When it comes to finding a trustworthy, talented HubSpot CMS developer, there is a large pool of HubSpot agencies and a few freelance developers that can get the job done. Not every business has the budget to afford the best in HubSpot CMS development agencies, though. These businesses sometimes opt for HubSpot marketplace templates that can be customized by a developer to make things a little easier. When you do this, you know that the theme has been verified and reviewed by HubSpot and you’ll have a little more peace of mind. But sometimes if you’ve taken the risk to inexpensively outsource a HubSpot developer, it can come with some serious consequences —the worst of which is being ghosted by your developer.

We’ve seen it a few times, unfortunately. Businesses or agencies are referred to us that outsourced development to an individual that oversold their expertise in HubSpot CMS. The client struggles through part of the process, only to find that the interface isn’t at all what they expected, or the site is slow and buggy, or they get partially through and their developer jumps ship with the deposit when they realize they’re in too far over their head.

What’s an agency or business to do when they find their HubSpot CMS developer has ghosted them?
Take heart, we’ve laid out what needs to happen next.

Take a breath and realize everything is going to be okay.

It’s a hard pill to swallow when your developer abandons the project. Try not to waste too much time pursuing them. While you should definitely perform due diligence to ensure it isn’t just a misunderstanding or illness, once you identify that developer isn’t coming back, you need to accept it so that you can begin to move things forward.

Fight the desire to tell them off. Instead, send them one last email calmly delineating the situation, the payments they’ve received, and their obligation to you or your client. It should include the contract that you’ve established with them (please always get contracts signed by your agency or developer), a timeframe for acceptable response, and an outline of previous communications. If there are any clauses in the contract that cover this situation, you’ll want to refer to them and let them know to expect you to make good on any consequences promised by the contract breach. Keep all correspondence for later, in the event that you make the decision to pursue any other actions.

Don’t internalize things too much or waste time wondering what you should have done differently in vetting this developer. Just know what you should expect when working with an experienced HubSpot CMS developer and begin your search for someone that you can trust to complete the project.

Eliminate access immediately.

If your developer’s moral compass and ethical standards include leaving you high and dry mid-project, you want to protect your assets and property and avoid any further issues. You’ll want to pull that developer’s access to your HubSpot portal, any cloud storage folders that you’ve shared, website content files, image files, design files, and anything else you’ve shared. 

The sooner you do this, the more peace of mind you’ll have. You can always come back and add them if it was a misunderstanding, but you cannot get data back if that developer decides to take it from you.

Be transparent and honest about the situation.

This part can be difficult. If you’re inside an organization and managing the project, it will be hard to tell your executive team what has happened. You may worry that they will blame you and you’ll have to face the consequences. If you’re an agency, you may be tempted to not tell the client the entire story. From experience and in the interest of saving the long-term relationship (or your job), you’ll want to rip the Band-Aid off and be as forthcoming as possible. Let them know that you did your best to select a developer within their budget, but unfortunately that developer oversold their skills.

Let them know you’ll need a few weeks to find and vet new talent and what your plans are for recouping their deposit, if possible. If not, you may want to see how you can make it up on the new project by not marking up labor or offering some discounted or free services to make up for your oversight.

Consider an insurance claim or lawsuit.

When it’s not possible to recoup the initial investment, you should consider suing your developer. With any luck, you’ve done due diligence in vetting them and ensured that they have insurance. While we don’t personally have experience in web development insurance lawsuits, we do carry liability insurance ourselves and understand the basic liabilities of being a web developer.

Be sure to consult an attorney and gather any correspondence, your contract or agreement, and anything else you have for them to review. They’ll be able to give you the best insight on what your options are for recouping your investment.

Get recommendations for a reliable HubSpot CMS developer.

You may have to begin again, but this time you’re starting from experience. You already have a good understanding of the red flags and know all the signs it’s time to ditch your HubSpot CMS developer, so this time you’re starting from experience. If you’re a HubSpot Partner, you can start with your Channel Account Manager for the best recommendations. If you’re a HubSpot user that isn’t an agency, you can start with the HubSpot Ecosystem Solutions Directory (please note that you must have a HubSpot portal login to access this directory).

You’ll want to make sure you ask for references and make sure that the developer is a good fit. Just because a HubSpot developer agency is reputable and does good work, doesn’t mean they don’t suffer from agency growing pains that can impact you as a client. Take the time to carefully explain your situation. It’s very likely based on the work that the developer has completed already, the new developer or agency may have to start from scratch. You should be prepared to pay for an entirely new website. We know. It’s a lot, but when it is finished you’ll have a much better foundation that won’t cost you in page load speed or website bloat later on.

Related: Signs it's time to ditch your HubSpot CMS developer

Identify where you are, what you have and keep going.

You’ll want to forward all documents, design files, correspondence, and credentials to your new agency or developer as soon as possible once you’ve executed an agreement with them. The more information they have, the more they’ll be able to do and the faster they can get started. While you don’t want to rush into anything with a developer prior to vetting them properly, you do want to act quickly once you choose your developer.

Be sure not to rush your timelines. You’ll likely have to re-establish a deadline and work at the pace of your new developer to get things done properly. This is actually a great opportunity to take a look at design elements or anything else that you’ve been considering adding to the site. Really take this time to get the feedback from your developer and understand what they think could be changed or tweaked in order to maximize the user experience. An experienced developer will be able to make sound recommendations to optimize user experience.

Related: Why an experienced HubSpot developer? Your website isn't a sub sandwich.

It can be hard when your HubSpot developer ghosts you, but the reality is that the type of person or business that would leave you hanging in the middle of a huge project isn’t someone you should be working with anyway. Rather than looking at the negative side of the situation, take a look at the opportunities in front of you. Now you know. Now you’ll never make the mistake of not properly qualifying a developer again.

We are referred many projects that other developers couldn’t bring to the finish line. We’re happy to give yours a second look and see if we can recommend (or be) a HubSpot CMS developer that can help.