by:
MeganLegge
We've introduced a new experience for creating a workflow that makes it even easier and faster to create and use automation in HubSpot. With this new update, we’re allowing you to browse and select your workflow trigger before choosing which object type you’d like to build the automation around.
Why is that important enough to warrant a blog post? Great question!
To answer that, let’s level-set on how a workflow…works.
Workflows are based on triggers - e.g. the event that should kick off the series of automated steps in your workflow. So, naturally, the first thing our customers think about when creating a workflow is what should trigger this particular automation?
For example, a form submission from a website visitor needs to trigger an automated email response to the contact, and a notification to a sales rep about a potential new lead.
So what was the issue?
Prior to making this update, the workflow creation process didn’t match up with that “trigger first” mental model! The builder first asked you to select an object type to automate and then showed you all available triggers for that object type. That’s confusing, and it often caused users to have to click through multiple different object types to find the trigger they needed for their automation.
We heard the feedback loud and clear, and we’re now really excited to be able to surface HubSpot’s full library of automation triggers upfront and streamline your workflow creation process (with some added AI goodness to help you work even smarter)!
Read on to learn more about why we're making this change and how the redesign improves the experience of creating workflows!
All the details
Once your account has access to the new experience (more on that below!), you can check it out by navigating to the workflows app and clicking the orange ‘Create workflow’ button. Select the ‘From scratch’ option, and you'll enter the new Create workflow experience!
Before: The old create workflow experience
In the past, when creating a workflow, the first step was to choose an object type. For those who hadn't yet learned HubSpot terminology, that choice was overwhelming and confusing. Even for those with experience, it was often hard to remember which option would offer the trigger you needed. And, furthermore, once you chose an object type, there was no going back to browse other options.
Once in the builder, you were then confronted with another set of choices for setting up your trigger. These three options were categorized by HubSpot’s technology, rather than by your needs and use cases. And again, we were narrowing down your options with each of these choices, by logic that wasn’t clear or transparent.
If you can't find what you’re looking for, you may waste a lot of time navigating between these options. It was also possible that the trigger you need isn't even an option, solely because of the object type you chose! While stuck in this flow a customer might assume what they're looking for is not a feature workflows offers when, in reality, it just exists in a different object type.
These forced decision points, combined with our use of HubSpot terminology, created an unnecessary barrier for customers that just wanted to build an automated workflow.
After: The new create workflow experience
With this change, after clicking to create a new workflow, customers will now go directly into the workflow builder, where they can browse all of the possible workflow triggers! This matches up with the mental model for creating automation, and removes those unnecessary barriers we mentioned earlier.
This redesign doesn't take away any features or functionality - everything that was possible in the old experience is still possible in the new experience! The new experience just allows you to choose your trigger first, making it easier than ever to find your desired trigger, or discover new trigger options.
When a trigger is selected, the object type will now be set for the workflow automatically where possible. For example, if a form submission trigger is set, then the workflow type will be a contact workflow - automatically!
Don’t worry - you’ll still be able to choose your own object if the selected trigger could apply to multiple different objects. For example, property change triggers.
This update makes it easier for customers to find the best fit trigger for the task at hand, while making the workflow building process quicker with fewer clicks and decisions required in order to get started.
When can I get access?
We’ve been offering the option for customers to request access to the earliest beta version of the new experience for a few months now. A few thousand of you participated, gave feedback, and helped us make a ton of improvements. Thanks again!
As of April 18, 2025, anyone can opt into our Public Beta at any time! We’ll be gradually rolling out the new experience to everyone with access to workflows over the next several weeks.
We know redesigned experiences in popular tools like workflows can sometimes be difficult to adjust to. With that in mind, we’ll have an extended beta period and, during that period, customers can toggle between the new and old workflow experiences as needed.
In the app, you’ll see a green bubble that shows up during both the old and new experiences. Individual users on an account can make this choice for themselves, without affecting other users' preferred experience.
As always, feel free to leave us feedback directly in-app!
We expect the new experience will go live within a few months, and the option to opt-in and opt-out of the change will be removed. The new experience will be live to all customers, and the old experience will be removed permanently.
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