On most days you will catch me talking pretty highly of Hubspot software. But today is not one of them. I have been using this tool for nearly 3 years and writing several hundred blog articles and creating many webpages and sites on their platform, so what’s the problem? Their Spell Check Tool SUCKS!!!!
I have been bringing this to their attention for years and not sure why it has never been fixed. I do not know if it is just an issue with mac users or people who use firefox, firefox users on a mac or something else, but what I will tell you is there is a serious foundational problem with this portion of the tool.
If you read my blog on a regular basis you probably have caught many typos and miss-spellings. I can not fully blame this on Hubspot, because I post things quickly and do not proof read things well enough and have a weakness in spelling for sure, but I can tell you Hubspot is not helping in this area. There is a spell check tool and on a good day it works great, but on a bad day it is TOTALLY USELESS!
Hubspot is usually very good about fixing bugs or adding new tools and I think I have mentioned several things that could make Hubspot better and then within 6 months have seen my ideas added to the product or the way Hubspot does things. This is great however the fact that 3 years later the spell check tool still sucks is a BIG PROBLEM! Hubspot preaches put out remarkable content. Part of remarkable content is proper grammar and spelling. If you offer a spell check tool them make sure it is a solid part of the toolset. I do not think this is too much to ask.
So Brian Halligan and Dharmesh Shah what’s it going to take to get this tool, to something I can count on 95% of the time? 50-60% is something I no longer want to put up with. I know I am not the only one having these problems. If any hubspot user agrees the spell checker tool needs work, please comment below and share your thoughts. Let’s get this tool fixed!
Also please vote for this to be fixed on the Hubspot Product Development Voter Tool. Notice I posted this fix suggestion in December of 2010 and it is still not fixed I have been having this issue since May of 2009 when I started with Hubspot.
Dale,
You’re right — the spellcheck tool in HubSpot leaves a lot to be desired. As you’ve noticed, we haven’t done much work on the blogging application recently (we’ve been focused on improving our email and lead nurturing features.
The good news: As part of the work we’re doing in the the new email marketing application, we have a new spellcheck tool that is much better than the old one. This new version will be pulled into the blogging application as well — along with a LOT of other cool stuff, coming up later this year.
I’m a big user of the HubSpot blogging application myself (for my blog, OnStartups.com) — so I feel your pain.
Thanks for your patience — and support of HubSpot.
Dale,
You’re right — the spellcheck tool in HubSpot leaves a lot to be desired. As you’ve noticed, we haven’t done much work on the blogging application recently (we’ve been focused on improving our email and lead nurturing features.
The good news: As part of the work we’re doing in the the new email marketing application, we have a new spellcheck tool that is much better than the old one. This new version will be pulled into the blogging application as well — along with a LOT of other cool stuff, coming up later this year.
I’m a big user of the HubSpot blogging application myself (for my blog, OnStartups.com) — so I feel your pain.
Thanks for your patience — and support of HubSpot.
Dharmesh,
Thanks for your response. I truly appreciate it. Although I love your product, this is one thing that just never seemed to get fixed. It seems like I hit the spell check button and then it instantly turns off. I hit it again, it turns off. I hit is again, it turns on and I start to scroll and it turns off. I hit it again and find a misspelling, click on it and the spell checker turns off again. I know my articles are too long, but I am even more aware when I need to click the spell checker 15 to 20 times in a single article.
Do you have a timeframe for these new improvements? 1 month, 3 months, 6 months, a year, longer?
Thanks again for your thoughts on this and taking the time to answer a frustrated customer! I’m looking forward to all the new stuff!
Dharmesh,
Thanks for your response. I truly appreciate it. Although I love your product, this is one thing that just never seemed to get fixed. It seems like I hit the spell check button and then it instantly turns off. I hit it again, it turns off. I hit is again, it turns on and I start to scroll and it turns off. I hit it again and find a misspelling, click on it and the spell checker turns off again. I know my articles are too long, but I am even more aware when I need to click the spell checker 15 to 20 times in a single article.
