Anyone can put "HubSpot" on a resume. Fewer people can actually build a custom theme, wire up an integration that doesn't break under load, or structure a CRM in a way that makes sense six months later. If you're planning to hire HubSpot developers, the resume is the least useful part of the process — what matters is whether someone has the specific skills your project actually needs.

This article goes through those skills one by one, so you know what to check for before you commit to anyone.

Why the Right Developer Actually Matters Here

A badly built HubSpot site doesn't just look off. It can slow down page load, break workflows quietly, or leave your data in a state that's a pain to fix later. A developer with the right background avoids most of that, and builds things your team can actually maintain without calling them back every week.

Because HubSpot blends CMS, CRM, and marketing automation into one system, the person you hire needs to understand how those pieces connect — not just write code that technically works in isolation.

What a HubSpot Developer Actually Does

Before getting into specific skills, it's worth being clear on the role itself. Depending on the project, a HubSpot developer might work on:

• Custom themes, templates, and modules for your website
• CRM customization — custom objects, properties, that kind of thing
• Automation logic that goes past what HubSpot offers by default
• API integrations with outside software
• Migrating an existing site into HubSpot CMS
• Ongoing maintenance and bug fixes after launch

Some developers stick to one or two of these areas. Others move comfortably across all of them. Knowing which your project needs makes the rest of this a lot easier.

CMS Development Skills

If a website is involved anywhere in your project, CMS skills aren't optional. Look for someone who can:

• Build a custom theme from the ground up, not just edit an existing one
• Work confidently inside HubSpot's design manager
• Set up content types in a way your marketing team can manage without help
• Keep page speed in mind while building, not as an afterthought

A developer who's only ever tweaked pre-built themes tends to hit a ceiling fast once your requirements get specific.

CRM Knowledge and Customization

CRM work asks for a different way of thinking than website building. Useful skills here include:

• Building and managing custom objects and properties
• Setting up workflows and automation that actually match how your sales team works
• Understanding how deals, tickets, and contacts relate to one another
• Structuring data so reporting doesn't fall apart six months in

A developer who knows CRM well will ask about your sales process before changing anything — because the structure they set up shapes every report and automation built on top of it later.

HubL, HTML, CSS, and JavaScript

HubL is HubSpot's own templating language, and it's essential for building anything custom on the CMS side. Along with it, a solid developer should know their way around:

• HTML and CSS for layout and styling
• JavaScript for anything interactive
• Responsive coding that actually works across screen sizes, not just looks fine in one browser

If HubL specifically is unfamiliar territory for a candidate, that's a real gap. General web skills help, but they're not a substitute for knowing the platform's own language.

Custom Modules and Templates

Custom modules are where a good developer earns their keep, since they let your team build new pages later without needing a developer every single time. Look for:

• Real experience building reusable, flexible modules
• An eye for making modules genuinely editable by non-technical people
• Careful naming and organization — small thing, but it matters once a site has dozens of modules

A well-built module saves hours down the road. A sloppy one just creates confusion and gets your developer a call every week.

API and Third-Party Integration Work

A lot of businesses eventually need HubSpot talking to something else — billing software, an ERP, an internal database, another marketing tool. That requires:

• Comfort with HubSpot's CRM API and webhooks
• Knowing how to handle authentication properly
• Awareness of rate limits and designing around them instead of hitting a wall mid-project
• Handling errors in a way that doesn't let a failed sync quietly corrupt your data

This is usually where weaker developers stumble. Integration mistakes rarely show up right away — they surface weeks later as mismatched or missing data, and by then they're harder to trace.

Migration and Problem-Solving Skills

If you're moving an existing site onto HubSpot CMS, migration experience matters a lot. That includes:

• Setting up redirects properly so search rankings survive the move
• Recreating existing functionality without a drop in design quality
• Testing across browsers and devices before anything goes live
• Actually troubleshooting when something breaks, instead of guessing

Ask candidates directly about migrations they've handled. Their answer usually tells you whether they understand what's actually at risk — mainly your SEO — or whether they're learning on your project.

Responsive Design and User Experience

A HubSpot developer doesn't need a design degree, but they should have a sense of:

• Building layouts that hold up on mobile and desktop alike
• Basic usability — clear navigation, readable type, none of the obvious stuff missed
• How design choices affect how fast a page actually loads

Someone who thinks purely in code, without considering how a real visitor experiences the page, tends to produce sites that are technically fine but frustrating to actually use.

SEO and Performance Awareness

SEO isn't just a marketing concern — the technical groundwork matters just as much. Look for developers who understand:

• Clean, semantic HTML
• Image optimization and lazy loading
• Cutting unnecessary scripts that drag down load times
• The basics of meta tags, sitemaps, and structured data

This becomes especially important during a migration, where a weak technical setup can undo months of SEO progress almost overnight.

Communication and Project Management

Technical skill alone doesn't carry a project. The better HubSpot developers can also:

• Explain what they're doing in plain terms, not jargon
• Set timelines they can actually hit
• Flag issues early instead of waiting until launch week
• Work well with marketing and sales teams, not just other developers

If someone struggles to explain their approach clearly in an early conversation, that usually predicts how communication will go for the rest of the project.

Experience Across Different HubSpot Hubs

HubSpot is split into several Hubs — Marketing, Sales, Service, CMS, and Operations. How much this matters depends on your project:

• CMS Hub knowledge is a must for anything website-related
• Operations Hub experience helps with complex data syncing
• Some familiarity with Marketing and Sales Hub helps a developer understand how their work actually gets used day to day

No one needs to master every Hub. But they should understand roughly where their work fits into the bigger picture.

How to Actually Test Skills Before Hiring

Instead of relying purely on a resume or a call, try:

• A small, paid test project relevant to your real needs
• Reviewing live sites they've built — not just a slideshow of screenshots
• Asking a specific technical question tied to a challenge similar to yours
• Talking to a past client directly, especially for anything larger in scope

A short, well-defined test task often tells you more in an hour than a long interview ever will.

Red Flags Worth Watching For

A few warning signs that come up often:

• Vague, non-specific answers about past projects
• No live examples of actual HubSpot work
• Promises about results or timelines that sound too good to be realistic
• Reluctance to explain their technical approach without jargon
• No mention of testing or a maintenance plan once the project's live

If a conversation feels rushed or generic early on, it's usually worth slowing down before committing to anything.

Final Thoughts

The exact skills you need depend on your project, but the strongest HubSpot developers tend to combine real technical ability with clear communication and genuine interest in how your business actually runs. Taking the time to hire HubSpot developers who check these boxes leads to work that holds up — instead of a quick patch job that turns into more work later.

Working with an established HubSpot developers team, or a provider offering broader hire HubSpot developers support, makes this process a lot smoother if you don't have technical expertise in-house to evaluate candidates yourself. For a wider view of what's possible on the platform, this piece on HubSpot web development services is worth reading too.

FAQs

1. What's the single most important skill to look for?

A. There isn't one universal answer — it depends on the project. Website work leans on HubL and CMS experience; integration work leans on API and backend skills.

2. Do HubSpot developers need certifications?

A. Certifications show a baseline of platform knowledge, but they're not a replacement for actually reviewing someone's past work and asking specific questions about it.

3. Can one person handle both CMS and CRM development?

A. Often, yes — plenty of freelancers and smaller agencies cover both. For larger or more complex projects, some businesses prefer bringing in a specialist for each area instead.

4. How can I tell if someone really understands the HubSpot API?

A. Ask them to walk through a past integration in detail — how they handled authentication, errors, and rate limits specifically. Vague answers here are usually a sign of limited hands-on experience.