Create calls-to-action (CTAs)

Use the calls-to-action (CTA) tool to create button CTAs, banners, or pop-ups to add to your HubSpot pages and attract new visitors. You can also add CTAs to external pages.

Before adding a CTA to an external page, you must install the HubSpot tracking code, or install the HubSpot WordPress plugin on your WordPress site. After adding a CTA, drive traffic by directing visitors to specific pages, meeting links, or external URLs. 

On mobile devices, you can choose to either enable a responsive layout or hide the CTA on small screens in the CTA options. After publishing your CTA, learn how to analyze your CTA's performance. 

Design a CTA

In the CTA editor, customize your CTA's design to attract visitors. When creating CTAs, you can also use smart content to display different versions of your CTA based on viewer category. Learn more about using smart content in CTAs. 

• In your HubSpot account, navigate to Marketing > CTAs.
• In the top right, click Create.
• At the top, select the Pop-ups tab or the Embeds and Buttons tab. 
  • Pop-up CTAs will include the following types: 
    
    • Banner: a permanent banner fixed to the top or bottom of your page. The banner will remain as visitors scroll through your page. 
    • Pop-up box: a pop-up box that appears on a set schedule. 
    • Slide-In: a banner that slides in from a corner of your website. The banner will remain as visitors scroll through your page. 
  • Embed and button CTAs will include the following types: 
    • Embedded: a banner, call-to-action, or button that you can use on your website or HubSpot emails to drive prospective customers to specific pages.
    • Embedded Image: an image you can use on your HubSpot pages or email.
• Choose a template based on the type of CTA you want to create.
  • Each CTA template will have customizable elements such as images and text fields.
  • For example, you can select a Click to chat template to launch a WhatsApp link, or an Event template for visitors to register for your conference or workshop. 

• In the left panel, from the Add tab, add elements and edit the layout for your CTA: 

• • To add more content to your CTA, click and drag a new element directly into the right panel of the editor. You can also add video elements to your CTA, learn more about the options are requirements when adding videos to your CTAs. 
  • To modify your CTA's layout, hover over an element and click and drag it to a new position.
  • To duplicate the element, hover over the element and click the duplicateclone icon.
  • To delete the element, hover over the element and click the deletedelete icon. 
  • To edit an element, click the element. In the left panel, you can edit the content and design of the element.

• In the left panel, click the Content tab to manage your elements. 
  • To edit an element, click the name of the element. In the left panel, you can edit the content and design of the element. In rich text elements, you can use AI assistants to create or refine your CTA content. 
  • To delete an element, hover over the element and click the delete delete icon. 
• In the left panel, click the Design tab to customize and preview your CTA.
  • To preview your CTA on specific pages, in the top right, click Preview. Then, click the Preview on specific page dropdown menu and select the HubSpot page to preview the CTA. 

• • To customize the appearance of your CTA, select one of the following options. Then, configure your changes in the left panel. 
    • Position: for sticky banner CTAs, you can select a top or bottom position. For slide-in CTAs, you can position the CTA in the top left, bottom left, top right, or bottom right of the page. 
    • Sizing: configure the height of your CTA, you can toggle on the option to set the height automatically based on the content of your CTA.
    • Layout: configure the layout of your CTA. You can add padding to your CTA content. You can also toggle on the option to enable a responsive layout. With a responsive layout, the columns of your CTA will stack vertically on small screens.
    • Styles: set the styles for your CTA, such as the primary font, border, and drop-shadow from the CTA. You can use custom fonts with your CTA, learn more about using custom fonts with your HubSpot content. 
    • Background: set a background for the CTA, you can choose to set a background color or upload a background image.
    • Close Option: for pop-up box CTAs, you can toggle on the option to allow visitors to close the CTA when they click anywhere outside the pop-up box. When this option is turned off, visitors can only close the CTA using the close icon. 

