Some briefs need unpacking. This one did not. Build the best Škoda dealership website in the UK, and do it with a retailer willing to push. Noel Deasy Cars, in Cork, turned out to be exactly the right partner for that, and thanks are due to Ray Deasy and his team, whose input shaped a lot of what follows.
The site is built on Autonomy, and it is a good illustration of what the platform is for: letting a single franchise operate with the digital sophistication people normally associate with much larger groups.
What we put on it
AI-driven descriptions. Every vehicle gets a written description generated from its actual specification, so a listing says something useful rather than repeating the trim name. For a dealership turning stock over quickly, the alternative is either thin copy or a person writing it manually all week.
Phyron imagery and video. Phyron produces dynamic images and video for each vehicle, so listings carry professional-grade media as standard rather than only on the cars someone found time to photograph properly.
MotorCheck. Full specification and history data on every listing. This is a trust feature more than a technical one. Buyers who can see a car's history do not have to take a dealer's word for it, and transparency converts.
Codeweavers finance. The finance calculator sits directly in the page rather than behind a form or a phone call, so a customer can work out affordability at the point they are actually thinking about it.
Why the design is deliberately plain
The layout is minimal, and that was a decision rather than a shortage of ideas. A dealership website has one job, which is getting somebody to the right vehicle without friction. Every additional panel, banner and interstitial is another thing between a customer and that. Built mobile-first, because that is where the browsing genuinely happens, whatever the desktop analytics suggest about who eventually fills in the form.
A dealership site has one job: getting somebody to the right vehicle without friction.
Where it has landed
Since launch the site has driven a clear uplift in both enquiries and conversion. We are not going to put a number on that here, because the figure we would quote is the client's rather than ours to publish, but the direction has been consistent.
The less measurable outcome is brand presence. A retailer whose website is visibly better than its competitors' gets treated differently, online and in the showroom, and that is worth something before a single enquiry is counted.
The wider point
This is one franchise site, but the components are not bespoke to it. AI descriptions, Phyron, MotorCheck and Codeweavers are all part of Autonomy, which means the next dealership does not start from nothing.
That is the argument for a platform over a project. See what else it connects to, or talk to us about your own franchise.
