I visit a lot of car dealer websites. It is genuinely part of my job. And one of the things that frustrates me the most is seeing a dealership with a strong local reputation, great stock, and years of trust built up in their community - running a website that looks identical to 500 other dealers.
Same layout. Same colours. Same stock photography. The only difference is the logo in the top left corner.
That is not good enough. Your website should look and feel like your dealership. It should reflect your brand, your priorities, and the way you do business. And you should not need to hire a developer every time you want to change something.
I built Vehiso with that belief at the core. In this guide, I will walk through what you should be able to customise on a modern dealer website, why it matters, and how to do it without writing a single line of code.
Why customisation actually matters
Let me be direct about this. Customisation is not about making things pretty for the sake of it. It is about three things that directly affect whether your website generates enquiries.
Brand consistency builds trust
When a customer sees your Facebook page, your AutoTrader listing, and your website, they should feel like they are dealing with the same business. Consistent colours, logo placement, and tone of voice make your dealership look professional and established. A generic template does the opposite.
Different dealerships have different needs
A luxury prestige dealer in Surrey has completely different priorities to a budget used car lot in Manchester. A specialist classic car dealer needs to showcase vehicles differently to a multi-franchise group selling new and used. A van dealer needs to highlight payload and cargo volume, not 0-60 times.
Your website platform should let you reflect those differences without a custom build.
First impressions are fast
Research consistently shows that visitors form an opinion about a website within seconds. If your site looks like a default template, you are starting from a position of weakness. A well-branded, thoughtfully laid out website tells visitors you care about the details - and if you care about your website, you probably care about the cars you sell too.
What you should be able to customise
Here is a practical breakdown of every area of your dealer website that you should have control over. I have grouped them into categories so you can see the full picture.
Branding
- Your logo (header and footer, ideally with separate versions for light and dark backgrounds)
- Primary brand colour
- Secondary colour
- Accent colour (for buttons, highlights, and calls to action)
- Font choices for headings and body text
- Favicon (the small icon that appears in browser tabs)
These are the basics. If your website provider does not let you change these without raising a support ticket, that is a red flag.
Homepage layout and components
The homepage is the most visited page on most dealer websites. You should have full control over:
- Hero banner - the large image or slider at the top of the page, including text overlay and call-to-action buttons
- Featured vehicles - a curated selection of stock you want to push, not just a random selection
- Search bar - whether it appears on the homepage and what filters it includes
- About section - a short intro to your dealership with a photo or video
- Testimonials - customer reviews displayed prominently
- Finance promotion - a dedicated section highlighting your finance options
- Latest blog posts - to show fresh content and improve SEO
- Brand logos - if you deal in specific makes, show them
- Why choose us - key selling points with icons
Critically, you should be able to choose which of these sections appear and in what order. Not every dealer needs every section. A specialist dealer might want testimonials right below the hero. A volume dealer might want the search bar front and centre with featured vehicles immediately after.
Navigation
- Which pages appear in the main menu
- The order of menu items
- Whether to include dropdown sub-menus
- Which pages to show or hide (for example, hiding a finance page if you do not offer finance)
- Adding links to external pages if needed
Vehicle listing pages
This is where most of your customers spend their time, so getting it right matters.
- Layout style - grid view versus list view (or letting the customer choose)
- Card details - which information shows on each vehicle card (price, mileage, fuel type, transmission, engine size, year, body type)
- Default sort order - newest first, price low to high, or something else
- Filters available - which filter options appear in the sidebar
- Vehicles per page - how many cars show before pagination
- Price display - whether to show monthly finance prices alongside cash prices
- Labels and badges - "Just In", "Reduced", "Sold" overlays on vehicle images
Vehicle detail pages
When a customer clicks through to a specific car, the detail page needs to sell it. You should control:
- Photo gallery style - thumbnail strip, lightbox, full-width slider
- Which sections appear - specification, features, description, finance calculator, similar vehicles
- Section order - put the most important information first
- Enquiry form placement - sidebar, inline, or both
- Social sharing buttons - whether to show them and which platforms
- Video embed - ability to add a walk-around video
Footer
- Contact details (address, phone, email)
- Opening hours
- Social media links
- Quick links to key pages
- Legal links (privacy policy, terms and conditions)
- Company registration details
- FCA disclaimer (if you offer finance)
Custom pages
You should be able to create and manage pages for:
- About us (your story, your team, your values)
- Warranty information
- Part exchange
- Finance explained
- FAQs
- Sell your car
- Service and MOT (if applicable)
These pages should use a content editor - not require you to email content to your provider and wait three days for an update.