Design a HTML CTA

To create a custom Embedded HTML CTA and apply your custom themes or CSS:

• In the left panel, click Start from scratch. 
• Then, click to expand Advanced options and select Embedded HTML.
• Click the Link to dropdown menu and select an option for your CTA to redirect to:
  • Email address: create a mailto link. To open this link in a new page, select the Open link in new tab checkbox. 
  • File download: link your CTA to a file in your file manager. Select an existing file or upload a new file, then select the Open link in new tab checkbox if you want visitors who click on the button CTA to view the image in a new browser window. 
  • Meeting link: link your CTA to a HubSpot meeting link. Click the Choose a meeting link dropdown, then select a meeting link. To open this link in a new page, select the Open link in new tab checkbox. 
  • One of your pages: link your CTA to one of your HubSpot pages or blog posts. Click the Page dropdown menu then select a page or post. The button CTA's link will be tied to the page ID and any changes in the page's URL will automatically update the button CTA's link. To open this link in a new page, select the Open link in new tab checkbox. 
  • URL: link your CTA to an external page outside of HubSpot. In the Link URL field, enter the website URL you want to direct visitors to. To open this link in a new page, select the Open link in new tab checkbox. 
  • CTA: use the custom CTA to trigger a sticky banner, pop-up box, or slide-in CTA.
• In the Button content field, enter your CTA text. 
• To further customize your CTA's design, click Advanced
  

• On the Advanced page, you can add custom CSS classes or rules:
  • Custom CSS Classes: enter a custom class to your CTA. Use custom classes to apply design styles such as font families across multiple CTAs in your website. Any custom CSS class should be included in the CSS stylesheet used in your HubSpot pages.
  • Custom CSS Rules: add custom rules to apply inline styling specific to your CTA.
    • To add a new CSS rule, click Add one or + Add and configure your selector and style. 
      • Selector: enter a CSS selector. This value is optional and will be combined with the selector of the CTA. For example, if the selector entered is :hover, the combined selector becomes ${ctaSelector}:hover
      • Style: enter a custom CSS style rule to apply to the configured selector. You can enter a style without entering a selector. For example, color: yellow;.

• To edit an existing CSS rule, hover over the rule and click the edit edit icon. 
• To clone a CSS rule, hover over the rule and click the duplicate clone icon. 

• To manage the priority of your CSS rules, click and drag each rule to arrange in order of priority.
• To remove a CSS rule, hover over the rule and click the delete delete icon. 

• To apply the same HTML and classes to the CTA as legacy CTAs, select the Use Legacy Markup checkbox. If you have CSS stylesheets on pages styling legacy CTAs, selecting this checkbox will allow the HTML CTA to adopt the same styles. 

• To finish setting up your CTA design, click Save & Apply.
   

Customize where and when your sticky banner, pop-up box, or slide-in CTA displays

If you've set up a sticky banner, pop-up box, or slide-in CTA, target visitors by choosing when you want this CTA to appear on your site. Learn more about adding CTAs to your pages. 

You can use filters to combine multiple sets of rules about which visitors see your CTA. Learn more about configuring your targeting rules.

Activation triggers 

Select an activation trigger to determine when the CTA will display on your page. The CTA will appear once the first selected trigger is met. 

• At the top, click the Targeting tab.
•  In the When should it be shown section, click to toggle the switch next to the activation triggers that you want to use:
  • Trigger on button click: the CTA will appear when a visitor clicks a button. Learn how to set up your pop-up CTAs to trigger on button click. By default, this option is always turned on. 
    • Configure this in your HubSpot pages with a default button module or on your external pages by customizing a button's class.
    • To set this trigger on an external page, the HubSpot tracking code must be installed. 
  • Trigger on page scroll: the CTA will appear when the visitor has scrolled past a specified percentage of the page.
  • Trigger on exit intent: the CTA will appear when the visitor moves their cursor to the top bar of the browser window.
  • Trigger after elapsed time: the CTA will appear after the specified number of seconds.
  • Trigger after inactivity: the CTA will appear after the visitor has been inactive for a specified number of seconds.

Website URL

Add conditional logic for specific webpage URLs or query parameter values in the same Targeting tab. By default, the CTA will appear on all pages.

