El Cartel Auto
High-performance website for an authorized auto repair and insurance damage center in Romania — converting accident victims into customers with sub-second load times
The Challenge
El Cartel Auto needed a fast, modern web presence that would convert visitors into phone calls — targeting drivers who've just been in an accident and need immediate, trustworthy help. The site also had to run on shared cPanel hosting, which is not designed for Node.js, making deployment a non-trivial engineering challenge.
Our Solution
We built a static-first Next.js App Router site with real-time business status detection, a drag-to-scroll gallery carousel, and 7 dynamic insurance partner pages — all deployed via a custom post-build pipeline that patches asset paths and configures Apache to serve a standalone Node.js app on shared hosting without a dedicated server.
El Cartel Auto — Website & Digital Presence
El Cartel Auto is an authorized auto repair and insurance damage assessment center in Fălticeni, Romania. The client needed a fast, modern web presence that would convert visitors into phone calls — targeting drivers who've just been in an accident.
The result is a high-performance static-first website built with Next.js App Router, deployed as a standalone Node.js app on shared cPanel hosting — a technically non-trivial setup requiring custom build scripting, asset path patching, and Apache/.htaccess configuration.
Tech Stack
| Layer | Technology |
|---|---|
| Frontend Framework | Next.js 15 (App Router) |
| Language | TypeScript |
| Styling | Tailwind CSS |
| Deployment | Standalone Node.js — cPanel/Passenger |
| Web Server | Apache + .htaccess rewrite rules |
| Build Pipeline | Custom post-build.mjs script |
| Version Control | Git-based deployment (git pull + Passenger restart) |
Architecture
┌──────────────────────┐ git pull + restart ┌──────────────────────┐
│ │ ◄───────────────────── │ │
│ Next.js 15 │ │ cPanel / Passenger │
│ (Standalone build) │ │ (Shared Hosting) │
│ │ │ │
└──────────┬───────────┘ └──────────┬───────────┘
│ │
post-build.mjs Apache httpd
(asset path patching, (HTTPS redirect via
tilde char rename, .htaccess rewrite,
cpSync to standalone) serves /assets/ dir)The most interesting engineering challenge was deploying Next.js on shared cPanel hosting — an environment not designed for Node.js. A custom post-build script rewrites all asset references from /next/ to /assets/, renames problematic tilde characters in chunk filenames, and syncs public/ and static assets into the standalone directory. Deployment is a single git pull followed by a Passenger restart.
Key Features
Pages Built
- Homepage — hero with real-time open/closed status pill, animated gallery carousel, service showcase, location/map section, insurance partner grid
- Despre Noi — company profile with service highlights and contact info
- Informații Utile — step-by-step accident victim guide
- 7 dynamic insurance partner pages (Asirom, Axeria, Generali, Grawe, Groupama, Hellas, Omniasig) from a typed data config
- Despre Proiect — EU-funded project disclosure page (FEDR/Regio Nord-Est, cod MySmis 313736)
- Legal pages — cookie policy, privacy policy, terms & conditions
Key Features
- Real-time business status — Open/Closed pill computed server-side from business hours config, no external dependency
- Drag-to-scroll gallery carousel — infinite auto-scroll with pointer event drag (mouse + touch), momentum on release, auto-resumes after 1.5s idle
- EU Logos Bar — shared component displaying 4 required grant logos in a responsive grid
- WhatsApp & phone CTAs — persistent in navbar and throughout the page
- HTTPS redirect enforced via .htaccess rewrite rules
Deployment Engineering
- Static asset path conflict solved by post-build script rewriting all /next/ references to /assets/
- Tilde character renaming in chunk filenames to avoid Apache blocking
- Next.js standalone output + manual cpSync of public/ and .next/static/ into standalone directory
- Git-based deployment — full build output committed, deployed with git pull + Passenger restart
Design System
- Bold automotive branding — black, white, and red (brand-primary)
- Heavy italic uppercase headings with custom font-heading
- Hazard stripe accents and dark/light section rhythm
- Mobile-first responsive layout throughout
What This Project Demonstrates
- Deployment engineering on constrained infrastructure — making Next.js work on shared cPanel hosting without a dedicated server
- Custom post-build scripting — automated asset path patching and file sync after every build
- Conversion-focused design — high-urgency CTAs, real-time business status, and direct call/WhatsApp integration
- Dynamic route generation — single [partner] route producing 7 fully SEO-optimized pages from typed config data
- Performance-first architecture — fully static HTML with no client-side data fetching, sub-second loads on mobile
Full project documentation with implementation details
Download .md FileThe Results
- Sub-second page loads on mobile — fully static HTML, no client-side data fetching
- All 7 insurance partner pages indexed and ranking for local search terms
- New pages added in under an hour end-to-end
- EU grant compliance: dedicated disclosure page with all required logos and project information
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