AstraMakers Platform

Engineering challenge

Studio operations ran across separate tools for quotes, client intake, file handling, and admin follow-up. The requirement was one production application that owned quote workflows, structured data, file processing, and contact delivery — without inventing a larger CRM than the studio needed.

Objectives

• Automate quote generation for engineering engagements from structured inputs
• Provide an admin portal for visibility into quotes, contacts, and workflow state
• Persist operational data in PostgreSQL with clear schemas
• Process uploaded documents and assets through defined intake paths
• Integrate contact forms with reliable email delivery via Resend
• Ship on Vercel with CSP, HSTS, and baseline SEO and security posture

Constraints

• Scope had to stay within studio operations — not a general-purpose CRM
• Public intake and admin surfaces share one TypeScript codebase and data model
• File upload and API routes are internet-facing and require production hardening
• Email delivery depends on Resend; application logic must tolerate delivery failures gracefully
• Deployment target is Vercel, which shapes serverless API and file-handling boundaries

Solution architecture

Next.js application with server-side API routes, PostgreSQL for quotes, contacts, and workflows, file-processing modules for document intake, an admin UI layer, and Resend for transactional email — deployed on Vercel behind production security headers.

Technology stack

• Next.js
• TypeScript
• PostgreSQL
• Resend
• File processing
• Vercel

Implementation approach

• Implemented quote workflows driven by structured templates and routing rules
• Built the admin portal against the same data model as public intake
• Designed PostgreSQL schemas for quotes, contacts, and workflow state
• Added file-processing paths for document intake and handling
• Wired contact forms to Resend and added SEO metadata on public pages
• Deployed with CSP, HSTS, and API and file-handling hardening

Engineering decisions

• Modeled quotes, contacts, and workflow state in PostgreSQL rather than spreading state across documents and spreadsheets
• Kept public intake and admin on one Next.js app so schema and API contracts stay shared
• Used Resend for transactional email instead of operating an SMTP stack
• Applied CSP and HSTS at deployment so security headers are part of the production baseline
• Limited automation to structured quote templates and routing, avoiding premature workflow engines

Operational considerations

• Admin users need clear visibility into quote and contact state without separate tooling
• File intake failures must be observable; silent upload errors break follow-up workflows
• Resend delivery status and bounce handling affect whether contact submissions are actionable
• Schema migrations must preserve existing quotes and contacts during iterative releases
• Vercel environment configuration for database and email credentials is part of operational runbooks

Challenges

• Keeping workflow flexibility without premature abstraction in early features
• Growing admin surface area without fragmenting the TypeScript codebase
• Hardening API routes and file upload paths for production exposure

Deliverables

• Quote automation with structured templates and routing
• Admin portal for operational review and management
• PostgreSQL schemas for quotes, contacts, and workflows
• File processing for document intake and handling
• Contact forms with Resend-backed email delivery
• Production deployment with CSP, HSTS, and SEO foundations

Lessons learned

• A shared data model between intake and admin prevents the dual-write problems that appear with separate tools
• Quote templates need explicit routing rules early; ad-hoc branching becomes hard to audit later
• File upload hardening is not optional once the app is public — validation and size limits belong in the first production pass
• Security headers and SEO metadata are cheaper to ship with the initial deploy than to retrofit

Future improvements

• Extend quote templates with versioned revision history for auditability
• Add richer file-type validation and virus-scanning hooks on intake paths
• Surface Resend delivery and bounce state in the admin portal
• Introduce role-based admin permissions as the operator set grows