Contact page
- Embedded map showing your location
- Contact form with customisable fields
- Opening hours (matching your footer but in more detail)
- Multiple locations if you have more than one site
- Directions or "find us" information
Colours and typography
Beyond the basic brand colours, you should be able to control:
- Button colours and hover states
- Header and footer background colours
- Link colours
- Card and section background colours
- Heading sizes and weights
- Body text size
Things that should never need a developer
I want to be specific here. These are tasks that every dealer should be able to do themselves, from a dashboard, in under five minutes:
- Adding, removing, or reordering homepage sections
- Changing your brand colours and logo
- Updating opening hours and contact details
- Adding a new page (like a seasonal promotion or a new service you offer)
- Rearranging the navigation menu
- Changing which details appear on vehicle listing cards
- Updating your footer information
- Adding testimonials
- Changing the hero banner image and text
If your current provider requires you to raise a support ticket or pay a developer for any of these, you are paying for inflexibility.
How Vehiso handles customisation
When I started building Vehiso, one of the first things I mapped out was every single thing a dealer might want to change about their website. The result is over 70 customisation options, all accessible from your dashboard.
Here is what that looks like in practice:
- No coding needed - every option is a toggle, dropdown, colour picker, or drag-and-drop interface
- Instant preview - changes reflect immediately on your live site
- Homepage builder - add, remove, and reorder homepage components with drag-and-drop
- Full colour theming - change your entire colour scheme in minutes
- Typography control - choose from a curated selection of web fonts that actually look good on dealer websites
- Vehicle display options - control exactly what information appears and how it is laid out
- Page editor - create and manage custom pages with a visual editor
The goal is simple: you should be able to make your website look and feel like yours without waiting for anyone else.
When you actually need a developer (and when you do not)
Let me be honest about this. There are some things that genuinely do require development work.
You do not need a developer for:
- Anything listed in this article
- Changing your branding
- Managing your content
- Adjusting your layout
- Adding or removing pages
- Updating your contact information
You might want a developer for:
- A completely bespoke page design that goes beyond standard components
- Custom integrations with third-party systems (like a specific DMS or CRM that does not have a standard integration)
- Bespoke functionality that is unique to your business (for example, a custom booking system for test drives with specific business rules)
- Advanced analytics or tracking setups beyond standard Google Analytics
The key word there is "might." For the vast majority of dealers, the customisation options built into a good platform like Vehiso cover everything you need. Custom development should be the exception, not the rule.
The bottom line
Your car dealer website is often the first interaction a customer has with your business. It should reflect who you are, not who your website provider's default template says you are.
With over 70 customisation options available from your Vehiso dashboard, there is no reason to settle for a generic look. Take 30 minutes, go through your settings, and make your website actually yours.
If you are currently stuck with a platform that charges you for every small change, it might be time to look at what else is out there. You can see what Vehiso offers and decide for yourself.
FAQ
How many customisation options does Vehiso offer?
Over 70, covering everything from branding and colours to homepage layout, vehicle listing display, navigation, footer content, and custom pages. All of them are accessible from your dashboard without any coding.
Can I rearrange the sections on my homepage?
Yes. With Vehiso, homepage components can be added, removed, and reordered using a drag-and-drop interface. You decide what appears and in what order.
Do I need to know how to code to customise my dealer website?
No. Every customisation option in Vehiso uses simple controls like toggles, dropdowns, colour pickers, and drag-and-drop. If you can use a smartphone, you can customise your website.
Will my changes go live immediately?
Yes. When you make a change in your Vehiso dashboard, it reflects on your live website straight away. There is no waiting for approval or deployment.
What if I need something that is not covered by the built-in customisation options?
For the vast majority of dealers, the 70+ options cover everything you need. If you do need something truly bespoke - like a custom integration or a unique page layout - get in touch and we can discuss whether it is something we can add to the platform or if it needs custom development.
