Sitecore Platform Modernization and UX Optimization for Instant Offices

Instant Offices needed to evolve from a CMS-driven listing website into a faster, more stable, conversion-focused digital product while remaining fully operational during continuous business use.

Key challenges included:

• Aging Sitecore platform. The website required continuous Sitecore upgrades from version 7 to version 10 while preserving business-critical customizations and keeping live operations stable.
• Outdated user journeys. Core areas such as the homepage, search, listings, filters, workspace detail pages, and account experience needed major UX and UI improvements.
• No self-service enquiry tracking. Users had no dedicated account area where they could view their workspace enquiries or track their lifecycle.
• Complex CRM integration. New account functionality required integration with the client’s internal CRM and a custom OAuth authentication flow.
• Performance degradation. Growing content volume, images, third-party scripts, and listing complexity affected page speed and conversion potential.
• Limited production visibility. The platform needed structured monitoring, performance reporting, and faster incident detection, including visibility into DDoS-related activity.
• Multi-market content management. The website had to support English, US English, French, German, and Spanish content without fragmenting the platform architecture.
• Need for data-driven delivery. UX and UI changes had to be validated through A/B testing instead of being released based only on assumptions.

SaM Solutions partnered with Instant Offices as a long-term development and support provider, helping the client modernize its Sitecore-based platform incrementally rather than replacing it through a disruptive rebuild.

The work covered platform upgrades, front-end modernization, UX redesign, new functionality, third-party and CRM integrations, SEO improvements, production monitoring, and performance engineering.

Sitecore platform modernization

SaM Solutions supported a continuous Sitecore upgrade path from version 7 to version 10 across more than 6 years of cooperation. The team helped keep the platform maintainable, secure, and ready for further product improvements while preserving existing customizations and business logic.

To support future redesigns and faster front-end iteration, SaM Solutions’ developers also began migrating selected older pages to React. This incremental approach allowed the client to modernize the front end without pausing business operations or rebuilding the entire platform at once.

UX/UI redesign and conversion-focused improvements

A major part of the engagement focused on improving how users search for, evaluate, and enquire about flexible workspaces.

SaM Solutions redesigned and improved key areas of the platform, including:

• the homepage, including the main search entry point and cookie consent experience;
• workspace detail pages, with improved information architecture, image gallery presentation, workspace characteristics, and calls to action;
• search and listing filters, making workspace discovery clearer and easier;
• a custom Google Maps-based map view with workspace pin clustering and toggleable points of interest;
• static and informational pages, including careers, team, and opportunities pages;
• Quick Quote and enquiry submission flows;
• mobile enquiry journeys, making dense workspace information easier to read, navigate, and submit from smaller screens.

The redesigned flows helped users move from search to enquiry with fewer friction points, while also giving the product team a stronger foundation for experimentation and continuous optimization.

My Account area and CRM integration

SaM Solutions’ team built a new My Account area that allowed users to view their workspace enquiries and track their lifecycle.

This functionality required close integration with the client’s internal CRM and a custom OAuth authentication mechanism. SaM Solutions’ team connected the front-end account experience with CRM data, enabling users to access enquiry-related information through a secure self-service interface.

The new account area expanded the platform beyond workspace discovery and enquiry submission, giving users greater transparency after they submitted a request.

New listing and workspace data capabilities

The team also supported product expansion by adding new data-driven capabilities to the platform, including:

• support for open off-market listings;
• sustainability data integration;
• “coming soon” workspace status;
• external data integration for workspace-related attributes.

These improvements helped enrich listings, support more detailed workspace presentations, and give users more relevant information during the discovery process.

Performance and reliability engineering

SaM Solutions carried out performance engineering across dozens of important pages and listing scenarios.

SaM Solutions’ team identified and resolved memory leaks, removed duplicated code paths, and optimized algorithmic operations to reduce memory usage. The team improved image sizing and optimized the handling of third-party requests, which helped reduce load times and improve stability.

To make performance measurable and repeatable, SaM Solutions deployed New Relic for monitoring and JMeter for performance measurement and reporting. The team also supported ongoing production monitoring and helped respond to DDoS-related incidents.

SEO and multilingual support

SaM Solutions helped preserve and improve search visibility during redesigns, upgrades, and platform changes.

SEO-related work included:

• improving sitemap structure;
• refining on-page content organization;
• implementing redirect strategies to preserve SEO value;
• adding FAQ blocks across key pages to support long-tail search queries;
• maintaining multilingual content support across English, US English, French, German, and Spanish.

The platform continued to support multiple markets within a single architecture, helping the client avoid unnecessary duplication while serving localized content.

A/B testing and experimentation

SaM Solutions standardized Optimizely-based A/B testing for UX and UI changes, allowing the client to validate improvements against real user behavior before broader rollout. This approach was applied across key conversion areas, including the homepage, workspace detail pages, listings, filters, maps, Quick Quote, and mobile enquiry flows.

The long-term partnership helped Instant Offices transform its Sitecore-based website into a more stable, faster, and more conversion-focused digital product.

SaM Solutions improved the 95th-percentile page load time from approximately 8.5 seconds to 3.5 seconds across dozens of key pages and listing scenarios. This represents around a 59% reduction in page load time, measured with JMeter.

The platform also gained stronger operational visibility through structured monitoring and performance reporting with New Relic and JMeter. This gave the client better insight into production behavior, page performance, and incident patterns.

Key results included:

• Faster page performance: 95th-percentile load time reduced from about 8.5 seconds to 3.5 seconds across key page and listing scenarios.
• Improved conversion journeys: homepage search, workspace detail pages, listings, filters, maps, Quick Quote, and mobile enquiry flows were redesigned and optimized.
• A/B-tested product delivery: UX and UI changes were validated through Optimizely experiments before wider rollout.
• Long-term platform stability: one complex Sitecore platform was sustained through three major version stages over 6+ years without a full rebuild.
• New user-facing functionality: My Account enabled users to view workspace enquiries and track their lifecycle.
• Expanded product data: the platform gained support for off-market listings, sustainability data, and coming-soon workspace status.
• Better production visibility: New Relic monitoring and JMeter reporting improved performance tracking and incident response.
• Multi-market reach: English, US English, French, German, and Spanish content remained supported within a single platform architecture.
• Future-ready front end: selected React migration created a stronger foundation for ongoing UX improvements and redesigns.

The cooperation helped Instant Offices continue improving its digital product while keeping the live platform operational and ready for ongoing business growth.