The problem
Brandon's dealership needed a vehicle listing system that didn't rely on WooCommerce, since cars aren't really a fit for a shopping-cart checkout model. He wanted to add and edit listings himself without calling a developer every time inventory changed, with custom fields for flat pricing (no financing calculations to manage) and images. His design references were Vanguard Motor Sales and RK Motors, both established dealer sites with a clean, confident look.
What I built
A custom "Cars" post type
I built a dedicated post type so new listings get added and edited the same way a blog post would be, with custom fields for a flat price, image upload, and a featured image. A YouTube video field was in the original scope but got removed per the client's request once we scoped it down.
Pages and navigation
I built out Home, About Us, Cars, and Our Team pages along with a full navigation menu, and set up a temporary SSL certificate on the development subdomain so Brandon could preview everything before launch.
A color scheme that matches the dealer aesthetic
We iterated through a blue background with red picture-frame accents and white text blocks, working toward an "Eastwood red" as the target brand color referenced from the dealer sites Brandon liked.
Solving for bulk uploads
There wasn't a plugin that supported mass upload into the custom post type, so I scoped a spreadsheet-import approach instead, and we discussed automating social media posts to Facebook and Twitter whenever a new listing goes live.
What actually changed
| What changed | Before | After |
|---|---|---|
| Listings | No system | Custom post type with self-service admin |
| Pricing | No field | Flat price, clearly displayed |
| Design | Generic | Dealer-inspired, custom color scheme |
| Admin | Developer-dependent | Self-service car addition |