Frequently Asked Questions

DR Web Studio is a web development agency based in Punta Cana, Dominican Republic. We specialize in building fast, modern, and multilingual websites using Next.js, Sanity CMS, TypeScript, and Tailwind CSS. We serve businesses across the entire Dominican Republic — from tourism companies in Punta Cana to retailers in Santo Domingo and service businesses nationwide.

We work with businesses across many industries, with particular expertise in tourism (dive shops, tour operators, hotels), events and weddings, photography, e-commerce, restaurants, real estate, and professional services. Our bilingual approach makes us especially well-suited for businesses serving both Dominican and international clients.

Absolutely. While we're based in Punta Cana, we serve businesses across the entire Dominican Republic — Santo Domingo, Santiago, La Romana, Samaná, Puerto Plata, Bávaro, Higüey, and beyond. We handle everything remotely with video calls, shared project tools, and regular updates. In-person meetings are available for clients in the Punta Cana–Bávaro area.

Yes! We're based in Punta Cana, so in-person meetings are available for local clients. We can meet at your business, a coworking space, or a café. For clients elsewhere in the Dominican Republic or internationally, we work via video call — same quality of service, just remote.

Yes — bilingual websites are one of our core specialties. We build full Spanish and English versions with seamless language switching, separate SEO optimization for each language, and content that's culturally adapted for each audience — not just machine-translated text. This is essential for tourism businesses and any Dominican company serving international clients.

Start by completing our free project questionnaire or contact us directly for a consultation. We'll review your needs, discuss your goals, and provide a detailed quote within 48 hours. Once you approve the 50% upfront payment, we begin the discovery phase immediately.

Yes. Your initial consultation is completely free. We'll discuss your business, your goals for the website, your timeline, and your budget. After the consultation, you'll receive a detailed proposal with a clear scope, timeline, and price — no obligation.

Timelines depend on the project type: landing pages take 2–3 weeks, custom business websites take 6–8 weeks, and web applications take 5–8 weeks. We provide a detailed timeline during the discovery phase so there are no surprises. Complex projects with e-commerce, multiple languages, or custom features may take longer.

Our process has five stages: (1) Discovery & Planning — we learn your business, goals, and audience; (2) Design & Prototyping — we create a custom visual design with two revision rounds; (3) Development & CMS Setup — we build with Next.js and connect Sanity CMS; (4) Testing & Launch — we test on all devices, set up your domain/email, and go live; (5) Post-Launch Support — 30 days of free support plus one year of free hosting and maintenance.

Every project includes two full revision rounds. During each round, you can request changes to colors, layouts, typography, imagery, and content placement. We work collaboratively to ensure the final design matches your vision exactly.

Yes. Every website includes Sanity CMS — a user-friendly content editor where you can update text, images, blog posts, products, and more without any coding knowledge. We provide complete training so you're confident managing your site independently.

Every website we build is designed from scratch — we never use WordPress themes, Wix templates, or pre-built page builders. Your website will be completely unique, designed specifically for your brand, audience, and business goals.

Yes. Website migrations and rebuilds start at $600. We take your existing content and rebuild it on our modern Next.js stack — dramatically improving speed, SEO, security, and visual design. We handle the complete migration so you don't lose any content or search rankings.

Absolutely. We use a mobile-first design approach — we design for phones first, then scale up to tablets and desktops. Over 70% of Dominican internet users browse on mobile, so every site we build is fully responsive and optimized for fast loading on mobile data connections.

We'll need your logo (if you have one), brand colors and fonts (if established), content for your pages (text and images), and access to your domain registrar if you already own a domain. Don't worry if you don't have everything ready — we guide you through our project questionnaire, and we can help with content strategy and image selection during the discovery phase.

Our pricing starts at $400 for landing pages, $600 for website migrations, $700 for headless CMS development, $800 for multilingual websites, $900 for e-commerce integrations, $950 for custom business websites, and $1,250 for web applications. API integrations start at $500. All projects include one year of free hosting, two revision rounds, domain and email setup, CMS training, and 30 days of post-launch support.

We charge 50% upfront to begin work and 50% upon project completion before launch. This split protects both sides — you know we're committed to finishing, and we know you're committed to the project. We accept bank transfers and PayPal.

