We are Maina - and this is how we build an online store

This is the first article in Maina's resources section, so it should start with an introduction: who we are, how we approach building an online store, and what to expect if you decide to work with us.

Who we are

Maina is an independent e-commerce studio in Plovdiv, Bulgaria, founded by Samuil Dobrinski. We work with businesses across Bulgaria and the European Union, and we do one thing: custom online stores - from direction and design, through development and launch, to the ongoing care afterwards.

We are a small studio and we do not pretend otherwise. That has a cost: we do not take everything, and we do not run ten projects at once. It also has an advantage: the person you speak to at the start is the person who builds your store.

Why Medusa.js and Next.js

Medusa.js gives us a flexible commerce backend and clean integrations. Next.js gives a fast storefront on a solid technical foundation. Together they mean you are not stretching a ready-made theme until it tears - the catalogue, the buying journey and the integrations are designed around your business rather than around a platform's limits.

This is not the right choice for everyone. If you need a shop next week with fifteen products, an off-the-shelf platform will serve you better, and we will say so. The difference shows up later: when the catalogue grows, the integrations multiply, and speed starts costing money.

How a project runs

We work in four phases, and each one produces something you can see:

1. Understand - the product, the audience, the goals and the context behind them.
2. Design - structure, buying journey and a visual system.
3. Build - the storefront, the integrations and the paths that actually lead to a purchase.
4. Improve - watch real behaviour and develop what works.

Payment is in two parts: the first at the start of the project, the remainder on completion. After the final payment we publish the finished store to production.

Why our prices are public

On the services page you will find real numbers rather than an invitation to email us. The packages and add-ons come from a catalogue we maintain and publish, so you can see the scope and the shape of the cost before we have spoken at all.

A published price is not a promise of a final figure. It is a starting point: it shows what a package contains and what it costs, so you can decide whether the conversation is worth having. Work with no template - bespoke applications, integrations, internal tools - has no price list, and we say that openly on the custom work page too.

What every project includes

Some things carry no surcharge, because without them the result is not finished:

• Mobile-first UX, designed for where your customers actually buy.
• Technical SEO: semantics, metadata, sitemap and structured data.
• Performance with measurable targets rather than promises.
• A practical foundation for GDPR and the European market.
• Analytics for the events you need in order to decide anything.
• Training and a clear handover, so you can run the store yourself.

When we say no

We turn a project down when the deadline needs shortcuts we would regret later; when the scope changes weekly with no decision behind the change; when the work needs access or permissions we would not grant ourselves; or when someone else would simply do it better. Being told no costs you nothing, and it does not take weeks.

What comes next

This resources section will collect practical material on Medusa.js, Next.js, UX, technical SEO and running e-commerce infrastructure - things we learned by doing them, not a retelling of somebody else's article.

Until then you can look through our demonstration concepts, read more about Maina, or simply get in touch. We reply within two business days.