13 Best Practices for Designing Automotive Build & Price

©2015 AnswerLab. All rights reserved.
13 Best Practices for Automotive
Build & Price
User Experience Best Practices

©2015 AnswerLab. All rights reserved.©2015 AnswerLab. All rights reserved.
Configuring a car is one of the top five reasons users
visit automotive sites,* and it has a major effect on
brand perception and conversion.
Car buyers are doing their homework digitally, with most vehicle shoppers relying
on digital channels to research prospective purchases. However, many visitors
have trouble finding the information they’re looking for on automotive websites.
2
Auto Customers Expect Full-Featured Build & Price Experiences
AnswerLab researchers conducted over 100 interviews across the world in the
last year to understand how automotive sites can provide the Build & Price
experience users are looking for. The research resulted in 13 Best Practices for
Automotive Build & Price.
*AnswerLab quantitative study with 1,000+ global respondents, January 2015.

BE VISUAL
1. Showcase Beautiful Images
2. Provide Zoom and 360 Views
3. Emphasize Interior as Much as Exterior
MAKE IT EASY TO GET STARTED
4. Provide Access from Multiple Areas of the Site
5. Give Users Simple Choices First
6. Lead Users Step by Step
HELP USERS FIND A MATCH
7. Clearly Define Model or Trim Differences
8. Progressively Disclose Detailed Specs
9. Provide Tools to Compare Vehicles
10. Explain Brand-Specific Features
OFFER CLEAR NEXT STEPS
11. Make It Easy to Save + Retrieve Built Vehicles
12. Show a Wide Range of Inventory
13. Only Ask for User Info if You Can Provide Value
3
Designing Optimal Build & Price Experiences

Users want to fall in love with the car
online before they head to the
dealership. By providing beautiful,
realistic images, users can imagine
themselves in the car before they
even drive it.
4
SHOWCASE BEAUTIFUL IMAGES1
[screenshot illustrating
the best practice]
Integrate full-screen images
from the gallery into the Build &
Price experience.

Provide comprehensive
360o views and the ability
to zoom in on images so
users can see the details
as they change colors,
accessories, and trim
levels.
5
PROVIDE ZOOM AND 360o VIEWS2
Let users see the details by
enabling zoom in Build & Price
photos.

Users want to see the
interior from multiple points
of view, as well as viewing
detailed images of textiles,
knobs, buttons, and tech.
Give them sharp, high-
definition images that
showcase the details.
6
EMPHASIZE INTERIOR AS MUCH AS EXTERIOR3
the best practice. Grey
box is placeholder, not a
frame/background/border.
Delete and replace with
screenshot]

Users may want to enter the Build & Price process at any
time while browsing the site, so provide access to Build &
Price from multiple areas of your site.
7
PROVIDE ACCESS FROM
MULTIPLE AREAS OF THE SITE
4
Provide 1-click access to
Build & Price from multiple
areas of the site.

Users want to get started right away, so give them simple
choices like wheel options or exterior color before
presenting more complicated choices such additional
features or options.
8
GIVE USERS SIMPLE CHOICES FIRST5
Show the changes users make to
the car right on the first screen to draw
them further into the experience.

Users, especially those who
feel they are less car-savvy,
want to feel like they’ve
completed all the steps of the
Build & Price experience but
still appreciate the ability to
jump around in the process.
9
LEAD USERS STEP BY STEP6
Provide
Give users clear navigation
elements that show where
they are in the process with
the option to skip sections or
backtrack.

Users need to quickly decide
which model is right for them to
progress through the Build &
Price process, so make it easy by
providing summary highlights of
what is included with each model.
10
CLEARLY DEFINE MODEL OR TRIM DIFFERENCES7
the best practice]Show models side-by-side with
summary highlights of the
differentiating features so users
can easily choose the model
that’s right for them.

Detailed specs? Users definitely want them,
but often not right away. Disclose details as
users progress through the experience rather
than trying to offer too much information up
front.
11
PROGRESSIVELY DISCLOSE DETAILED SPECS8
Give users access to standard
equipment and specification lists
throughout the process so they can
access them when needed.

Users want to compare the price,
options, and specs of the vehicle
they’re interested in against vehicles
from the same manufacturer, as well
as with vehicles from other
manufacturers. By providing this
capability on your site, you keep
users engaged longer.
12
PROVIDE TOOLS TO COMPARE VEHICLES9
the best practice]
Comparison is often something users
want to do after configuring a car. Consider
offering this feature on the summary page
at the end of the Build & Price experience.

CVT? Direct Adaptive Steering? Users are
often in the dark when it comes to feature-
related jargon. Make it easy for them to
answer their questions by providing
rollover information about features or
options and prevent them from leaving the
Build & Price process.
13
DEFINE AUTOMOTIVE JARGON10
the best practice. Grey
box is placeholder, not a
frame/background/border.
Delete and replace with
screenshot]
Provide pop-ups on rollovers
that explain the feature and
provide a descriptive image.

Users are visiting automotive
sites from multiple devices.
Facilitate cross-device browsing
by making it easy for users to
come back later and pick up
where they left off.
14
MAKE IT EASY TO SAVE + RETRIEVE BUILT VEHICLES11
Use cookies to save users’
builds without their having
to enter any information.
Surface their saved builds
when they return to the
site.

Users don’t want to be led to
individual dealer sites to start
their search all over again –
they want to be taken directly to
cars that best match their built
car from multiple dealers in their
area.
15
SHOW A WIDE RANGE OF INVENTORY12
the best practice]
If possible, show users
inventory numbers from
multiple dealers in their area.

Users will only enter their contact
information if there is a clear
benefit – and that doesn’t include
being contacted by a salesperson
from their local dealership.
Consider giving users access to
special offers or competitive price
quotes from multiple dealers.
16
ONLY ASK FOR USER INFO IF YOU CAN PROVIDE VALUE13
the best practice]Users often go to 3rd-party
websites to get pricing quotes
because they can see
multiple quotes at once.

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Unparalleled Insights. Exceptional Experiences.
AnswerLab delivers the insights and advice that shape exceptional digital experiences. Our proprietary
solutions and objective user experience experts enable the world’s leading brands to dramatically
improve marketing effectiveness and product performance. We help you envision new digital marketing
opportunities and products, optimize existing ones, and measure their impact.
18

Unparalleled Insights. Exceptional Experiences.
Thank You.
For follow-up questions about AnswerLab user experience
research services, contact:
info@answerlab.com

13 Best Practices for Designing Automotive Build & Price

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13 Best Practices for Designing Automotive Build & Price

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