The Challenge
This wasn’t a simple redesign. It required a deeply integrated platform that could talk to their CRM, push listings automatically to Rightmove, serve three distinct audiences with different tones and search behaviours – students, professionals, and commercial tenants – and still be intuitive enough for the internal team to manage themselves.
Our Approach
Strategy before pixels
We don’t build before we understand. Before any design work began, we ran a discovery phase to map the full scope of what the platform needed to do – not just aesthetically, but operationally. West One’s brief was detailed and well-considered, referencing specific features from property portals like Foxtons and Autotrader, and that depth of thinking made for a strong foundation. Our job was to translate those requirements into a coherent build strategy.
Custom-built, not off-the-shelf
We ruled out template solutions early. West One needed a platform that could handle three separate property audiences with distinct tones, search criteria, and content structures – all under a single unified brand. That required a custom WordPress theme built on Timber and ACF Pro, giving West One full ownership of the codebase and long-term independence from any proprietary platform lock-in.
Automating the hard work
A central requirement was eliminating the manual duplication that was consuming Sarah’s time. We integrated Property Hive as the bridge between West One’s I Am Property CRM and the website, enabling properties to flow automatically from the CRM into the site and push directly to Rightmove without any manual intervention. What had previously been a repetitive, error-prone process became a system that largely runs itself.
Where integrations had limitations – Property Hive didn’t offer an out-of-the-box UniHomes feed – we were transparent about what was achievable, explored alternatives early, and built practical workarounds rather than promising things we couldn’t deliver.
Built for three audiences at once
One of the more interesting design challenges was serving students, professional tenants, and commercial prospects from the same homepage without confusion. The solution was a user-type selection mechanism above the main search, allowing each visitor to immediately self-identify and be routed into the right experience – complete with audience-specific search criteria, filters, and content tone. Student properties use price-per-person-per-week; professional listings use monthly rent; commercial properties filter by size and type. Each journey feels purpose-built because it is.
Iterative, not prescriptive
We ran the design through iterative sprints with the West One team rather than presenting a fixed set of options. This collaborative approach meant the final product genuinely reflected the brand rather than defaulting to agency convention. It also meant the team felt confident using it from day one – a measurable outcome, given that aftercare support requests after launch were minimal.
The Results
The new platform replaced multiple separate websites with a single, cohesive system. Property management that previously required manual duplication across three systems now runs automatically. The internal team can create and edit pages, manage listings, and maintain brand consistency without development support.
Post-launch, only one issue required a fix – a strong indicator of the build quality and the thoroughness of the pre-launch testing process. The reduced aftercare burden freed the team to focus on the next phase of growth rather than ongoing maintenance.
The project also opened the door to further development work, reinforcing the value of the long-term relationship rather than treating the launch as an endpoint.
