The tools we use to run the studio (and what they really cost)

A note before we start: some of the links in this article are affiliate links, marked clearly, which means if you sign up through them we may earn a commission at no extra cost to you. We only ever recommend tools we actually use and would recommend anyway, and being paid a commission never decides what goes on this list. We have explained our whole commercial model openly elsewhere. With that said, here is what we really run on.

People ask surprisingly often what BrainWeb is built on, both clients curious about what they are buying into and other studio owners comparing notes. So here is an honest breakdown: what we use, why we chose it over the alternatives, what it is good and not good at, and roughly what it costs. No tool is perfect, and I have tried to say where each one's limits are.

Hosting

Hosting is the foundation, so we are fussy about it. We use a small set of providers chosen for genuine performance, solid support, and, where we can verify it, real renewable-energy credentials rather than vague green marketing. We match the host to the project rather than forcing everything onto one platform: managed WordPress hosting for sites that need it, and lean modern hosting for static and headless builds. The limits are honest ones: the good hosts are not the cheapest, and we will not put a client's site on bargain shared hosting that falls over under load to save a few pounds a month. You can host anywhere; we just will not pretend the cheapest option is the right one.

How we build

For content-managed sites we use WordPress, carefully set up and kept lean, because its flexibility and familiarity genuinely suit a lot of small businesses. For sites where speed and security matter more than heavy functionality, we build with modern frameworks and a headless CMS. We have written elsewhere about how we choose between the two; the short version is that we pick the tool that fits the job rather than the one we happen to prefer. The cost here is mostly our time and expertise rather than licence fees, since the core tools are open source.

Email and privacy tools

We use privacy-respecting tools for email and day-to-day operations where good ones exist, because we would rather not hand client data to whoever is cheapest or most invasive. That choice costs a little more than the free, ad-supported alternatives, and we think it is worth it. Where these are tools we genuinely rely on and would recommend regardless, and where an affiliate arrangement exists, the link is marked as such.

Why we are picky

A pattern runs through all of this: we choose tools for the long-term health of the work, not for the lowest sticker price. Good hosting, lean builds, and respectful software cost a little more up front and save real trouble later. That is the same logic behind how we price and how we run everything else, and it is why our stack looks a bit more considered, and a bit less bargain-bin, than some. The bill is honest, and so is the reasoning.

The bottom line

These are the tools we genuinely trust enough to run our own studio and our clients' sites on, chosen on merit and disclosed honestly, commission or no commission. This piece is part of how we run the studio, and the hosting side of it runs through the hosting and care we provide. If you want to know why we would pick a particular tool for your project, just ask.