HubSpot
Designing HubSpot’s Guide Creator
Year: 2022
Role: Senior Product Designer
Platform: Web
TLDR:
Guide Creator is a lightweight Chrome extension that transforms any recorded workflow into a share‑ready, step‑by‑step guide in under five minutes. By eliminating the drudgery of writing standard operating procedures, the tool helped small teams document processes, slash onboarding time, and crucially for HubSpot, funnelled new users into Service Hub through every shared guide.
Strategic Context
As Service Hub’s acquisition costs plateaued, leadership tasked our cross‑functional squad with discovering a viral, product‑led growth lever. Process‑documentation startups (Tango, Scribe) were gaining traction yet were still vulnerable: few had a freemium tier with seamless export. Guide Creator promised a friction‑free entry point that could scale awareness while nudging users deeper into HubSpot.
Results
Before launch we set high success targets across acquisition, engagement, and user satisfaction.
7K+
Extension installs
14%+
Installs → HubSpot sign‑ups
56
Beta NPS
My Role: End‑to‑End Product Design & Strategy
I led the entire design lifecycle, partnering closely with Product, Engineering, and Marketing.
What I drove
Problem Framing: JTBD canvas, opportunity sizing, success metrics tied to Service Hub sign‑ups.
Competitive & Differentiation Strategy: Teardowns of seven direct competitors → positioning matrix → North‑star UX principles.
User Research: 12 discovery interviews, three moderated usability tests, two unmoderated Maze studies.
Experience Design: Extension UI, web viewer, empty states, branding controls, and design‑to‑dev hand‑off.
Go‑to‑Market Partner: Shaped viral‑loop mechanics, launch messaging, and measurement plan with Marketing.
Research & Early Validation
Key Discovery Insights
Speed > polish. Users preferred a rough guide in < 5 min over a polished one in 40.
Export ubiquity. PDF and embedded viewer were table‑stakes; GIF export provided a delight factor.
Brand trust. SMBs valued removing watermarks—but only after experiencing initial value.
Usability Highlights (Round 1)
Recording clarity: Adding a glowing “Record” state bumped task‑completion by 18 %.
Step editing: Drag‑to‑reorder delighted testers; multiline captions shipped in beta.
Share flow: “Copy link” became the primary CTA after five of five testers chose it first.
Designing the Experience
We distilled the journey into three decisive moments:
Landing Page Design
Chrome Store Images
Outcomes
Before launch we set ambitious targets across acquisition, engagement, and satisfaction. The first 30 days blew past every goal—proving Guide Creator could attract new audiences and deliver immediate value.
7K+
Extension installs
14%+
Installs → HubSpot sign‑ups
56
Beta NPS
Reflection & Next Steps
Launching Guide Creator smashed our install and NPS goals, yet deep‑funnel conversions into Service Hub lagged behind projections.
In hindsight I would carve out more upfront time with PMs to map where a freshly‑made guide should live in the existing HubSpot ecosystem so every share, embed, or Knowledge‑Base add felt native, not bolted‑on.
Designing my first Chrome extension (plus the public landing page and Chrome Web Store assets) pushed me to learn browser‑permission models and micro‑marketplace UX.
What I’d Do Differently
Integration clarity earlier. Co‑define the “post‑publish” journey with Service Hub PMs before locking MVP scope.
Sharper activation metrics. Pair qualitative delight with at‑a‑glance KPIs (guide‑view drop‑off, AI‑caption edits) from day one.
Let’s talk!
If you have a project in mind or are simply interested in finding out more, get in touch and let’s get things moving.