// 01 · the challenge
Nobody books a call
to ask the fee.
UniMeridian needed the site to answer the hard questions first, fees, recognition, the hostel waiver and the NEET question, so the call starts at how do I pay, not what does it cost.
So the work split in two: four guides written for the search results, and a pipeline that keeps whatever they bring in.
// 02 · what we built
A flat page,
a live pipeline.
The page ships no framework
Astro renders the landing page to static HTML at build time. The only island on the public side is the apply flow, on its own route.
Sign in, then say who you are
Google sign-in, one screen of details, then a prefilled WhatsApp message. Three steps, no password to invent.
The lead that cannot get lost
An hourly sweeper re-sends any alert the live send failed to deliver. Hourly, because the database bills a five-minute minimum every time it wakes.
The counsellor's half of it
Applications, sign-ins, status and CSV export behind an email allowlist. No spreadsheet, no shared login.
// 03 · the stack
Boring where it should be.
Proven parts, assembled carefully. Novelty goes into the product, not the plumbing.
frontend
Astro + Preact
data
Neon Postgres
auth
Google + JWT
hosting
Netlify
ui/ux designfrontend + backend build
// 04 · in production
Live, and cheap to keep live.
0 kbno framework javascript on the landing page · the build fails if anything on the front page asks to hydrate.
hourlya 2am application is on the counsellor's phone by breakfast · nothing waits to be noticed.
bookedthe fee question, the guides and the application all answered before anyone picks up the phone.