Career Site Platform Alternatives: How to Choose the Right Route

The short answer on career site platform alternatives

Most career site platform alternatives fall into four routes: a specialist careers website platform, a module inside a wider talent suite, an agency that builds and runs the site for you, or a quick AI builder. None is right for everyone.

This hub is for buyers who already have a careers website and want to know what else is out there. Each route below links to its own guide with a stay or switch check, a free switching plan and the questions to ask.

Free toolSee your careers website the way candidates doRun the free scan. It takes about two minutes, and you will see what is already working and what could work harder.Find out now

The four routes, side by side

Each route solves a different problem. Start with the one that matches your main job to be done.

• Specialist careers website platform: the careers website is the whole product, run by your own team. Happydance is one.
• Talent experience suite: the careers website is one module in a wider set of candidate and HR products. See the talent experience platform alternative guide.
• Recruitment marketing agency: an outside team designs, builds and often edits the site, usually alongside media buying. See the recruitment marketing agency alternative guide.
• Recruiting chatbot: a chat assistant that screens and schedules, sometimes with a basic site. See the recruiting chatbot alternative guide.
• AI career site builder: quick, prompt-made pages and microsites. See the AI career site builder alternative guide.

Why teams look at career site platform alternatives

Teams rarely move because a supplier is poor. They look around when their needs change. These are the reasons buyers give us most often.

• The careers website has become a priority, and the current set-up cannot keep up
• Small edits wait on a developer or an outside team
• More brands, markets or languages are coming
• Renewal is near and the three-year cost is unclear
• The ATS is changing and the site must change with it

How Happydance is different

Happydance is a specialist careers website platform. Four things set it apart from the other routes.

A specialist will not suit everyone. If you want one vendor for many talent products, a suite may be simpler. The point is to choose on purpose.

Career site platform alternatives at a glance

Use the middle column in your next demo. The right column is how Happydance answers the same question.

When another route may be the better fit

Being honest about fit saves everyone time. Another route may suit you better if this sounds like you.

• You want one contract for many talent products: look at a suite
• You want an outside team to do the work and buy media: look at an agency
• Your main problem is screening speed for hourly roles: look at a chatbot
• You need a one-off campaign microsite this week: a quick builder may be enough

Ten questions to ask every supplier

Use the same ten questions with every supplier on your shortlist, including us. Put the answers in writing and score them in the RFP template.

1. Who edits it? Show me a recruiter changing a page, adding a language and publishing, without a developer.
2. What does it cost over three years? Include set-up, languages, integrations, support and your own team's time. Use the cost guide.
3. Which of our systems does it connect to? Name your ATS and ask how jobs and applications move, and how often.
4. Where does candidate data go? Ask what is stored, where, and for how long.
5. How is speed measured? Ask for Core Web Vitals on live customer sites, not a demo.
6. What about accessibility? Ask for the latest independent audit.
7. Who logs in, and how? Ask whether editors can sign in through your company login, such as Okta or Microsoft.
8. What happens to our search traffic when we move? Ask for the redirect and migration plan.
9. Who owns the content and the design? Ask what you keep if you leave.
10. Can we talk to a customer like us? Ask for references in your sector and size.

Compare on what matters, honestly

A fair comparison starts with your requirements, not our brochure. Write down what you need, test it with your own jobs, and weigh every option on the same footing, including us.

The highest performers are not simply clearer. They are more honest.

Bryan Adams, Sell The Truth

A quick truth test for this page:

• Have you written your own criteria before reading anyone else's?
• Can each claim be tested in a demo?
• Would you be comfortable showing your comparison to every supplier on it?

Which route fits you? A six question route finder

Keep exploring: four pages to read next

Pick the page that matches where you are in your search. Each one links back to the others, so you can move between guides, your ATS, comparisons and plans.

Free preview: the first six steps of a switching plan

Moving to Happydance

Changing supplier is a project, and we plan it with you. Happydance includes full implementation support from design to data migration. Read the guide to replacing your career site provider and the redesign guide for the steps.

Still choosing? The career site providers guide compares the routes, the cost guide shows how to budget, and the free careers website scanner checks your current site first.