HubSpot is migrating their users to a new knowledge base system. If you do not publish your updated knowledge base by the deadline (February 26th, 2026), your articles will no longer be visible to your customers or support team.
Follow this step-by-step guide to configure, style, and publish your new knowledge base.
Prerequisites
- You must have a Service Hub seat.
- You must have Super Admin or Knowledge Base Edit access in HubSpot.
Step 1: Access the New Knowledge Base
- Log in to your HubSpot portal and navigate to your Knowledge Base.
- You will see a banner stating: "Action required to keep knowledge base live."
- Notice the difference between your current setup (accessible via the "Legacy Knowledge Base" button) and the new environment. The new version's URL may temporarily include the word "migration" until it is published.
Step 2: Configure Your Theme
The new knowledge base uses a different theming engine than your main website, so you will need to manually set up your brand styles.
- In the top right corner, click Configure, then select Theme.
- Colors: Set your primary brand colors, background colors, and link colors (including hover states). Pro-tip: Have your brand hex codes ready.
- Typography: Select your brand fonts for headings and body text (e.g., Montserrat, Libra Baskerville). Make sure to adjust the body text color so it is highly legible (e.g., changing it from a default blue to black).
- Search Bar / Hero Section: * Swap out the background image.
- Adjust spacing and padding (e.g., 80px on top and bottom).
- Update the search input text and icon colors so they pop against your background.
- Once your styling looks good, click Publish Theme (Note: This only publishes the visual theme, not the whole knowledge base).
Step 3: Configure the Header
- Go back to the Configure menu and select Header.
- Navigation Menu: Choose the correct default menu for your portal.
- Call-to-Action Button: If using a button in the header, make sure to link it to a fully qualified URL or a specific page. You can also disable the button if you don't need it.
- Support Options: Toggle additional features as needed, such as:
- Customer Portal (if you manage tickets in HubSpot)
- Support Form
- Login/Logout switcher
- Language localization options
- Click Apply Changes and then Publish the header.
Step 4: Configure the Footer
- Go to the Configure menu and select Footer.
- Menu: Disable the footer menu if you don't need it.
- Logo: Upload your company logo. Resize it so it fits well (e.g., 200 pixels wide) and ensure it links back to your main website.
- Text/Copyright: Review the text area and copyright section to ensure they are accurate.
- Click Update and then Publish the footer.
Step 5: Update Your Categories
Categories function a bit differently in the new layout and rely more heavily on visuals.
- Navigate to your Knowledge Base Categories.
- Edit each category to add a brief description.
- Add Icons: Upload icons for your categories so they display visually in the layout grid.
- Set the display order and visibility of your categories. (Note: Categories will only show up live if they contain published articles).
Step 6: QA and Compare
- Open your Legacy Knowledge Base in a separate browser window.
- In your new setup, click View Live to preview the migration version.
- Compare them side-by-side.
- Click through a few articles to ensure the formatting, links, and text transferred cleanly and look good with your new theme settings.
Step 7: Final Publish
- Once you are completely satisfied with the design and layout, go back to the main Knowledge Base dashboard.
- Locate the app banner warning about the deadline and click the main Publish button.
- Confirm the action. Note: Once you do this, the legacy version will be permanently replaced and no longer accessible.
- Refresh your live URL. It may take a minute or two for HubSpot's cache to clear, but your new knowledge base will soon be fully live!
Stuck or need extra help? Reach out to Impulse Creative for half-hour consultation calls or project quotes if your knowledge base requires heavy lifting.
