A flexible and responsive solution for the UK’s leading auction house

Allsop is the largest and most successful property auction house in the UK. In an unpredictable world, it remains a constant leader and source of market intelligence, however, to maintain its industry-pioneering position, it's critical that the brand’s online experience keeps pace with the high expectations of its customers. 

The only constant in IT is change… 

Propel Tech recently worked closely with the team at Allsop to pinpoint exactly what the business needed to change to ensure it was achieving the very best outcomes with its tech: 

1. Bring together two separate systems (CMS website and bespoke auction platform) to have a consistent brand aesthetic. 
2. Manage additional non-auction property types in the back-office system.
3. Give the marketing team a self-service Content Management System to bring down ongoing custom developments. 

Choosing the right CMS 

We started the process by sitting down with the marketing team to provide demos of the functionality of the different systems, which gave them full transparency and involvement in the final decision. After all, these are the people who would be working with the system on a day-to-day basis. 

The chosen CMS was Umbraco, an open-source, flexible, and future-proof CMS based on Microsoft’s .NET platform. It enables developers to build intuitive content editing experiences and can be easily enhanced to fit customers' needs. 

Handling the hype 

Property auctions generate a lot of buzz, and with that comes web traffic load that the system must be equipped to handle. Propel Tech updated the existing secure and scalable AWS architecture to seamlessly guide users between the two systems based on the page they were accessing.  

The Umbraco CMS was configured so content editors can choose from many different building blocks to build their page. The CMS integrated with the existing API’s to be able to show and market properties at auction.  

The existing property search and auction system was updated with a new look and feel to match the new CMS website, giving the end-users a seamless experience between the two websites. 

The migration and go-live process was planned and managed for zero downtime with no impact on users or SEO. 

The result - ease of use, security and consistency

Management of the properties that Allsop markets is now consolidated into one system, leading to less double keying and human errors. What’s more, the marketing team at Allsop can update the content in the CMS with ease - and no need for developers to get involved. 

Propel Tech updated the AWS infrastructure to be managed with Infrastructure as Code (IaC) technologies. This gives more predictability, security, and consistency surrounding the infrastructure platform. 

Speak to Wil

Will Jones is the Technical Director at Propel Tech, overseeing our expert teams in delivering agile digital solutions, bespoke software development and support services for our clients up to FTSE 50 level. If you have any questions about our bespoke solution for Allsop, or wish to improve your own technical outcomes, please email wil.jones@propeltech.co.uk.