Perfecting Your Pages: How to Get Stakeholder Feedback on HubSpot Staging Sites

The Importance of Feedback on Staging Pages

Launching a new website page or updating an existing one can be a nerve-wracking experience. Before you hit that publish button, it's crucial to get feedback from key stakeholders. This ensures everyone is aligned on the messaging, design, and functionality, and helps catch any potential issues before they impact your live site. A recent discussion in the HubSpot Community highlighted the challenges users face when trying to share staging pages for review, particularly within the HubSpot ecosystem. This post provides practical solutions and best practices to streamline your feedback process.

The Challenge: Sharing Unpublished HubSpot Pages

Imagine this: you've meticulously crafted a new landing page in your HubSpot sandbox, ready to convert leads. You need sign-off from your marketing manager, sales director, and maybe even the CEO. But how do you share this unpublished page, residing safely in your HubSpot environment, without making it live to the world? This was the exact dilemma faced by a HubSpot Community member who sought advice on sharing staging pages with stakeholders.

The original poster had explored third-party tools, but encountered issues with authentication, being redirected to the HubSpot login page, which prevented external reviewers from accessing the content. This is a common hurdle, and it underscores the need for a robust and reliable feedback mechanism.

Solutions for Gathering Feedback on HubSpot Staging Pages

While the community thread didn't offer a single, silver-bullet solution, it sparked a valuable discussion around different approaches. Here's a comprehensive breakdown of methods you can use to effectively gather feedback on your HubSpot staging pages:

1. Leverage HubSpot's Built-in Preview Feature

The simplest approach is to utilize HubSpot's built-in preview functionality. Within the page editor, you'll find a preview button that allows you to view the page as it will appear on different devices. While this doesn't generate a shareable link for external stakeholders, it's a great starting point for internal review. Use it to check for formatting errors, broken links, and overall visual appeal before moving on to more collaborative feedback methods.

2. Consider Password Protection (If Available)

Depending on your HubSpot subscription level, you might have the option to password-protect specific pages or your entire staging environment. This provides a secure way to grant access to stakeholders without exposing your unpublished content to the public. You can create a unique username and password combination for reviewers, ensuring that only authorized individuals can view the pages. This method is particularly useful when dealing with sensitive information or confidential product launches.

3. Replicating to a Dedicated Staging Environment

For a more realistic testing experience, consider setting up a dedicated staging environment that mirrors your live website. This involves creating a copy of your website on a separate server or subdomain (e.g., staging.yourwebsite.com). You can then deploy your HubSpot staging pages to this environment and grant stakeholders access. This approach allows reviewers to experience the pages in a context that closely resembles the live site, including navigation, integrations, and other interactive elements. Managing access to this environment typically involves configuring your server or hosting provider.

4. Using Screen Recording Tools

If direct access to your staging pages proves challenging, screen recording tools offer a viable alternative. You can use tools like Loom or Vidyard to record a walkthrough of your staging pages, highlighting key features and functionalities. These recordings can then be easily shared with stakeholders for asynchronous review. This method is particularly useful for demonstrating complex interactions or explaining design decisions. It also allows reviewers to provide feedback at their own pace and convenience.

5. Integrate with Project Management Tools

Streamline the feedback process by integrating your HubSpot workflow with project management tools like Asana, Trello, or Jira. You can create tasks for each staging page, assign them to relevant stakeholders, and attach the preview links or screen recordings. This centralizes all feedback and communication in one place, making it easier to track progress and ensure that all comments are addressed. Many of these tools also offer features for version control and approval workflows, further enhancing the efficiency of your review process.

6. Implement a Formal Feedback Form

To ensure you receive structured and actionable feedback, consider creating a formal feedback form using HubSpot's form builder. This form can include questions about design, content, functionality, and overall user experience. Share the form link with stakeholders and ask them to submit their feedback after reviewing the staging pages. This approach helps you gather consistent and comparable data, making it easier to identify areas for improvement.

Enhancing Your E-commerce with HubSpot and ESHOPMAN

For businesses leveraging HubSpot for e-commerce, particularly those using solutions like ESHOPMAN (eshopman.com), the importance of a smooth feedback process is amplified. Ensuring your online storefront is optimized for conversions and customer satisfaction requires careful review and iterative improvements. ESHOPMAN, with its built-in storefront and e-commerce capabilities for HubSpot, allows you to manage your HubSpot inventory management directly within your CRM. This tight integration makes the feedback process even more critical, as changes to product pages, checkout flows, and other e-commerce elements can directly impact your sales and revenue. If you are looking for a crm with shopify alternative, consider ESHOPMAN for a seamless HubSpot experience.

Conclusion

Gathering feedback on your HubSpot staging pages is an essential step in ensuring a successful website launch or update. By leveraging the methods outlined above, you can streamline your review process, improve collaboration, and ultimately deliver a better user experience. Whether you choose to use HubSpot's built-in features, integrate with third-party tools, or implement a formal feedback form, the key is to establish a consistent and efficient process that works for your team.