Our client sells cars from Korea on the markets of Russia, Europe and the CIS. In the past, the business was sufficient for a one-page website, but as the project grew, it became clear: a full-fledged website was needed for new scales and tasks.
The task turned out to be much more complicated than just creating a website for selling cars. It was necessary to develop a platform on a framework that would receive information from the Korean site and adapt it to local realities — translate information, convert currencies, calculate the cost with regard to tax duties, and have other important features that would help automate the company's key processes.
We had to adapt the work of the site to different regions, as there are restrictions in certain countries. Mistakes are unacceptable here - if a company imports a car that is banned for import, it could result in the arrest of the business.
We started by analyzing the target audience, and at the same time we remembered how each of us chose a car ourselves. The main thing we realized is that it is important for people to quickly get all the information they need — from the condition of the car to the cost of delivery and duties, and since the purchase is made remotely, there are a lot of photos and videos of the car itself. Users want to see the full picture: what kind of car, what condition it is in, how long and how much the delivery will take and cost. But at the same time, they absolutely do not want to spend time studying unnecessary details. That's why we emphasized that the user can find all the necessary information to make a decision in a couple of seconds.
We made this the main idea behind the design — as focused as possible on the real needs of the users
Another feature of this block is on the backend part. All videos are stored directly on the site, not on YouTube, as is most often done. This is done on purpose to get around the restrictions that apply to the social network in some regions. Users will be able to access the content without obstacles, no matter where they are.
It was important to show that there are real and live people on the other side of the screen and the telephone receiver, so the team photo was made into a separate block. We told and showed what departments there are and who is behind them. This way we added humanity and warmth to the design and made the company more accessible and "alive" for customers.
Basic information about the car and approximate price are available right on the main page. There is no need to go to the card and make unnecessary clicks — the user can quickly familiarize himself with the prices and characteristics of the car and with the same high speed find suitable options.
We started with the basics — the parser.
It was necessary to present as large an assortment as possible so that users would be as likely as possible to find that dream machine.
An important part of the project was parsing - collecting data and writing it into a database about cars from other websites. We needed to quickly obtain data on the make, model, year of manufacture, photos and other characteristics of cars.
At first we tried to get data from one of the Korean websites. Everything seemed to be going well: information about models, photos of cars, specifications — all this we could take from the site. But mcar technicians noticed that their data was being copied, and they put up a password protection. It became impossible to get the data.
Then we tried the second site. But it was protected against spam and DDoS attacks, which made parsing very slow and inconvenient. The information was received with long delays. The number of car brands, models and modifications, as well as offers on them — hundreds of thousands. Slow data processing would have taken several months to collect and update. and the data would have been irrelevant. That is why we decided to abandon this idea.
Instead of continuing to look for workarounds, we found a ready-made solution — an API that could be integrated with the website. The option is fast, reliable and convenient. Now information about each car (make, model, year of manufacture, photo and technical specifications) is collected and updated on the site immediately. We also added parsing of important data for customers: accident history and car insurance information.
Also, on Korean sites, information is often presented in a different format: the data is "glued" and combines several parameters into one field. They do not separate the parameters that we are used to, as Korean users filter cars by other criteria. Therefore, we not only received the data, but also processed it automatically.
We get the price of the car in Korean won, but for the convenience of customers, it has to be converted into rubles or dollars. Yes, we could have left it that way, so that the client's manager would have to update and fill in everything manually, but that is unnecessary work. A site visitor will not calculate the price of a car by himself - he will go to the place where the prices are in the right currency and everything is clear
That is why we have connected integration with the Central Bank of Russia via API, so that prices can be converted to the right currency automatically, quickly and accurately.
For our client, the most important thing along with parsing was the customization of the country selection option, especially taking into account the restrictions on car delivery to Russia and Belarus. According to the law, there are strict sanctions for these countries: you can't deliver cars worth more than 50,000 dollars and with engine displacement over 1900 cm³. One violation is enough to arrest the entire company, so the liability was large.
If the user selects Russia as the country of delivery, only those cars that are not under sanctions will be displayed, and the cost is automatically converted to rubles .All detailed calculations are visible: duties, logistics and warehousing costs.
If another country is selected on the website, such as Europe or Kazakhstan, all prices will be in dollars. Detailed calculations will not be displayed, instead, the client can leave a request and the manager will contact him/her to clarify all conditions.
Since the main target audience is users from Russia, we decided to develop maximum functionality for this region. In the future, as the project grows, the site can easily be refined and, for example, a calculator for other countries can be added. This approach helps us not to spread out resources and time, but to focus on what the business needs here and now.
Another small trick for the calculator — until the user has entered data in the current field, the selection of subsequent parameters is not available to him.
The filter is one of the most complex elements of the site in terms of frontend work. We even needed to create a separate ToR for it. In the filter we added drop-down lists (selections), which allow you to choose parameters, and input fields. The results can be additionally sorted.
The calculation of customs duty for Russia required special attention, as different rules apply for cars with gasoline or diesel engines and for electric cars. The price depends on many factors: the type of engine, the year of manufacture and even the body.
For example, the delivery of a Tesla and a BMW of the same year with approximately the same characteristics will be calculated quite differently. Having studied the main legislative acts, we have developed a calculation formula that takes all parameters into account.
This became the basis of the car cost calculator, which helps the customer itemize the estimate after calculations.
When a customer books a car, the request is automatically entered into the system. All data is displayed here: who the customer is, his phone number, which car he has chosen and to which country the delivery is to be made.
A convenient functionality has been provided for managers. As in messenger, each request appears with the status "Not read". As soon as the manager starts working with the request, the status automatically changes to "Read", the manager's name and the time when the request was viewed are added.
You can also mark the request as "Processed" and the system will record which manager did it and when.
As a result, it's easy to track which requests have been reviewed, approved or finalized, and monitor the status of each step. And there will be no additional CRM integration costs for the client in the near future.
To make everything work like clockwork, testers were with us at every step of development. They carefully tested all the functions, looking for weaknesses, while the developers looked for solutions. Thanks to this approach, the site became reliable and user-friendly, and all functionality works smoothly with maximum accuracy.
A modern website is not just a place where goods or information about services is placed, but a tool that helps businesses work faster and better. It automates routine tasks, as in our project: car data is uploaded automatically, prices are converted to the right currency by themselves, and duties and costs are calculated right on the site. The manager doesn't have to do anything to upload the cars or translate the information — everything happens automatically. This saves time and reduces errors.
The site also helps to inspire trust in users: we added video testimonials from real customers and photos of the team to show that real people are behind the project. The site is also adapted to work in different countries: it takes into account local laws, shows available cars and recalculates prices in the right currency. This approach makes the site customer-friendly and helps the business grow without spending too much.
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