Caravan-Selling Marketplace in Australia: Codica’s Case Study

One company, two projects. Previously, we’ve shared with you the case study of a boat-selling website, Trade A Boat. Today, we will discuss its sibling, the caravan-selling website TradeRVs. The websites are similar yet have distinctive differences that make each of these marketplace projects unique. Let’s dive in.

Project background

TradeRVs is a leading Australian platform for selling and buying caravans, campers, motorhomes, and RVs. The platform unites sellers and buyers to pass deals on everything related to camping, from different categories of RVs to parts and accessories, specialists’ reviews, and latest news on RVs.

The platform faced several challenges, though. Previously engaging platform started losing its audience. Hence, the company decided to revamp the platform with a new solution to revive it and attract leads.

Codica redesigned the platform, optimized it, and added third-party integrations to simplify transactions on the platform. As a result of our cooperation with the client, their lead generation performance went up by 480%.

Let’s see in more detail what features and tech approach made this growth possible.

Key features delivered in TradeRVs

Modern cross-platform solution

Our team chose to rebuild the TradeRVs platform as a PWA, progressive web application. It is a lightweight technology, making the solution load faster even on slow Internet connections. It helped us reduce development time, save the client’s costs, and implement a speedy solution, delivering a native-like experience on desktops and mobile devices.

Improved SEO

Thanks to PWA, we improved the Core Web Vitals of the solution, which resulted in better search engine optimization rankings. As a result of our enhancements, the performance reached 100 out of 100, with high scores in key SEO parameters for web pages, such as accessibility and best practices. Hence, TradeRVs got better visibility on the web and potential lead generation capabilities.

Complete Dealer Services (CDS) integration

One of the core features we implemented for this solution is integration with third-party services to give dealers and other sellers on the platform greater flexibility in managing listings. Thanks to the new CDS integration, the platform can get product listings from sellers across Australia and turn scattered seller data into a coherent system. This led to a substantial shift in the number and diversity of listings on the platform.

Smart search

Іn this marketplace, sellers list products in numerous categories of camping vehicles and accessories. Hence, we introduced product search with a comprehensive system that delivers results by make, location, keyword, and more. Buyers can also select between a new or used vehicle, or both. They can also search by category, offering a diverse selection of camping vehicles.

Simplified listing creation

We provided an easy system for creating listings in three simple steps. Upon the client’s request, we included three pages: a vehicle page, a product description page with necessary images and video, and contact details. Thanks to this simplified process, we improved user engagement and sped up listing creation.

Promotional packages

Our team engineered promotional packages for private sellers and dealers to enable them to choose from three packages. Each package provides additional premium services to improve product listing visibility for professional sellers.

Dashboard for advertisers

Advertisers can track their listings and make adjustments as needed on the platform with an intuitive dashboard. It helps advertisers collect the necessary marketing data on product listing performance, user inquiries, views, and sales numbers. Our team also included a feature of receiving a monthly newsletter for advertisers to get the relevant statistics on their product listings.

Versatile admin panel

To keep every process running seamlessly, our team built a robust admin panel. It brings all platform management tools together. Admins can easily control listings, sellers, payments, analytics, and marketing campaigns in one place. This solution ensures the marketplace operates in line with its policies while helping admins better understand and serve their users.

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Product discovery session

Business logic and specification

The client’s request was to enhance the platform's engagement through SEO, preserve its existing functionality and user base, and improve conversion rates. So, how can that be achieved? During our product discovery session with the client, we concluded that the platform should get a new design and still be lightweight and convenient for mobile users and low-connectivity regions.

That is why we suggested that the solution should be built as a PWA, a progressive web application. This technology has a number of benefits, including the following:

• No download required, just browsing.
• Page load speed is high for different connectivity quality levels.
• Development is time and cost-effective because PWA works equally well on different operating systems, such as Android and iOS.

The PWA for TradeRVs includes a flow for sellers and buyers, with convenient and enjoyable product listing posting and browsing. The solution is also optimized for SEO, which helps the app rank higher, providing better visibility for leads.

Prototype development

Prototypes are simple layouts outlining the core functionality of your solution. In Codica’s product discovery, prototypes are an indispensable part of the process. You can view them, comment on them, and adjust as you need, without putting effort into full-scale development. Ultimately, these elements of planning enable you to see what you get before investing your resources.

We can provide you with ordinary or clickable prototypes. So, the sense of the future solution is more tangible. Moreover, developers use prototypes in their implementation, so the development process is even faster than it would be without these helpful layouts. Thus, with prototypes, we optimize development and make it more cost-effective.

Tech stack selection

Choosing a tech stack is about scalability and cost-effectiveness. That is why we chose a specific set of modern technologies to revamp the caravan-selling website into a PWA with minimal effort and maximum control.

• Ruby and Ruby on Rails (RoR). Elegant and straightforward language, Ruby powers Ruby on Rails. This language and framework work together to empower developers with convenience and robustness in writing code. RoR remains a comprehensive tool for building web products fast, reducing development costs.
• React. This JavaScript library has a component-based architecture; hence, it is well-suited for building PWAs. You can create UI with React by breaking it down into manageable components. Thanks to this, React makes code easier to maintain and speeds up the development process, reducing the resources needed.
• NextJS. While React is handy for building user interfaces, NextJS extends its capabilities with additional functions. They include flexible rendering options, image optimization, simplified development, and more. These capabilities improve load performance and SEO of the websites built with NextJS.
• PostgreSQL. The database ensures the successful work of a website project. That is why we chose PostgreSQL for its robust support and diverse data types. PostgreSQL ensures data integrity even in the most complex transmission scenarios, and scales and performs well even under heavy workloads.
• AWS. This cloud platform offers developer-friendly tools and versatile control when building and deploying apps. AWS supports scalable, secure solutions of any complexity and offers flexible pricing plans to help control costs and spending.