• To show the CTA when a visitor is on a specific website URL, in the Website URL section
  • Click the first dropdown menu and select Website URL.
  • Click the second dropdown menu and select a targeting rule.
  • Enter your rule criteria in the text field.
• To show the CTA when a visitor is on a website page whose URL includes specific query parameters:
  • Click the first dropdown menu and select Query parameter.
  • In the first text field, enter the query parameter name.
  • Click the second dropdown menu and select a targeting rule.
  • In the second text field, enter the query parameter value.
• To add another rule, click Add rule.
• To exclude the calls-to-action from certain pages, click Add exclusion rule. For example, you may want to add an exclusion for a privacy policy page.

Visitor information and behavior

You can also target specific contacts based on known visitor information and behavior in the Targeting tab. The type of filtering rules you can add depends on your account's subscriptions. 

• To display the CTA to all visitors on the specified websites, select All visitors. This option is selected by default. 
• To display your CTAs with specific visitors, click the Filtered visitors option. Then, set up your filters: 
  • Click the first dropdown menu to choose how to filter your visitors.

• • Click the next dropdown menu to select your filtering rules.
  • To add more rules for when to show your CTA, click Add rule and select your filters.

• • Select when to hide the CTA: 
    
    • Click Add exclusion rule.
    • Click the first dropdown menu to choose when the CTA should be hidden. 
    • Click the next dropdown menu to select your filtering rules.
    • To add more rules for when to hide your CTA, click Add exclusion rule and select your filters.

• • To create another set of filtering rules, click Add filter group and select your filtering rules.

Display frequency 

After a visitor dismisses your sticky banner, pop-up box, or slide-in CTA for the first time, choose whether the CTA should be displayed again, and how often it should be displayed. In the Targeting tab, set up your CTA's display frequency: 

•  In the How often will it be shown section, click the Show again dropdown menu and select a frequency: 
  • After a set time period: set the amount of time that should pass after a visitor dismisses the CTA, before it is displayed again.
  • Repeat: display the CTA every time they visit the selected web pages and perform the trigger action, even if they've previously interacted with it.
  • Don't show again: display the CTA to visitors only once. After the initial display, never display the CTA again. 

Please note: this does not apply to CTAs when using Trigger on button click as an activation trigger.

 

Customize your CTA options

On the Options tabs, customize different CTA options such as whether to display the CTA on small sizes, any associated campaigns, and the CTA's scheduling. 

• At the top, click the Options tab.
• For sticky banner, pop-up box, or slide-in CTA, you can hide the CTA on small screen sizes. In the Small Screen Sizes section, select the Turn off on small screen sizes checkbox.

• If you have a Marketing Hub Professional or Enterprise subscription, you can associate the CTA with a campaign:
  • To associate your CTA with an existing campaign, click the Campaign dropdown menu and select a campaign.
  • To associate your CTA with a new campaign, click the Campaign dropdown menu and click Create campaign. Then, continue setting up your campaign. 

• • If you've never created a campaign before, click Create a campaign. Then, continue setting up your campaign. 
• Configure how you'd like to track clicks with your CTA. Select from the following options: 
  • Track clicks through redirect: track clicks to your CTA by directing visitors to an initial URL, which associates the click with the CTA, before redirecting them to the final page. This option is selected by default.
  • Track clicks through the browser: tracks clicks asynchronously via the visitor's browser. This option allows you to use anchor tags as there are no redirects, the CTA will direct visitors to the set URL. 

• For sticky banner, pop-up box, or slide-in CTA, you can schedule when a CTA displays:
  
  • To schedule when the CTA begins to display, toggle the Schedule for later switch on. Then, select a Start date and Time. 
  • To schedule when the CTA stops displaying, toggle the Set unpublish date and time switch on. Then, select an End date and Time. 

Publish your CTA 

Once you've finished setting up your CTA, publish your CTA to take it live. 

• In the top-right, click Review and publish.
• In the right panel, review your CTA, then click Publish now. The CTA will be automatically published to the targeted pages.