Wargo & Wolford
Consulting
Proposal № 01.26
Space Age Fuel
Your business. Proven business leaders.right tools — in that order.
Space Age Fuel · May 2026 · For Amanda Pliska
Premise
A website shouldMost don't.
Most SMB sites are quiet, expensive, and forgotten. The ones that aren't were designed around a business model, not a brief.
Business model first. Brief second.
02 / 18
03 / 18
A combined 28 years at Fortune 100 operators
$9 billion managed.yours.
Brady Wolford
Fortune 100
13 years
General Manager, strategic leader
Commercial strategy · DTC + wholesale
Marc Wargo
Fortune 100
15 years
$6B digital platform operations
Digital commerce & operations · Retail store operations
28 yrs
Combined Fortune 100 tenure
04 / 18
We diagnose first.
Business model before design brief.
You own everything — code, domain, hosting.
No lock-in. No monthly fee.
Web design only today. Ask us about AI strategy separately.
— Operating principles
05 / 18
How it works.
Six to eight weeks · Three phases · Clean handoff
WK 1
WK 2
WK 3
WK 4
WK 5
WK 6
WK 7
WK 8
Discovery
Build
Launch
Support
01
~2 weeks
Discovery
Kickoff, brand audit,
02
3–4 weeks
Build
Design, development,
03
1 week
Launch
Deploy, handoff,
— Process
06 / 19
Five platforms. One clear choice.
Nine questions
The question
WordPress + AI
Webflow
DIY Builder
W&W · Phase 1
W&W · Phase 2
Platform
WordPress + AI.
Patch what you have
Webflow site.
Move to a visual platform
Sqsp / Wix / Lovable.
Build it yourself
Custom marketing site.
W&W Phase 1 build
Full-stack web app.
W&W Phase 2 · Space Age rec.
Will customers find your stores on Google? SEO + page speed
Slow pages hurt rankings.
Decent — limited control.
Can't customize how Google sees you.
Built for it. Each location gets its own ranked page.
Built for it. Each location gets its own ranked page.
Can you update all 50 stores at once? Multi-location
Change one store, edit 50 pages.
CMS helps — but Webflow owns the data.
One site only. No multi-location support.
Update once. All 50 pages refresh.
Database-driven. One change, everywhere.
Can customers buy online? Commerce
WooCommerce — expensive to maintain.
Basic store. 2% fee. No fleet accounts.
Stripe embed only. No inventory.
Not included — upgrade path available.
Apparel + auto accessories in Phase 2. Architecture ready.
Can your team update it without breaking it? Content editing
WordPress dashboard — risky for non-technical staff.
Clean editor — only works inside Webflow.
Small changes often require a rebuild.
Simple editor. Can't accidentally break the design.
Content editor + store admin. Separate, safe.
What if someone hacks it? Security
90% of hacked sites run WordPress.
Webflow manages it. You have no visibility.
Platform handles it — no control.
No server = nothing to hack.
Static layer has no attack surface. Store is hardened.
Who owns the site when you're done? Ownership
Technically you — but plugins own your structure.
Webflow does. You can't leave without rebuilding.
The platform does. Entirely.
You do. Code delivered day one.
Code + database. No vendor lock-in.
What about the rebrand in 2027? Future-proof
Start over. Content locked inside Webflow.
New design drops in. Content survives.
Business logic, store, and data survive any rebrand.
Can it connect to your POS or loyalty program? Integrations
Plugin-based. Breaks on updates.
Zapier workarounds — not native.
Read-only data feeds at build time.
API-native. foreUP, POS, fuel feeds — confirmed in discovery.
What does it cost after launch? Ongoing
$39/mo platform fee. Forever.
~$0/mo. Cloudflare free tier.
~$20–$40/mo total. DB + hosting.
Bottom line
New paint. Same broken house.
Looks great. They own you.
Fine for a food truck. Not 50 locations.
The right foundation. No lock-in.
Built for where Space Age is going.
— Platform
07 / 19
Three tiers.
Fixed scope · Fixed price · Full ownership
Foundation
Signature
Bespoke
Scope
Pages
3–5
6–10
10–15+
Timeline
~2 weeks
3–4 weeks
4–6 weeks
Revisions
2 rounds
3 rounds
3 rounds
Cohort
$2,800–$4,400
$6,800–$11,200
From $16,000
List
$3,500–$5,500
$8,500–$14,000
From $20,000
20% off
5 founding cohort slots remaining
— Pricing
08 / 19
i
Foundation
Built to launch · Built to be owned
Get to market.right.
