How HubSpot halved the engineering resources needed for documentation

Developers are a strategic part of that ecosystem, extending HubSpot’s functionality and improving the platform’s stickiness through custom integrations and applications.

With Mintlify, HubSpot achieved:

The hidden tax of custom infrastructure

HubSpot’s complex platform—with multiple business units, hundreds of APIs, and varying subscription tiers—initially led them to build their own custom documentation.

But over time, that decision consumed disproportionate engineering resources.

Challenges included:

• Engineering resource drain: A team of 3-4 engineers spent a majority of their time maintaining docs infrastructure, such as managing redirects, rather than building the core product
• Slow deployment cycles: Build times averaged 2-3 hours when multiple content changes queued up. Tech writers would submit updates and wait hours to see changes go live
• Limited functionality: Critical features required backend investment that the team couldn’t afford. No password protection meant beta materials were stored in Google Docs. Authentication or AI features were perennially in the backlog
• Search experience challenges: Fast, relevant search was difficult to nail and users eventually turned to Google instead of the docs

Managing a custom platform meant being trapped in maintenance mode, with the team unable to focus on strategic initiatives to impact developer engagement.

Other platforms felt like putting a square peg in a round hole. Working with Mintlify, it was clear we wouldn’t have to change our platform to get to success.

Requirements at HubSpot scale

The team had previously evaluated solutions like Readme and Docusaurus, but none could accommodate HubSpot’s scale and complexity. Those providers still required significant engineering lift to rebuild components and accommodate their needs.

In finding a solution, the team needed:

• Performance at scale: Fast page latency for end users, and quick build times even when multiple editors push changes simultaneously
• Design flexibility: Multi-level navigation to organize dozens of APIs without overwhelming users
• Collaborative editing workflow: Git-based editing with previews for better collaboration from cross functional teammates
• Native capabilities: Interactive API reference, localization, AI-native functionality, and password protection without additional engineering lift
• Partnership approach: Willingness to customize rather than forcing HubSpot to conform to rigid constraints

From hours to minutes

The scale of the effort was enormous: thousands of pages, legacy content that needed to be quarantined from search results, and a complete overhaul of navigation to accommodate the breadth of HubSpot’s APIs.

But the payoff was immediate:

• 3x reduction in build times, decreasing from hours to minutes to publish updates
• Increased collaboration with tech writers gaining autonomy in git-based workflows
• Improved developer experience through modern design and interactive API playgrounds
• Faster answers for users through an AI assistant that provides instant, contextual answers

“Docs deploys used to take hours to make their way through our internal infrastructure. It’s so much faster with Mintlify.” — Seth Kaplan, Tech Lead

Our customers are calling this the best version of our docs yet.

Engineering capacity for developer growth

By partnering with Mintlify, the engineering team was able to strategically shift their team charter from docs infrastructure to developer growth.

With engineering time back, we can drive value on the platform by helping developers build high-quality, valuable apps for end users.

Instead of managing redirects or build pipelines, engineering resources now target strategic initiatives: personalized developer guidance, value frameworks that recommend features based on app patterns, and quality optimization.

For HubSpot, the biggest win wasn’t just faster deploys or fewer engineering hours tied up in infrastructure. They now have documentation that feels like a strength, not a tax.

Mintlify’s flexibility and partnership approach gives the team confidence that their documentation will scale with them as they build.

Documentation is the front door to our platform. With Mintlify, we can support their experience through every step of their journey.