Do you have a timeframe for these new improvements? 1 month, 3 months, 6 months, a year, longer?
Thanks again for your thoughts on this and taking the time to answer a frustrated customer! I’m looking forward to all the new stuff!
I have to say that I’m not happy with Hubspot. When I purchased my annual membership, the sales rep didn’t let me know that there was a 30-day free trial, nor did he inform me that I could pay for the service on a monthly basis.
After using the service for a few months, I realized that I could do these tasks on my own – manually, saving myself $3,000 per year.
Additionally, it’s not posting to my LinkedIn account and Google can’t even find my company if I type in the company name!
When I called to cancel the account and ask for a pro-rated refund (like many service providers allow – ie GoDaddy, etc), they refused. My account rep sent me to the collections manager, Rob. He refused to cancel the account too.
He said he was choosing to “honor the contract terms between the two firms”. Now I’m stuck with an expensive service not relevant for a small start-up company on a shoe-string budget.
In the end, you don’t need hubspot to particiapte in social marketing. It’s just a tool. The important thing is to do the activities, and the traffic will come. Don’t buy Hubspot! Do the tasks manually first. When it’s working manually…then use an marketing automation solution.
I have to say that I’m not happy with Hubspot. When I purchased my annual membership, the sales rep didn’t let me know that there was a 30-day free trial, nor did he inform me that I could pay for the service on a monthly basis.
After using the service for a few months, I realized that I could do these tasks on my own – manually, saving myself $3,000 per year.
Additionally, it’s not posting to my LinkedIn account and Google can’t even find my company if I type in the company name!
When I called to cancel the account and ask for a pro-rated refund (like many service providers allow – ie GoDaddy, etc), they refused. My account rep sent me to the collections manager, Rob. He refused to cancel the account too.
He said he was choosing to “honor the contract terms between the two firms”. Now I’m stuck with an expensive service not relevant for a small start-up company on a shoe-string budget.
In the end, you don’t need hubspot to particiapte in social marketing. It’s just a tool. The important thing is to do the activities, and the traffic will come. Don’t buy Hubspot! Do the tasks manually first. When it’s working manually…then use an marketing automation solution.
@Micky – sounds like your “shoe-string budget” is everybody’s fault but yours! When you were buying Hubspot, did you ask if there was a free trial? Did you ask if there was a monthly payment option? Did you investigate other options before you bought or did you see this as your next silver bullet, a bright shiny object that was gonna make you rich? Did you notice that Dharmesh reads this blog? Do you think that he might have had someone reach out to you if you had made it easier in your comment? Why should anyone listen to your advice? How many readers do you think aspire to having a shoestring budget? As they say, “Don’t quit your day job.”
@Micky – sounds like your “shoe-string budget” is everybody’s fault but yours! When you were buying Hubspot, did you ask if there was a free trial? Did you ask if there was a monthly payment option? Did you investigate other options before you bought or did you see this as your next silver bullet, a bright shiny object that was gonna make you rich? Did you notice that Dharmesh reads this blog? Do you think that he might have had someone reach out to you if you had made it easier in your comment? Why should anyone listen to your advice? How many readers do you think aspire to having a shoestring budget? As they say, “Don’t quit your day job.”
Some people at hubspot are now reaching out to me. I’ll keep you posted of what the final answer is.
Some people at hubspot are now reaching out to me. I’ll keep you posted of what the final answer is.
Issue resolved. Looks like it was an issue of being sent to the person whose job is to enforce contracts…not the person who can help arrive at a solution.
Issue resolved. Looks like it was an issue of being sent to the person whose job is to enforce contracts…not the person who can help arrive at a solution.
Sounds great Micky! This will probably solve all your problems. Best of luck!
Sounds great Micky! This will probably solve all your problems. Best of luck!