Investment
$2,800–$4,400
Cohort pricing
$3,500–$5,500 List
Custom design, no templates
3–5 pages included
2 rounds of revisions
Mobile-first responsive build
Lighthouse 100 · WCAG 2.2 AA
Basic on-page SEO + meta setup
30 days post-launch support
Full source & ownership transfer
Best for: solo operators, new businesses, freelancers— Foundation
★ Most common 09 / 19
ii
Signature
Built for the business you're becoming
Built for the businessgrowing into.
Investment
$6,800–$11,200
Cohort pricing
$8,500–$14,000 List
Custom design, no templates
6–10 pages · 3 revision rounds
Mobile-first responsive build
Lighthouse 100 · WCAG 2.2 AA
Full CMS — editable by your team
Third-party integrations (maps, CRM, forms)
Advanced SEO + GA4 analytics
60 days support · Full source transfer
Best for: established SMBs, professional services firms— Signature
10 / 19
iii
Bespoke
When the brief is the work
Built for work that doesn'tfit a template.
Investment
From $16,000
Cohort pricing
From $20,000 List
Custom design, no templates
10–15+ pages · 3 revision rounds
Mobile-first responsive build
Lighthouse 100 · WCAG 2.2 AA
Full CMS — editable by your team
Third-party integrations (maps, CRM, forms)
Advanced SEO + GA4 analytics
Custom interactions & animations
Bespoke flows (locator, booking, etc.)
90 days support · Full source transfer
Best for: operational complexity, premium positioning— Bespoke
11 / 19
Recent work.
Sean Morse — Creative DirectorPortfolio · 2026
The Build
A designer with $320M in CPG influence had a site that didn't show it.We fixed that in 5 weeks.
seanmorse.com
— Selected work · 01
Part Two · Space Age Fuel
11 / 18
Your business.
i.
What we see.
ii.
What we'd build.
iii.
What it costs.
iv.
What we need to know.
The next fifteen minutes
13 / 19
What's working.not.
Honest read of spaceagefuel.com · No grading
22
30
12
32
28
CLARITY
DESIGN
FINDABILITY
TRUST
PERFORMANCE
Scored 0–100 across five axes · Methodology in follow-up
Heritage story.
44 years family-owned. 1982 founding + the Pliska name = equity competitors can't manufacture.
Distinctive identity.
Red, blue, yellow three-stripe is genuinely ownable in the c-store category.
Multi-line resilience.
Retail, commercial fuel, trucking, home heating — four revenue streams across OR/WA/ID.
Location discovery.
Your highest-intent page is a static JPG and six reviews. Customers can't actually find your stores.
No source of truth.
The site shows 15, 18, and 21 stores on three different pages — none of them right. You operate 50.
No measurement layer.
Zero analytics on a 7-year-old WordPress site. You're flying blind on every decision.
— What's working. What's not.
14 / 19
Best in class.
Who's setting the bar in your category
Four reference points
maverik.com
Add screenshot
assets/screenshots/maverik-homepage.jpg
What they do well: best-in-class location pages at similar scale. Filter by amenity, EV, fuel type — all first-class.
wawa.com/locations
Add screenshot
assets/screenshots/wawa-homepage.jpg
What they do well: gold standard locator. "Open now," EV, fuel grade, holiday hours — all live, all filterable.
quiktrip.com/locations
Add screenshot
assets/screenshots/quiktrip-homepage.jpg
What they do well: the cleanest information architecture in the category. Reference the structure — not the visual.
buc-ees.com
Add screenshot
assets/screenshots/bucees-homepage.jpg
What they do well: regional heritage + mascot identity beats generic c-store look. Closest spirit match for Space Age.
— Best in class
15 / 19
Six things we'd fix first.
17 findings.
6 shown · 11 in follow-up
WordPress 6.9.4 · Elementor 4.0.9 · GA4 live — no attribution
01 — Critical
The locator is older than your customers' phones.
/locations/ has a map. It's not indexed, not searchable, not mobile-ready. A customer looking for gas near your stations finds your competitors first.
02 — Critical
Counts that don't agree.
