How to Adapt Your WordPress Site to Gutenberg with Hubspot-Style Best Practices

The release of Gutenberg changed how WordPress sites are built, and many teams now look to Hubspot-style workflows for a structured way to adapt. If you manage an existing WordPress site, you need a clear process to prepare your theme, plugins, and content for the block editor without breaking layouts or workflows.

This guide walks you through each step, from testing and configuration to training your team, drawing on principles used in the original Gutenberg adaptation article and applying them with a focus on performance, usability, and long-term scalability.

Understanding Gutenberg and the Hubspot Approach

Gutenberg replaces the classic WordPress editor with a block-based editing experience. Instead of one large content field, your page is composed of individual blocks such as paragraphs, images, galleries, embeds, and reusable layouts.

A Hubspot-style approach emphasizes planning, consistency, and alignment between marketing, design, and development teams. Before you switch fully to the block editor, make sure you understand how blocks will impact your existing templates, shortcodes, and custom functionality.

Blocks define structure and layout.
The editor can be customized or restricted with code.
Plugins and themes must be compatible and tested.

Prepare Your Site for Gutenberg Using Hubspot-Like Planning

Before you turn Gutenberg on across your entire site, take time to plan the rollout. This is where a Hubspot-inspired process—discovery, audit, testing, and phased deployment—can save you from surprises.

1. Audit Your Current WordPress Setup

Start with a thorough audit so you know what might be affected by Gutenberg.

Theme and child theme – Identify custom page templates, meta boxes, and shortcodes.
Plugins – List anything that adds content elements, visual builders, or metaboxes.
Content types – Review posts, pages, and custom post types that rely on the classic editor.

Document problem areas such as heavy shortcode use or older page builder integrations. These often require special handling when you move to the block editor.

2. Set Up a Staging Environment

Never test Gutenberg on your live site. Instead, clone your production site to a staging environment so you can safely experiment.

Create a full backup of files and database.
Deploy to a staging domain or subdomain.
Restrict access so visitors and search engines cannot reach it.

This staged workflow mirrors how teams using platforms like Hubspot typically test new templates and modules without impacting live campaigns.

Configure Gutenberg with Hubspot-Inspired Controls

Once your staging site is ready, configure Gutenberg in a way that gives marketers flexibility but still preserves design consistency and code quality.

3. Decide When to Use the Classic Editor

Some legacy content or plugins may work best with the classic editor. WordPress allows you to keep both editors side by side.

Install the Classic Editor plugin if needed.
Configure it so specific post types or posts use the old editor.
Limit this to only the content that truly requires it.

This hybrid approach lets you modernize gradually instead of forcing all content into blocks at once.

4. Enable and Disable Specific Blocks

Too many block options can confuse editors and lead to inconsistent layouts. Similar to how Hubspot enforces brand-safe modules, you can restrict blocks to those your design system supports.

Identify the default Gutenberg blocks you actually need.
Use a block management plugin or custom code to disable unused blocks.
Group your most common blocks into reusable patterns or templates.

Clear block choices shorten training time and keep your site structure aligned with your design standards.

Align Your Theme with Gutenberg and Hubspot Design Principles

Your theme must understand the block editor’s styles, spacing, and markup. Without that layer of integration, content may look inconsistent between the editor and the front end.

5. Add Gutenberg Theme Supports

Update your theme’s functions.php to declare support for key Gutenberg features.

add_theme_support( 'align-wide' ); for wide and full-width blocks.
add_theme_support( 'editor-styles' ); so editor styles match the front end.
add_theme_support( 'responsive-embeds' ); for fluid videos and embeds.

These capabilities help keep what you see in the editor close to what visitors see, similar to the preview behavior in a guided platform like Hubspot.

6. Match Editor Styles to Front-End Styles

To avoid editor surprises, load a custom editor stylesheet.

Create an editor-style.css (or similar) that mirrors your front-end typography, colors, and spacing.
Enqueue it so Gutenberg uses those styles inside the editor canvas.
Test headings, lists, buttons, and blockquotes to confirm visual parity.

When editors can trust the visual preview, they build pages faster and with fewer revision cycles.

Manage Plugins and Blocks the Way Hubspot Manages Apps

Every plugin that touches the editor must work properly with Gutenberg. Treat this like an app marketplace: evaluate, test, and only keep what you really need.

7. Check Plugin Compatibility

On your staging site, test each plugin that interacts with content.

Open posts that use plugin-generated shortcodes or meta boxes.
Check for Gutenberg block versions of common features (forms, sliders, galleries).
Watch for JavaScript errors or layout issues in the editor.

If a plugin is not compatible or is no longer maintained, plan to replace it with a block-ready alternative.

8. Introduce Custom Blocks Thoughtfully

If your current site uses custom shortcodes or bespoke page builder elements, consider converting them into Gutenberg blocks.

Identify frequently reused components such as pricing tables or calls-to-action.
Work with your developer to create blocks or block patterns for these elements.
Document how editors should use each block within your content strategy.

This modular, reusable approach mirrors how content teams often organize custom modules in Hubspot.

Plan Content Migration with Hubspot-Level Governance

Once the technical groundwork is laid, you need a clear plan for how content will move from the classic editor experience to blocks, including rules for quality and governance.

9. Choose a Migration Strategy

There are two primary paths for existing content.

On-demand conversion – Convert a post to blocks the first time someone edits it in Gutenberg.
Campaign-based updates – Refresh and convert groups of high-value pages during planned optimization cycles.

Prioritize top-performing landing pages, blog posts, and conversion paths. Less critical content can remain in the classic editor until it is naturally updated.

10. Test, Train, and Document

Before giving your entire team access, run a structured testing and training phase.

Create a small pilot group of editors and developers.
Have them build or update a variety of pages with the new blocks.
Gather feedback on usability, missing blocks, and style issues.
Refine your block set and editor configuration based on that feedback.

Next, build concise documentation and short training sessions:

Editorial guidelines for blocks, headings, and layouts.
Examples of on-brand pages built with the new setup.
Checklists editors can use before publishing.

This type of enablement ensures your team gets the benefits of Gutenberg while maintaining the same level of content governance you would expect from a tool like Hubspot.

Continue Improving Your Gutenberg Setup

Adapting your WordPress site to Gutenberg is not a one-time project. Treat it as an ongoing optimization effort.

Monitor performance and page speed after new blocks or styles are added.
Review analytics to see how updated pages perform versus legacy layouts.
Iterate on block patterns, templates, and documentation.

By combining a careful rollout with continuous improvement, you create a sustainable editing environment that is easier to use and maintain than the legacy editor.

Further Resources and Next Steps with Hubspot-Style Systems

To deepen your understanding of adapting to Gutenberg, review the original guide on how to adapt your WordPress site to Gutenberg from HubSpot’s blog: Gutenberg adaptation tutorial. For broader digital strategy, site audits, and implementation support, you can also consult agencies such as Consultevo that specialize in WordPress and marketing platform integrations.

With a thoughtful process, clear controls, and ongoing optimization, you can enjoy the benefits of the block editor while keeping your site as reliable and scalable as a fully managed platform like Hubspot.

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