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From Directus to HubSpot Content Hub
We are the Directus to HubSpot Content Hub migration experts
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The process
How we migrate from Directus to HubSpot Content Hub
- 01
Access and gating audit
First we check the existing Directus and see whether the data is clean enough to move straight over to HubSpot Content Hub, and plan around any auth walls or bot protection in the way.
- 02
Rendering assessment and extraction
Then we work out how Directus renders its pages and pull the content out, even without CMS access.
- 03
AI-assisted sanitization
Everything extracted runs through our sanitization pipeline, which flags slop, normalizes structure, and leaves us clean content to work with.
- 04
Content-model design with the client
Before anything moves, we agree the HubSpot Content Hub content model with you, shaped around how your editors actually work.
- 05
Transform and soft-migrate
We transform the content to the agreed schema and run a full dry run, so mappings and edge cases prove out before production.
- 06
Execute the real migration
Once the dry run is clean, everything moves into HubSpot Content Hub in one controlled cutover.
- 07
Redirect mapping and throttled sitemap submission
Every old URL gets mapped to its new home with the right redirect, so rankings and link equity survive the move.
- 08
Agentic-browser QA
Finally, automated browsers sweep the new site for data issues, design regressions, and missing SEO signals.
- Ready when you are. We'll bring the moving boxes.Start my migration
Challenges with Directus
Key pain points
Directus looks fantastic in demos, but things get rocky once you actually try to use it at scale. The Team cloud plan is $499/month (or $599 billed monthly) and caps you at 10 SSO seats, 50 collections, and 20 flows. Grow past those limits and you're straight into custom Enterprise territory. The v12 move to the Monospace Sustainable Core License (MSCL) has also rattled the community; smaller orgs get a free Innovation Grant, but larger teams are navigating a licensing landscape that changed significantly from what they signed up for.
On the dev side, updates can introduce breaking changes, the documentation doesn't always keep pace, and the extension ecosystem is pretty thin. Localization is technically supported but fiddly and easy to misconfigure, and large datasets make the UI noticeably sluggish. And if you want anything deeply custom, you're suddenly living in Vue.js land, which is not where most teams want to spend their weekends.
Breaking update changes
Directus explicitly does not follow semver: any release may include breaking changes. The v10 to v11 upgrade hit schema changes and dropped fields, and the v11 UI scale change (px to rem) broke extensions hardcoding pixel values. Plan your upgrade windows carefully.
Limited extension ecosystem
The plugin ecosystem is still pretty bare. Anything even mildly niche ends up becoming a "let's just custom build it" moment, which defeats the purpose of picking a CMS with extensions. The marketplace launched in beta in early 2024 and is still maturing.
Complex localization setup
Yes, it supports multilingual content, but setting it up feels like assembling IKEA furniture blindfolded. It works, but expect extra config, extra steps, and extra patience.
Version history still tier-gated
Global draft versions now ship automatically with every versioned item (no manual setup required as of March 2026), which is a genuine improvement. Full version history, rollbacks, and controlled releases are still locked behind higher-tier plans, though, so if predictable publishing workflows are a must, check your tier carefully before committing.
Vue.js knowledge requirement
Custom interfaces and deeper tweaks need Vue.js, so if your team only speaks React, prepare for a small identity crisis (or a hiring plan).
Large dataset performance issues
Heavy tables and deeply relational data can slow down queries and the UI: community reports show 25K-row datasets where raw SQL runs in milliseconds but the Directus API takes 20+ seconds, largely due to internal query overhead and no auto-indexes on foreign keys.
Benefits of HubSpot Content Hub
Key advantages
HubSpot Content Hub (formerly CMS Hub) is designed so business users can update pages, run campaigns, and push content without ever Slacking a developer at 9 p.m.
It’s genuinely simple to implement, the drag-and-drop editor behaves, and the CRM integration does all the heavy lifting, from personalization to lead capture to automated follow-ups. The Content Hub rebrand bolted Breeze AI onto all of it: Content Remix repurposes one piece of content into emails, social posts, and landing pages, and there’s built-in podcast and video hosting now too. You barely need a dev unless you’re trying to make something unusually fancy, because HubSpot’s whole pitch is: "Let marketing ship it themselves."
But if you do want to build something more complex or need help figuring out where HubSpot fits into your stack, reach out. We can help you avoid unnecessary and very expensive upgrades, weird theme restrictions, and the classic "why is this locked behind Enterprise?" surprise.
Intuitive drag-and-drop interface
Non-technical teams can update pages, layouts, and content without ever pinging a developer. The editor is straightforward, visual, and fast, making day-to-day site changes painless.
Deep CRM integration
Forms, leads, emails, CTAs, and all of it connect back to HubSpot’s CRM automatically. This gives teams real personalisation power and a unified view of how users move from visitor to lead to customer.
Built-in SEO tools and analytics
HubSpot flags issues, suggests improvements, and provides performance insights without extra tools. It’s practical for teams who want clear SEO direction baked directly into the CMS.
Secure cloud hosting with SSL/CDN
Hosting, security patches, SSL, and updates are all handled by HubSpot. Sites stay fast and secure without anyone babysitting servers or worrying about downtime.
AI content tools with Content Remix
Breeze AI is baked into the editor. Content Remix repurposes existing pages and posts into new formats, and the AI writer handles first drafts. Useful for small teams that publish across several channels.
Live WYSIWYG previews
Changes can be reviewed in real time before publishing, which reduces mistakes and makes approvals easier. What you see in the editor actually matches what goes live
Common questions
Directus to HubSpot Content Hub migration FAQs
Answers to the most common questions about Directus to HubSpot Content Hub migration
Directus sits directly on your SQL database, which is both a blessing and a curse during migration. The blessing is that your content is in standard PostgreSQL, MySQL, or SQLite tables, so extraction is as simple as SQL queries. The curse is that Directus stores relational data and file references in its own conventions, so you need to untangle junction tables and re-map asset URLs. We write custom migration scripts for each project. A typical Directus migration with 50 to 100 content types takes 3 to 5 weeks.
Get in touch
Tell us what you're building. We reply within one working day. Jono or someone on the team picks up every message personally.