Every project includes: custom design (no templates), two revision rounds, Sanity CMS integration with training, domain and business email setup, SEO optimization, mobile-responsive design, one year of free hosting and maintenance (valued at $1,140), and 30 days of post-launch support.

No hidden fees. The price we quote is the price you pay. After your free first year, the only ongoing cost is the optional maintenance plan at $95/month for hosting, security, updates, and support. If you have an e-commerce store, PayPal charges their standard processing fee (typically 3.49% + fixed fee per transaction) — that goes to PayPal, not to us.

Every new website project includes 12 months of hosting and maintenance at absolutely no cost — a $1,140 value. This starts the day your site launches and includes hosting on Netlify's global CDN, security monitoring, performance optimization, uptime monitoring, updates, and bug fixes. After the first year, you can continue at $95/month or host the site yourself.

Our standard terms are 50% upfront and 50% on completion. For larger projects, we can discuss milestone-based payment schedules where payments are tied to specific project phases. Contact us to discuss what works best for your budget.

Website maintenance is $95/month after your free first year. This includes hosting on Netlify's global CDN, security monitoring, performance optimization, uptime monitoring, regular framework updates, and bug fixes. There are no tiers or hidden charges — one simple price covers everything.

You own your website completely — code, design, and content. If you choose not to continue, you can host the site yourself or with another provider. However, you'll lose security monitoring, performance optimization, uptime alerts, and technical support. We recommend continuing to protect your investment.

We monitor your site 24/7 with automated alerts. For critical issues like downtime, we're alerted instantly and begin resolving immediately. For non-critical requests like content changes or bug reports, we typically respond within 24 hours during business days. We're based in Punta Cana, so we work in your timezone.

No — and this is one of the biggest advantages of our approach. WordPress sites typically need 20–50 plugin updates per month, and any one can break your site or create security vulnerabilities. Our Next.js sites have zero plugins. Maintenance focuses on genuine improvements like speed optimization and security hardening — not damage control.

Our maintenance plans are designed specifically for websites we build with Next.js and Sanity CMS. If you have an existing WordPress or other platform site, we recommend migrating it to our modern stack first (starting at $600) — which includes a free year of maintenance. This gives you a faster, more secure site that costs less to maintain long-term.

Every project includes 30 days of dedicated post-launch support. During this period, we fix any bugs, make minor adjustments, answer your CMS questions, and ensure everything is running smoothly. This is separate from the one-year free maintenance — think of it as an intensive onboarding period to make sure you and your site are fully set up for success.

We specialize in Next.js (React), TypeScript, Tailwind CSS, and Sanity CMS. For hosting, we use Netlify with global CDN distribution. This modern stack delivers websites that are significantly faster, more secure, and more scalable than traditional WordPress, Wix, or Squarespace sites.

Next.js delivers 3x faster load times than WordPress, scores higher on Google's Core Web Vitals, requires no plugins that slow your site or create security vulnerabilities, and is far more secure by default. Combined with Sanity CMS, you get the same easy content editing without the bloat, constant updates, and performance penalties of WordPress.

A headless CMS separates your content (text, images, products) from how it's displayed on your website. Sanity CMS is our headless CMS of choice — it gives you an easy editor to manage your content while we build the frontend with Next.js for maximum speed and flexibility. The result: you can update your site easily, and it loads much faster than traditional CMS platforms like WordPress.

Core Web Vitals are Google's metrics for measuring how fast and smooth your website feels to visitors — loading speed, interactivity, and visual stability. Google uses these as a direct ranking factor, meaning faster sites rank higher in search results. Our Next.js websites consistently score 90+ on Google PageSpeed, giving your business an SEO advantage over slower WordPress competitors.

Yes — 100%. You own the code, the design, and all the content. There's no vendor lock-in, no proprietary page builders, and no annual license fees. If you ever want to switch developers, you can take everything with you. This is a major advantage over platforms like Wix or Squarespace where your site is locked into their ecosystem.

Yes. Every website includes technical SEO built in: proper heading structure, meta tags, image optimization, structured data (JSON-LD schema), XML sitemaps, fast load times, mobile responsiveness, and clean URLs. For bilingual sites, we implement proper hreflang tags and separate SEO optimization for each language so you rank in both Spanish and English searches.