Besides the above technologies, we implemented several integrations on the client’s request, including Complete Dealer Services (CDS), Stripe, and HubSpot:

• CDS. An integration for vehicle-selling platforms that empowers vehicle dealers to manage product listings and transactions on TradeRVs.
• Stripe. A leading payment integration that ensures flexibility and security in payments, even for substantial amounts.
• HubSpot. A comprehensive marketing tool with a wide selection of features, handy for advertisers on TradeRvs.

Codica’s development process

Step 1: Infrastructure & DevOps

When starting a development, our team prepares the relevant infrastructure. If everything is set up properly, the development process will go smoothly and cost-effectively. By applying best practices in DevOps and security, we enable transparent control throughout the process. Thus, your solution is not only optimized and scalable, but also safe thanks to our DevOps services.

Step 2: Product redesign

Website product redesign services were a key part of the project. Hence, we invested our effort in both user experience (UX) and user interface (UI) designs.

UX flow has seen significant changes. The flow is optimized for mobile users and regions with slow connectivity. Therefore, we arranged the solution’s elements concisely using drop-down menus, filter buttons, and fields for signing up and managing profiles and transactions.

Also, the palette resonates with the main traveling theme of this marketplace. If you look at the picture of Australia’s landscape, what primary colors can you see? Perception may differ, but greyish, beige, or light brown hues come to mind. That is why we redesigned the solution with the palette that includes Dusty Olive and Soft Linen colors. It is associated with sand and the outdoor spaces of Australia's hot climate.

Step 3: Website development for TradeRVs

Building a caravan-selling marketplace requires combining marketplace logic, complex product data handling, and user experience tailored to high-value purchases. As the client needed a complete revamp of the existing platform, we suggested developing the entire solution from the ground up. Our developers moved from prototypes and design to the finished solution through test-driven development and proven optimization methods.

Here are the key points of our development process for this project:

• PWA development. Not only did PWA improve the overall speed of the website, but it also brought 100% performance in Core Web Vitals ranking. Along with other indicators, such as accessibility and best practices, the website showed significant growth compared to the previous version.
• Backend development. The website's backend supports a modular architecture and manages users, listings, media uploads, messaging, payments, and dealer accounts. This ensures that the marketplace is available 24/7 and delights customers with well-ordered operations.
• Development of product search. We integrated a feature that provides fast faceted search. Smart search and filtering systems are non-trivial, so developers put their effort into making this one of the primary features work smoothly.
• Admin panel development. We also built dedicated interfaces for administrators. The admin dashboard gives the marketplace team full control over moderating listings, handling disputes, managing payments, and configuring categories.
• Added a powerful CDS integration for dealers in Australia. Implementing a custom CDS integration took the marketplace to a whole new level. CDS made it easier for advertisers to publish and manage their listings, which brought an influx of users. Now, advertisers post and handle their listings with better performance in terms of product diversity and speed.

Step 4: Testing and quality assurance

Aside from test-driven development, we ensure that everything is aligned with thorough testing and quality assurance services. Considering the TradeRVs project, we conducted the following tests:

• Checked that basic navigation works correctly, with a fallback page for errors. Also checked that links and banners are accessible.
• Verified that search results are accurate and relevant.
• Tested the entire purchase flow, including adding/removing items and the checkout process.
• Ensured that sellers and buyers are equally comfortable with the platform, including browsing, adding, and managing listings.
• Checked that the solution works correctly across screen sizes and is accessible.

Step 5: Maintenance and support

Currently, we support this project that is handy for Australians. Our team ensures that the website receives the necessary updates and patches. We provide the platform’s stability and security at all times by using top-notch tools that ensure full transparency and control. Thanks to constant improvements, the marketplace delights users and helps many buyers, sellers, and advertisers find the best camping vehicles and accessories.

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How to build your own solution with Codica

Codica has been providing custom software development services for over 10 years. Over this time, we’ve built dozens of marketplaces from scratch and also helped our clients to rebuild and transition solutions from pre-built platforms.

We aim to help our clients get cost-efficient solutions and launch quickly. If you choose to build a solution with Codica, you can count on the following process:

• Discussions with you about your project requirements resulting in our suggestions on functionality, tech stack, cost, and team composition. Upon these discussions as product discovery, you also get prototypes of your solution;
• Design, development, and testing by our specialists. Our DevOps engineers oversee all processes from start to maintenance and support;
• Timely and transparent communication with the relevant members of our team, including project managers, designers, developers, and QA engineers.

These aspects are part of all our development processes, and we are happy that our clients notice them. Below is a short video from Celso Prado, who chose Codica after reviewing our portfolio and comparing our experience with the TradeRVs project needs. The result is a delightful and optimized platform and a substantial gain in leads.

To wrap up

The TradeRVs project brought challenges and rewarding experiences to our team. Thanks to our collaboration with the client, the solution has improved and now delights Australians from all over the continent. It is a pleasure for us to be a part of the process of redesign and optimization of this versatile platform. We are happy that the marketplace saw further growth in the adventure niche and makes its users’ experiences even more enjoyable.

If you want to redesign and optimize your online marketplace or build one from scratch, contact us. Our team is eager to provide you with an answer to any question about online marketplace development services and will give you a complimentary quote.