubSpot Content Staging works and how you can use it effectively for website content creation and updates.

The Purpose of Content Staging

The primary purpose of HubSpot Content Staging is to help you manage and review your content before it’s published.?

This reduces the chances of errors, such as spelling mistakes, broken links, or unfinished sections that could go live accidentally. By allowing you to see content in a "staging environment," you can ensure that everything is polished and professional.

This feature also helps avoid situations where incomplete content is mistakenly published. Instead, you get a clear process where everything is reviewed and approved before it reaches the public. It adds an extra layer of control, ensuring your content is always up to standard.

How to Access Content Staging in HubSpot

Accessing content staging in HubSpot is easy and can be done in a few simple steps:

1. Start by logging into your HubSpot account to begin the process.

2. On the main navigation menu, find and click on Content, then select Website Pages from the dropdown.

3. In the top-right corner of the page, click on the More Tools dropdown menu. From there, choose Content Staging to enter the staging environment.

4. Once inside, use the Domain dropdown menu to select the domain where your staged pages will be hosted. This ensures that your content is linked to the correct site.

Effective Methods for Managing and Updating Your Website Pages

HubSpot Content Staging provides several useful options to help you manage and publish your website pages. Depending on your needs, you can use one of the following methods:

Stage a Clone of an Existing Page

This option is great when you want to update an existing page but keep some of its original content: Staging a clone duplicates the current page exactly as it is. You can then edit it, updating the design or content without affecting the live page. This means you won’t lose data such as page views or conversions.

Stage a Blank Page to Replace an Existing One

This option works well if you need to redesign a page from the ground up but want to keep the same URL. It lets you create an entirely new design and content for the page while retaining its URL. It’s ideal for major redesigns where the previous content no longer fits.

This option is best for a full overhaul, but you want to keep the page’s existing web address.

Stage a Detached Clone

With a detached clone, HubSpot makes an exact copy of your original page, but instead of replacing the original, it creates a new page entirely. Detached cloning allows you to reuse elements from an existing page while keeping it separate from the original.

Create a New Staged Page

Creating a blank staged page is the best choice when you need to add entirely new content to your website. With a new staged page, you start with an empty canvas. This is ideal for building new sections on your site, crafting unique landing pages, or adding new content areas.

A new staged page is perfect for expanding your website with fresh, custom content.

Common Use Cases for HubSpot Content Staging

Here are some common scenarios where it can be particularly useful:

Blog Post Creation

In the staging environment, you can write and edit your blog post without the pressure of it being live. You have complete control over the content, allowing you to refine it. You can share the draft with colleagues or clients for feedback. HubSpot's collaboration tools allow you to comment and make adjustments before final approval.

Once the blog post is ready, you can preview it to see exactly how it will look on your site. This helps you catch any formatting or layout issues before it goes live. After approval, you can publish the blog post to your live site directly from the staging environment, ensuring that only the best version goes live.

Landing Page Updates

If you’re making incremental updates, you can create a clone of your existing landing page. This allows you to keep the original page live while you work on the updates in the staging area.

In the staging environment, you can modify the page's design, content, call-to-action (CTA) buttons, and forms. This lets you experiment with new ideas without affecting the user experience on your live site.

Once the changes are made, you can preview the landing page to ensure everything works as expected. Once the updates are ready, you can push the new version of the landing page to the live site. The transition is seamless, and there’s no downtime for visitors.

Website Redesigns

With Content Staging, you can design new pages or sections of your website without worrying about them going live prematurely. You can build everything from scratch or clone existing pages to modify.

As you create new designs and layouts, you can preview them in a "staging" environment. This ensures that your new site layout or design elements look and function as expected before going live. Instead of launching an entire redesign at once, Content Staging lets you go live with new pages or sections gradually.?

Campaigns and A/B Testing

You can stage different versions of a landing page, blog post, or email content to see how various elements (like headlines, CTAs, or images) perform. This is crucial for finding the most effective combinations.

After creating different versions, you can run A/B tests within the staging environment to measure performance metrics such as conversion, click-through, and bounce rates.

With the content staged, you can track how each variation performs in the real-world scenario, making it easier to see which version gets the best response from your audience. Once the testing period is complete, you can analyze the results and decide which version to publish.?

Best Practices for Using HubSpot Content Staging

Here are some essential practices to follow:

Organize Your Staging Content

When creating staging pages, use descriptive and consistent names that help you easily identify each draft or version.?

For example, name your staged page like Blog Post Draft - March 2025? or Landing Page Version 2.0. This makes finding and differentiating content easier when you have several items in progress.

If you're working on multiple versions of the same content (such as landing pages or blog posts), clearly label each draft or version (e.g., Version A, Version B). This will help avoid confusion when collaborating with your team and ensure you’re all working on the right version.

Utilize Collaboration Tools

Encourage team members to use the comment feature to provide feedback or ask questions about specific content parts.? Set up approval workflows so that team members, managers, or stakeholders can review and approve the content before it goes live. This ensures the content is thoroughly checked for accuracy, quality, and alignment with marketing goals.

HubSpot allows you to assign specific tasks to different team members, such as Updating the CTA or Checking mobile responsiveness. This clearly identifies who is responsible for what, preventing duplication of work and keeping the process moving forward.

Use A/B Testing

In content staging, you can create different versions of landing pages, blog posts, or CTAs to test various design elements, headlines, or copy.?

For example, you might create two versions of a landing page, one with a short form and one with a longer form, to see which generates more conversions. Focus on testing elements that could significantly impact user behavior. This includes headlines, CTAs, images, or even the page layout. The goal is to find out which combination performs best.

Keep Your Staging Content Up-to-Date

Ensure your staging pages reflect these updates as your website evolves or your campaigns change. If you’ve redesigned a part of your site or added new content, update the corresponding staging content to match.

Ensure that all content in your staging environment follows the same brand guidelines, design standards, and messaging. Review and refresh your drafts regularly to ensure they meet current requirements before pushing them live.

Are You Using Your HubSpot at Its Full Potential?

As a HubSpot Diamond Solutions Partner, INSIDEA is uniquely positioned to help you unlock the full potential of your HubSpot investment. Begin with a free, comprehensive audit of your HubSpot portal and discover the various features and tools waiting to transform your business operations.

Get your free portal audit today!

You can also book a meeting with HubSpot experts to explore how INSIDEA can help you with your upcoming projects.