HubSpot Ideas

Captshawn

Enable Smart Content on Rich Text in Custom Modules

Since the addition of custom modules into the Design Manager Tool, templates are being built using these custom modules.
But these modules does not support smart content what makes its use limited of specific.
ie: Best custom module idea is a Banner module, but a banner is the first place where smart content needs or can be applied.
I understand the coding complexity for making the custom module entirely smart but It will be more than enough if we can add Smart Content tool into rich text modules in custom modules.

57 Replies
CST
Participant

@Captshawn That's great news! Thanks for the update and I look forward to reading about a release date.

jmarcello
Participant

@Captshawn we would also be interested in the Beta.

costalesja11
Contributor

Hi All, 

Would like to ask if there is an update to this new enhancement?

Thank you

Jon_McLaren
Top Contributor | Platinum Partner

Updating based on what I know.

This is a highly demanded feature. HubSpot's been planning out how to pull it off, because with custom modules there's an infinite level of complexity that could come with how smart content could be done. They want to find the right balance between making it simple while still providing you power.

This functionality is super complex and HubSpot knows smart content is one of the main draws to HubSpot in the first place. They haven't forgotten about this.

Every time I've asked during AMA's and whatnot the answer is consistently  - we're working on it, we have no expected timeline.

Patryk
Member

It's possible to code your own smart content for all fields in custom modules, but it's not THAT easy and definitely needs a developer.

 

You will need proxy server connected to Hubspot API.

 

Here's a very rough overview on how to do it:

 

# Add separate smart content fields

Let's say you have [title] text field. Now in the same custom module create new group [smart title] consisting of:

 - smart content type (choice field)

 - smart content rule (text field)

 - value (same as field we want to change, which is text in [title])

 

# Display this as something to be easy used by Javascript

<span data-smart-id="title">This is my default title</span>

 

 

<script>
{
smart = { title = { type: '{{ smart_title.smart_content_type }}', rule: '{{ smart_title.smart_content_rule }}', value: '{{ smart_title.value }}',
}
}
</script>

 

 

# Now you need to create client-side javascript which will parse all `smart` objects and send smart content rules to proxy server along with "hubspotutk" cookie value. For example, client sends:

{
  hubspotutk = "dsfdsgdf",
  { title = {
     ["Country", "United States"],
["Country", "United Kingdom"]
}
}
}

# Server receives this and does a GET request to API: 

Server checks if rules are met. If contact property "Country" equals "United States", server can respond to client with something along the lines of { "country", "United States", true }

 

# Now client script knows which rule has passed and can replace default title with "This is title for US visitors"

 

 

JackMaden
Participant

Would absolutely love this feature as soon as possible. We are very limited with what we can do with coded templates currently. Making custom modules smart would open many, many doors & make Hubspot a viable solution 

Qt
Contributor

We've also done some coding to enable smart content into customer modules, but have found that it doens't always work especially in nested modules. For example, smart content by country works, but not by list memebrship. It would be great if we could have a full-proof solution from the HS team for this. 

keegan-sbm
Contributor

We've done some smart module development as well and it's a tricky business for a number of reasons. We've developed feature parity with the referrer module and the list membership module, but we can't duplicate the nice UI that the hubspot smart modules have. Hubspot also cheats the "smart" functionality within the preview mode so in order to actually enable previewing, every sublayer of smart module functionality is actually twice as complex as it sounds. This smart-like functionaity also requires an inert smart module to be added to the page in order to work correctly and to be previewed, so that's another problem area. Having gone through the development of just these two features, I can definitely say that smart features must be limited to the top level of the custom module only (and not allow every field in a module to be smart). But I can confirm it is theoretically possible to build custom smart-like custom modules from scratch via Hubl without addtional complexity (like using the API or external hosting).

anders_grove
Contributor | Elite Partner

A massive +1  from me as well. We NEED this!

ridingforlife
Top Contributor

A big +1 as well!

 

I can get around this by using global modules, but I need to then use the global module as a template itself and duplicate it for each instance that I need it for to have unique content. 

 

Would love if smart content could apply to more than just the rich text field, like it does in global modules.

sixandflow
Participant | Elite Partner

Is there any update on this? Currently I feel like I can either give people static templates with the smart content functionality or flexible templates that are built using custom modules... most of our clients need both of these things!

CC-Marketing
Participant

Any udpate?

Hubmate
Contributor

This is a joke! No mention at Inbound 2019 of smart content being enabled for custom modules. At this point I believe it's not possible else we would have received some sort of update.

 

Now with the news of the drag and drop editor I would be surprised if that in time doesn't become the sole way to build templates. But guess what? I would be very surprised if the drag and drop editor is going to work with custom modules i.e. you are not going to be able to drag and drop fields into a custom module. So what are we left with then? Three components which do not work properly with each other: smart content, custom modules and the drag n' drop page editor. 

 

I'm just frustrated because I have spent over a year converting marketplace templates and refining a process which is 'modular', whereby users can drag and drop modules on the page. It seems like custom modules are going to be left by the wayside.

 

Does anyone else feel my frustrattions here? I have been developing on the Hubspot platform since 2010 but I am getting fed up of the way new features are released and are not backwards compatible. It's kind of a golden rule in development that new features should be backwards compatible. As it stands new features are not. It's silly and disjointed.

ab-jordanskole
Participant

👀

agiledigital
Member

Hey everyone, 

 

I am noticing Smart rules are now available within custom modules. Has anyone seen any official news about that?

JamesNichols90
Participant

+1

costalesja11
Contributor

Hi All,

Would like to ask if there is any updates on this? @agiledigital, may I know how did you make smart rules works in custom modules?

Thank you

agiledigital
Member

Hi @costalesja11,

 

The smart rules options just showed up. We spoke to support and as far as I remember they just started introducing those. Please note the account we worked on was on Enterprise plan. 

 

I hope that helps. 

 

Best,
Simeon
https://www.agiledigitalagency.com/

Hubmate
Contributor

Hi @agiledigital Would you be able to take a screenshot of the smart rules you're seeing? It would be really great to see if we're all on the same page and can finally expect custom smart rules to be released soon 🙂

Thanks,

Steve

agiledigital
Member

Sure, I see this on my custom modules:

https://paste.pics/7T07N

 

Edit:

Just to note I am not talking about custom smart rules but smart rules in custom modules.