Know the frame: certified platform or independent build. Then design six page types for a buyer on a phone: the vehicle detail page with real photos, price, fees, payment and disclosure; the inventory list with filters that match how people shop; the finance page and pre-qualification flow; the trade-in valuation flow; the service pages with online booking; and the location and team pages. Make all of it fast, accessible and tracked without leaking leads.
Rules on the page: every payment or lease figure carries its Regulation Z or M disclosure, the price in Ontario is all-in, and every form that leads to a call or text collects the consent the law requires.
The OEM-certified vendor model, explained plainly
Manufacturers run certified website programs for their franchised dealers: a short list of approved vendors, a required platform, brand standards, the inventory and incentive feeds, and often co-op funding that pays only for approved vendors. The dealer gets a site that is brand-compliant and connected to the manufacturer's data on day one, and gives up most choice of platform and design. Independent and used-car dealers choose freely and carry the whole build themselves.
We say plainly where we fit. On a certified platform we work beside the vendor: the content on vehicle and service pages, campaign landing pages, fixed-ops pages, conversion work on the forms, speed and tracking fixes within the platform's limits, and the analytics the platform leaves out. For an independent dealer we design and build the site. Which OEM programs we work within is a question we answer in conversation; we hold no OEM certification and never claim one.
The vehicle detail page is the product page
A buyer arrives from an inventory ad, a marketplace or a search for a model, and the vehicle detail page has to do what a product page does. Google's Merchant Center help describes vehicle ads as showing an image of the vehicle with make, model, price and mileage before the click; the page has to deliver on that and more: many real photos of this car, not stock renders; the trim, mileage, history report and features; a real price with fees stated; a monthly payment or lease figure only with its disclosure (next section); availability and location; and three ways to act, each one tap: book a test drive, check availability or ask a question, and value a trade.
The page's content should be written for the person, not only pulled from the feed. A short paragraph on why this car at this price, the dealership's inspection or certification steps, and the delivery and return policy earn the trust the feed cannot. Google's helpful content guidance asks whether a page gives readers something beyond what other pages offer; a feed alone does not.
Finance and lease figures carry their disclosures
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's Regulation Z, section 1026.24 says a credit advertisement that states a downpayment, the number or period of payments, a payment amount or a finance charge must also state the downpayment, the repayment terms over the full term and the annual percentage rate using that term, and may state only terms actually offered. Regulation M, section 1013.7 requires the lease equivalents when a payment amount or a capitalized cost reduction is stated: that the transaction is a lease, the total due at signing or delivery, the payment schedule and the other items it lists. A payment calculator or a “$299 a month” badge on a vehicle page is an advertisement, so the disclosure sits with the figure, legibly, on the phone screen. In Ontario, OMVIC treats the dealer website as an advertisement and requires the price to include all fees except HST and licensing, clearly noted. Counsel reviews the finance page and the calculator before launch.
The finance page and pre-qualification
A finance page explains how buying works at this store: what to bring, how pre-qualification differs from an application, what a soft check is, how trade equity and down payment interact, and who to call. A pre-qualification flow asks only what is needed, says what happens next, and secures the data as a financial form must. Keep the flow on your own domain or a vendor your counsel has approved, and keep marketing tags off the steps where financial details are entered.
The trade-in valuation flow
Trade-in is the step that brings many buyers to a specific store. The flow asks for the vehicle, mileage and condition, gives a range or an estimate with its conditions stated, and books the in-person appraisal. Say plainly what the estimate depends on and how long it is valid, make the next step a booked appointment, and follow up within the rules on calls and texts below.
Service pages with online booking
The service department's pages are usually the thinnest on a dealer site and the most searched for by name of service. Give each common service its own page (what it is, when it is due, how long it takes, pricing or a pricing approach where you choose to publish it), a booking tool that shows real times, pickup, loaner and waiting-room information, recall lookup, and a tires and parts page. Link them from the Business Profile's service category and from every vehicle page's ownership section.
Forms, calls and texts: collect the consent
Most dealer forms lead to a call or a text, and the FCC's rules at 47 CFR 64.1200 prohibit autodialed or artificial or prerecorded voice calls to cellular numbers without the prior express consent of the called party, require prior express written consent for such calls that constitute telemarketing, and treat text messages as calls. In Canada, CASL requires consent before a commercial electronic message. Put the consent in plain words at the point of entry, record it with the lead, and pass it to the BDC's tools. Our guide to AI for car dealerships covers the follow-up side.
Speed and accessibility are duties
Google's Core Web Vitals targets apply at the 75th percentile of page loads: a Largest Contentful Paint of 2.5 seconds or less, an Interaction to Next Paint under 200 milliseconds and a Cumulative Layout Shift under 0.1. Inventory sites fail them through oversized galleries, chat and finance widgets on every page, and tag managers firing dozens of scripts; compress images, load widgets on demand and keep the tag list short. The Department of Justice's ADA guidance says the ADA applies to businesses open to the public and points to the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines as helpful technical guidance; label every gallery image and control, make filters and forms keyboard-operable and announce their errors. Our guide to automotive SEO covers the search side of speed and structure.
Location, team and reviews
A page per rooftop with address, map, sales and service hours, departments and phone numbers that are tappable; a team page with real photos; and reviews shown from the platforms that hold them, with no incentives and no filtering. BrightLocal's 2026 survey, summarized by PinMeTo, found 74% of US consumers look for reviews from the last three months and 50% are put off by templated replies, so the replies on the site's source platforms are written by a person.
If you want it designed and built with you
PromotEdge International is an international strategy, technology, marketing and design company, and our delivery team is in India. Our web design and development and UI and UX design pages cover how we plan, design, build and test, beside a certified platform or as an independent build. We hold no OEM certification and name no dealer client here. This guide is general information, not legal advice.
Facts we rely on: see our company facts for what we state about ourselves and where each fact comes from.