Yes. We build complete e-commerce stores with product catalogs, shopping carts, inventory management, and secure checkout. E-commerce integrations start at $900 as an add-on to any website, or as a standalone store. We also build online booking and reservation systems for tour operators, dive shops, photographers, and service businesses.

We integrate PayPal, which accepts credit cards (Visa, Mastercard, American Express), debit cards, and PayPal balances from customers worldwide. PayPal is one of the most trusted payment processors in the Dominican Republic and works for both local and international transactions.

Shopify charges $39–$399/month in platform fees plus transaction fees. WooCommerce requires WordPress with dozens of plugins, constant updates, and security vulnerabilities. Our Next.js stores have zero monthly platform fees, load 3x faster, are inherently more secure, and you own the entire codebase — no vendor lock-in, no surprise costs.

Yes. Your e-commerce store comes with Sanity CMS, where you can add, edit, and remove products, update prices, change descriptions and images, and manage your entire catalog — all without coding. Perfect for updating seasonal promotions or adding new products and services.

Yes. We build custom booking and reservation systems where customers can select dates, choose packages, and pay online through PayPal. We've built these for diving companies, event planners, and tour operators in Punta Cana — one client saw a 200% increase in booking conversions after launching their online booking system.

Yes. PayPal processes payments from customers worldwide. Combined with our bilingual store capability, you can sell to Dominican customers, tourists planning their trip, and international buyers — all from the same store with language switching and global payment processing.

Yes. Every website we build includes technical SEO foundations: proper heading structure, meta tags, XML sitemaps, structured data (JSON-LD schema), fast load times, mobile responsiveness, and clean URL structures. We also submit your site to Google Search Console so it gets indexed quickly. However, ranking on the first page for competitive keywords takes time and ongoing content effort — technical SEO gets you in the game, content strategy wins it.

It depends on your industry and competition. For local Dominican searches with low competition, you can see results within 2–3 months. For more competitive terms like 'desarrollo web republica dominicana,' it typically takes 4–8 months of consistent content and optimization. Our technical SEO gives you a strong foundation from day one — your Next.js site already loads faster and scores better on Core Web Vitals than most competitors, which Google rewards directly.

Technical SEO is the code-level optimization built into your website — page speed, mobile responsiveness, structured data, sitemaps, proper URLs, and Core Web Vitals. This is included in every project we build. Content SEO is about creating blog posts, landing pages, and written content that targets the keywords your customers search for. We build the technical foundation; you can create content through Sanity CMS, or we can discuss a content strategy to accelerate your rankings.

Google uses Core Web Vitals — loading speed, interactivity, and visual stability — as direct ranking factors. Faster sites rank higher, period. Our Next.js websites score 90+ on Google PageSpeed, while most WordPress sites in the Dominican Republic score 40–60. This speed advantage means Google is more likely to show your site above slower competitors for the same search terms.

A properly built bilingual site doubles your keyword opportunities — you rank for both Spanish and English searches. We implement hreflang tags so Google knows which version to show each audience, create separate SEO-optimized meta tags for each language, and structure the URLs properly (/en/ and /es/ prefixes). This is especially valuable in Punta Cana and tourist areas where potential customers search in both languages.

Yes. Every website includes JSON-LD structured data including Organization schema (your business details, services, pricing, location), WebPage schema, BreadcrumbList schema for navigation, and FAQPage schema where applicable. For e-commerce sites, we add Product and Offer schemas. This structured data helps Google understand your business and can generate rich results — star ratings, FAQs, pricing, and business info displayed directly in search results.

A blog isn't strictly required, but it's one of the most effective ways to rank for more keywords and attract organic traffic. Each blog post is a new page that can rank for a specific search term your customers use. Every Sanity CMS setup we build includes a fully functional blog — you can publish articles, categorize them, and each post is automatically SEO-optimized with proper meta tags, headings, and structured data.

Yes. We optimize your site for local search by including your business location in structured data, creating location-specific content, and implementing LocalBusiness schema with your address, service area, and geo coordinates. For businesses in Punta Cana, Santo Domingo, Santiago, or other Dominican cities, this helps you appear when people search for services in your area. We also recommend setting up a Google Business Profile to complement your website's local SEO.