HubSpot Card Sorting Guide for UX
Learning card sorting using a HubSpot-style, customer-centric process helps you design navigation, menus, and content structures that users actually understand and use.
This guide walks you through what card sorting is, when to use it, and how to run a practical study step by step, mirroring the structured, data-driven approach you may know from HubSpot tools and methodologies.
What Is Card Sorting in a HubSpot Context?
Card sorting is a user research method where participants group content into categories that make sense to them. It is especially useful when you are organizing pages, knowledge base articles, or support content similar to what you would manage in a HubSpot customer portal or service hub.
You write concepts or content topics on individual cards. Users then organize these cards into groups and sometimes label those groups. This reveals how they expect information to be arranged.
Why Card Sorting Matters for HubSpot-Style Experiences
Whether you manage a CRM, a knowledge base, or a marketing site, users must find what they need fast. Card sorting helps you:
- Design intuitive navigation and menus
- Organize blog categories and topic clusters
- Structure knowledge base or help center articles
- Reduce support tickets by making answers easier to locate
Following a HubSpot-inspired, data-first mindset, card sorting ensures your information architecture is based on real user behavior, not internal assumptions.
Types of Card Sorting You Can Use
There are three primary card sorting methods. Choosing the right one depends on how defined your structure already is.
Open Card Sorting with a HubSpot Mindset
In an open sort, participants create their own category names. This is ideal when you are launching a new site, product area, or educational resource and do not yet have a clear taxonomy.
Benefits include:
- Hearing the exact words customers use
- Discovering unexpected groupings and themes
- Building initial navigation from the ground up
Closed Card Sorting for HubSpot-Like Navigation
In a closed sort, you provide predefined categories and ask users to place cards into those buckets. This fits when you have existing navigation or service areas similar to how HubSpot structures hubs or tool groups.
Benefits include:
- Validating your current navigation labels
- Checking if content belongs where you expect
- Fine-tuning menu structures and subcategories
Hybrid Card Sorting
A hybrid sort combines both methods. You give participants some categories but allow them to create new ones if needed. This approach uncovers gaps that your predefined structure does not cover.
How to Plan a Card Sorting Study
Thoughtful planning is key to getting reliable results, just like setting up a campaign or workflow in a HubSpot environment.
1. Define Your Research Goal
Clarify what you want to improve. For example:
- Reorganize a support knowledge base
- Restructure main site navigation
- Streamline product documentation
A single, specific objective makes it easier to choose the right type of card sorting and participants.
2. Choose the Right Participants
Recruit users who resemble your ideal customers or core audience. Aim for:
- 15–20 participants for online studies
- 8–12 participants for moderated, in-depth sessions
Try to avoid only internal team members, since they already know your site or product too well.
3. Select Cards (Content Items)
Each card should represent one discrete piece of content, such as:
- A knowledge base article
- A help topic, feature, or tool
- A blog post or landing page theme
Keep the set manageable: usually 30–60 cards. Use clear, concise labels that users can understand without insider jargon.
4. Decide on Remote or In-Person Sorting
You can run card sorting in several ways:
- In-person: using physical index cards or sticky notes
- Remote moderated: via screen share with a facilitator
- Remote unmoderated: using specialized card sorting tools
Remote formats scale well and mirror the way many teams already collaborate within tools similar to the HubSpot ecosystem.
Running the Card Sorting Session
Once your plan is ready, use a consistent step-by-step process with each participant.
Step 1: Explain the Purpose
In simple language, tell participants you are trying to make it easier for people like them to find information. Emphasize there are no right or wrong answers—only their perspective.
Step 2: Demonstrate How to Sort
Show one example of grouping a few cards. Then ask them to:
- Read each card
- Group similar items together
- Label each group (for open or hybrid sorts)
Encourage them to think aloud so you hear their reasoning.
Step 3: Observe and Ask Clarifying Questions
While they work, you can ask:
- “What connects these items for you?”
- “Is there anything confusing in this group?”
- “Would you expect to find anything else in this category?”
Keep questions light so you do not lead their decisions.
Step 4: Debrief at the End
After the sort, ask participants:
- Which categories felt most natural
- Which labels they might change
- What was hard to place or did not seem to fit
This debrief often reveals key terminology and navigation ideas you can apply to a HubSpot-style site or knowledge experience.
Analyzing Card Sorting Results
After collecting all sessions, you will look for patterns across participants.
Group Similar Arrangements
Identify where most people placed each card. Look for:
- Strong agreement: cards that nearly everyone grouped together
- Moderate agreement: cards in similar but not identical groups
- Low agreement: cards with scattered placement
High-agreement groups are good candidates for top-level navigation or main category pages.
Evaluate Category Labels
List all labels participants created in open or hybrid sorts. Then:
- Find recurring words or phrases
- Group similar labels under broader themes
- Choose final labels that use the most natural language
This language can directly inform how you name menus, hubs, and sections in experiences inspired by HubSpot design principles.
Identify Problematic Content
Cards that participants struggled to place may represent:
- Overly broad or ambiguous topics
- Content that belongs in multiple categories
- Areas that need clearer labeling or splitting into subtopics
Flag these for follow-up testing or for clearer descriptions.
Turning Insights into Actionable Structure
Once analysis is complete, you can build a new information architecture and navigation.
Map Findings to a HubSpot-Like Navigation
Using the groups and labels that performed best, draft a revised structure:
- Create 4–7 main categories for top-level navigation
- Add subcategories for high-volume themes
- Assign each content item to its primary home
Keep the structure shallow and scannable so users can reach answers quickly.
Validate With Follow-Up Testing
Before fully launching, run quick tests such as tree testing or usability sessions. These confirm that your card-sorting-informed structure truly helps users find what they need.
Next Steps and Additional Resources
Card sorting is one research technique in a broader UX toolbox. To continue refining your experience, pair it with analytics, search logs, and direct customer feedback from CRM or service tools, including platforms that integrate with HubSpot.
For deeper reading on the method and its variations, explore the original resource at this HubSpot card sorting article.
If you want expert help designing user research programs or optimizing information architecture for growth platforms, you can also visit Consultevo for consulting and implementation support.
By combining disciplined card sorting with data-driven decision-making, you can build user experiences that feel as organized and intuitive as the best HubSpot-powered sites and portals.
Need Help With Hubspot?
If you want expert help building, automating, or scaling your Hubspot , work with ConsultEvo, a team who has a decade of Hubspot experience.
“`
