Speed up WordPress and Reduce Upkeep with the HubSpot Plugin
With Google's Core Web Vitals making an impact on search rankings, website page load speed for WordPress has become a primary concern for people that want their website to show up on the top of search rankings. The HubSpot plugin is a key part of the solution for this challenge.
You can check your page speed at this Google link. The simple color rating will tell you how your website is doing. If you scan down the page, look for the first contentful paint (when something useful is on the page) - it should be under 2 seconds.
While there are many factors that go into a high-performing website, WordPress websites struggle with their page load speed in part because of all of the code that is added by plugins and themes.
Great-looking WordPress websites are a lot like test driving a car that is fully loaded. The car's advertised price didn't have all that expensive stuff included, but truth be told, the cool stuff like a backup camera, high-quality sound system, and seat warmers are all part of what makes the car attractive. Of course, then you see the actual sticker price.
WordPress relies on a small forest of add-ons and plugins to serve as a modern website- that's part of the sticker price.
WordPress without all the add-ons really can't do most of the things that will lead to sales and customers. While the underlying code is free, to make it look and do all the things that will serve your target audience and your business goals, you are going to have to add plugins and themes.
Lots of plugins.
The cost of WordPress plugins is upkeep and speed
The sticker price for all of those plugins and themes? They will all cost something, and can easily amount to hundreds of dollars per month. The real sticker price for WordPress is the time and cost of upkeep. The underlying code provided by WordPress.org is constantly updated, and every time that happens, you have to update every plugin and your theme. Some will break - every time - and if you don't keep them up-to-date you will join the 66% of all WordPress owners who are subject to the whims of online hackers who mostly attack and disrupt WordPress websites that aren't up to date.
A second big price you pay when you add all of these plugins is website speed. All of that extra plugin code added to the hefty WordPress and Theme code makes it hard for a fast load. The speed that your website loads is a direct signal to the Google search algorithm and will impact your search rankings.
A simple and powerful solution- The HubSpot Plugin
HubSpot is an all-in-one marketing, sales, and growth system that you can add to your WordPress website with just a single plugin. HubSpot is unlike all the other plugins, it simply adds a tracking code to your website that unlocks a long list of tools that you'd ordinarily have to add one at a time, with multiple plugins. Many of the tools that it offers are free, and many more are available at a very low cost ($25/mo).
You may have added the HubSpot Tracking tool for just one feature, and there is probably a lot more you haven't put to work.
Here's the list of HubSpot tools that you'd ordinarily have to add with another plugin:
The best part about adding HubSpot functionality to your WordPress website is that they all come without the burden of upkeep because HubSpot is Software as a Service (SaaS). That means that while they eliminate the need for additional plugins, they also speed up your website and cut down on staff time because they are a hosted solution.
One essential tool for your WordPress website is landing pages (included with HubSpot)
If you are running campaigns of any kind including digital ads, email, or social media campaigns, you also need to be using specialized landing pages. These pages need to be fast to create and update, and they have to be designed to match each campaign you're running.
It's a huge mistake to push campaigns to the home page of your website. That's like sending people to the phone book to find your telephone number.
Landing pages are almost always an add-on or plugin to WordPress, or what's worse, they might sit on an outside domain. That's a feature that's already included in the HubSpot plugin, and a key element of an effective website that is delivering on growth.
Add the power of a CRM without another plugin
Adding CRM functionality to your WordPress website is always a costly add-on. It is usually complex and has a substantial fee involved. It's a harder add-on because it is using the underlying database that was designed for blog authors and comments to do something much more complex- act as a customer relationship manager (CRM). This is never an easy installation, and the upkeep is critical. You'll actually have to have this type of plugin for membership, e-commerce, or protected content on your website.
With the HubSpot plugin, you speed up the load time by using the CRM in the SaaS platform of HubSpot where it integrates with the forms, buttons, downloads, and links from your website. It not only lifts the speed burden of an additional plugin, but adds a level of functionality that is powerful for sales, tracking, and customer service. You'll be able to see what every person who fills out a form, responds to an email, or clicks a button is doing, and you'll be able to share that with an unlimited number of internal team members.
Take a growth step by putting the HubSpot plugin to work
If you already have the HubSpot plugin installed, you may be missing out on some of the growth that you can unleash by simply putting more of the free or low-cost tools to work. If you haven't yet added the HubSpot tracking code, then some great opportunities lie ahead.
About Story Collaborative - we are HubSpot Gold partners with more than 25 years of WordPress experience. We build high-performing websites and growth systems as a collaborative growth team.
