What Makes a HubSpot COS Template Great?

Back in July, Andrew Macey covered “4 Reasons HubSpot COS Templates Are a Marketer’s Best Friend.” To give you a quick recap, Andrew outlined the benefits to using a COS template to create a website, including templates save you time (this is soooo true based on my limited experience using the template builder for my HubSpot Design Certification practicum), and they are easily managed and built (think folders and global modules). Other benefits include best practices in user experience and mobile optimization being built right in so you don’t have to worry about it.

Then last month, I outlined a few things to look for when choosing a COS template from the marketplace. In picking one for your website, make sure that the template resonates with your personas, looks great everywhere (there’s that mobilization thing again), comes with the different pages you want, includes sections for smart content, and has an accessible developer. (Paul Schmidt has even more things to look for in his blog post, “9 Qualities of a Great HubSpot Website Template.”)

These two posts will get you started on finding a template that works for your company.

But what truly makes a COS template great? Like grand-slam-out-of-the-park-and-the-crowd-goes-wild-awesome?

First, let’s back up a bit. According to Forbes.com, there are essentially three purposes a website may have:

1. “Sell products and services” (such as an ecommerce site)
2. “Generate leads” (applicable for most B2B companies and anyone using HubSpot)
3. “Establish credentials” (i.e. branding for your company to people who already know who you are)

You should have the purpose of your website in the back of your mind whether you are redesigning your website or creating a new site. This purpose will naturally lend itself to creating a SMART goal for your website.

SMART goals (specific – measurable – attainable – realistic – time-bound) for your website might be:

• To increase the amount of sales on our website from $3,041 to $5,000 per month by the end of the year.
• To increase the number of MQLs from our website from 22 to 50 per month by February 28^th.
• To increase traffic to our website from 4,269 to 5,000 unique visits per month by the end of the quarter.

With a goal and your buyer personas firmly established, you should have a clear idea of what you are trying to accomplish and who your website is targeted for.

Which brings me back to what makes a HubSpot COS template amazing. The simple answer is that you do.

A template is only the beginning, the foundation, if you will, of your website. The customization that you put into the template – the imagery, the copy, the calls-to-action, the content – these are the things that transform a good generic template to a great customized website.

You know your target market better than anyone else. You know your goals better than anyone else. You know your company better than anyone else.

YOU make a template great. So go make yours great today!