FAQ
Straight answers, before the call
Working together
What does Wave Logic Studios do?
Wave Logic Studios is a web and software studio based in Virginia Beach, Virginia. We build focused websites for smaller companies from $2,000 or $249 per month, plus custom commerce, integrations, content systems, and specialized product tools for growing businesses.
Who do you work with?
We work with growing companies that need a stronger website and established teams whose products, workflows, or integrations have outgrown off-the-shelf tools. Our deepest industry experience includes agtech, controlled environment agriculture, B2B manufacturing, and industrial distribution, but the sector label is not a requirement. We work with clients across the United States and are based in Virginia Beach, Virginia.
What does custom work cost?
Packaged websites are $2,000 or $5,000 paid once, with managed monthly alternatives at $249 or $549 on an initial 12-month term. Custom add-ons commonly run $1,500 to $3,500, focused systems run $3,500 to $7,500, and connected builds typically begin around $7,500. Every custom phase receives a fixed-fee proposal before work begins.
How long does a project take?
It depends entirely on integration count and data migration complexity, which is why we do not quote a timeline before discovery. What we do commit to is a dated schedule in the proposal, a staging environment you can open from the first build cycle, and review checkpoints at the end of every cycle so progress is visible rather than reported.
Do we have to replace our existing tools?
No. Most engagements keep the systems that work and integrate them. If Shopify handles commerce well or your sales team lives in HubSpot, those stay and we build the connective layer. We replace a tool only when keeping it costs more than removing it.
What technology do you build on?
Next.js and TypeScript for applications, PostgreSQL and Supabase for data, Node.js and Express for integration services, and Vercel for hosting. On commerce we work with the Shopify Storefront and Admin APIs, and we integrate regularly with HubSpot and Vimeo. The stack is deliberately conventional so the codebase stays maintainable by any competent team.
Who owns the code you write?
You do. Repositories, infrastructure access, and documentation are handed over as part of the engagement. There is no proprietary layer you have to keep paying us to access, and no hosting arrangement designed to make leaving difficult.
Can our non-technical team update the site?
Yes. We build inline editing directly into the pages, so an authorized editor clicks any text, image, or icon on the live layout and changes it in place. Media libraries and role-based permissions come standard. Content changes should never require a developer.
Do you handle design and content, or only development?
Both. Brand identity, product photography, video production, and copywriting are produced in-house by the same team building the platform. That is deliberate — a well-engineered site filled with stock imagery and vendor copy does not convince a technical buyer.
What happens after launch?
Managed website plans include hosting, maintenance, routine content updates, and quarterly review. One-time website packages include 30 days of launch support. Custom systems can continue through a separately scoped support plan or block of hours sized to the roadmap.
Will a rebuild hurt our search rankings?
Not when the migration is handled properly. Every launch includes a redirect map from old URLs to new ones, preserved metadata and structured data, and a post-launch crawl to confirm nothing was dropped. Rankings usually improve, because a faster, better-structured site is easier for search engines to understand.
How do we start?
Book a 30-minute discovery call or send project details through the contact form. The first conversation is about your systems and constraints, not a pitch. If a custom build is not the right answer for your situation, we will say so on that call.
Services
Do we have to replace everything at once?
No. Most platform builds start with the one workflow causing the most drag, ship it to production, then absorb adjacent systems in later phases. That keeps the first release small enough to validate and the budget tied to visible progress.
What happens to the tools we keep?
They get integrated rather than replaced. If Shopify is doing a good job as a commerce back end or HubSpot is where your sales team lives, we keep them and build the connective layer so data flows in one direction with a clear owner.
Will we lose our Shopify apps?
Some theme-dependent apps do not carry over to a headless front end. We inventory every app during discovery, decide which ones stay on the back end, which get replaced with native functionality, and which are no longer needed once the storefront is custom.
Is headless worth it for a small catalog?
Not always. Headless earns its keep when the buying decision is technical, the catalog needs configuration, or commerce has to sit alongside substantial content. For a straightforward catalog, a well-built theme is often the right answer and we will say so.
Can you work with a system you have not integrated before?
Yes. If it has an API, a webhook, or an export, it can be integrated. The work is in the mapping and the failure modes, not in familiarity with a specific vendor's SDK. We scope unfamiliar systems with a short spike before committing to an estimate.
What about the automations we already built?
We audit them first. Low-risk automations that work are often worth leaving alone. The ones we replace are the chains carrying revenue-critical data with no error handling, no version history, and no owner.
Why not just use WordPress or a headless CMS?
Often you should — if your content is conventional, an established CMS is cheaper and faster. Custom becomes the better answer when content is tightly coupled to product data, when editors need to see exactly what they are changing, or when the admin has to double as an operations tool.
Who can edit the site once it launches?
Anyone you give an account to. Permissions are role-based, so you can let a marketing coordinator edit copy and images while restricting structural changes to a smaller group.
What if our calculation logic is confidential?
Calculations run server-side so the formula never ships to the browser. Buyers see inputs and results; the model itself stays on your infrastructure and under NDA.
Should results be gated?
It depends on deal size. For high-consideration purchases, gating a detailed result set works because the buyer is genuinely trading contact details for something useful. For lower-value products, gating usually costs more traffic than it captures. We model both against your funnel.
Can we hire you for branding without a build?
Yes. Identity and content production run as standalone engagements. They are most valuable alongside a platform build because the assets get produced against real templates, but they do not require one.
Do you travel for shoots?
We do. We are based in Virginia Beach and shoot on location at facilities, farms, and job sites. Travel is quoted with the engagement.
Industries
Do you understand agricultural products well enough to build for them?
We have built specification-driven commerce for an agricultural equipment manufacturer and a CO2 enrichment supplier, including the calculation logic behind both. We are not agronomists — discovery always starts by getting your technical assumptions documented and validated by your people before anything is implemented.
Can a calculator handle our regional or seasonal variables?
Yes. Calculation models take whatever inputs matter — climate zone, cycle timing, facility type — and the assumptions behind them are editable by your team without a deployment, so you can adjust as your recommendations evolve.
We sell through dealers. Does an online storefront undercut them?
Not if it is designed around the channel. We build dealer locators, account-scoped pricing, and quote hand-off flows so the platform generates demand and routes it, rather than competing with the people who sell for you.
Can you integrate with our ERP?
If it exposes an API, a database connection, or a scheduled export, yes. We scope unfamiliar systems with a short technical spike before committing to an estimate, because integration risk is almost always in the data model rather than the transport.
We do not sell online. Is a platform still worth it?
Frequently, yes — and often more so. Configurators, RFQ flows, and dealer portals generate and qualify demand without a checkout anywhere in the process. Transacting online is one option, not the reason to build.
How do you handle confidential pricing?
Pricing logic and customer-specific rates stay server-side behind authentication, exposed only to the accounts entitled to them. Public pages never receive data the visitor is not authorized to see.
Still unclear
Ask the awkward question
The ones about budget, ownership, and what happens if it goes wrong are the questions worth asking early. We answer them the same way on the call as we do here.