Your site claims 21 locations. You operate 50 . Three pages, three different numbers — none of them right.
03 — Critical
Google thinks you charge ”$99” — on every page.
A schema field in the footer tags your entire site with a priceRange: $99 — invisible to visitors, read by search engines. It's what Google sees when it describes your business.
04 — High
Your ADA label — misspelled 19 times.
Every location on /retail/ reads “Wheelchair acessible.” One misspelled field, pasted 19 times. One edit fixes all of them.
05 — High
/employment/ exits your site.
Candidates click off to a third-party job board — no branded experience, no analytics on hiring traffic. With 51 drivers to staff, that's a funnel you can't see.
06 — High
You have visitors. You can't tell where they go.
Analytics is installed — but not measuring what matters. Which stations drive traffic, which are invisible, where customers drop off.
The retro three-stripe identity — red, blue, yellow — is ownable. The execution is where it falls down.
— What we see
16 / 19
Fix it now — or fix it to last.
Same scope, two architectures · The choice depends on the brand timeline
Posture A · Fallback
Foundation tier
Webflow Build
New site on Webflow. Clean break from WordPress. Your team manages content without touching code.
→ Webflow CMS — client-editable after handoff
→ Locator with map, filters, hours
→ Structured feedback intake
→ GA4 + a11y pass
Investment
$5,000–$7,500
Risk: platform lock-in limits the custom data layer the future brand project will need.
★ Recommended
Posture B · Bridge build
Signature tier
Survives the rebuild
Same scope — but the location data, feedback routing, and per-store pages are built portable. When the brand redesign lands in 2027/28, the data layer survives.
→ Astro SSG — portable data layer, no platform lock-in
→ Single locations dataset feeds 5+ surfaces
→ SEO migration + 50 store pages — search equity preserved
→ Feedback routed to per-store inbox + corporate copy
Investment
$8,000–$12,000
Positions W&W as build partner for the future brand project.
— What we'd build
17 / 19
Nine questions that change the number.
01
Who is the budget decision maker — and what is the appetite for investment?
04
Stay on WordPress, or migrate to Astro + headless?
07
Photography — do you have store photos for all 50 locations?
02
Is there a budget range in mind — or is this open?
05
Where does location data live today — and who keeps it current?
08
Hiring — is the site meant to drive applicants, or is it all Indeed?
03
The brand refresh — years away, or actually imminent?
06
POS, loyalty, ATS, or CRM integrations in scope?
09
Who owns the site after we hand it off — in-house or a vendor?
— What we need to know
18 / 19
What happens next.
From Friday's coffee · To Phase 01 kickoff · ~4 weeks
1
Follow up with Space Age team
Next week
2
Written proposal in 5 business days
Fixed price · Posture A or B · No surprises
After Jim mtg.
3
50% deposit starts Phase 01
Wire · ACH · Standard tier pricing — no friend discount
On signing
4
Discovery starts the work
Location audit · CMS decision · Weekly check-ins
Week 1+
— Next steps
19 / 19
Let's talk.
wargowolford.com
Two operators. Your business.
If you want more
If you want more.
Optional add-ons · Any tier
Extra revision round
$500
Accessibility audit + report
$1,000
SEO audit + keyword report
$1,200
CMS training session
$400
Extended post-launch support
$750/30 days
Hosting / DNS migration
$500
— A1 / A4
What you own
What you own.
Everything. Full source. No lock-in.
You keep
Domain, code, content, assets — no lock-in.
100%
Where
Cloudflare Pages — your account, your control.
Your
What we
Foundation / Signature
Lovable + Astro
Bespoke
Astro + Tailwind
Trans-
— Ownership model
Platform · Business view
The market. Business view.
Nine dimensions · All five platforms
The question
WordPress + AI
Webflow
DIY Builder
W&W · Phase 1
W&W · Phase 2
Platform
WordPress + AI.
Patch what you have
Webflow site.
Visual platform
Sqsp / Wix / Lovable.
Build it yourself
Custom marketing site.
W&W Phase 1 build
Full-stack web app.
W&W Phase 2 · Space Age rec.
Investment
$1,500–$3k
One-time + hosting
$3k–$6k
Build + $39/mo forever
$500–$2k
Build + platform fee
$3,500–$5,500
Foundation · list price
$6,800–$11,200
Signature · cohort rate
Will customers find your stores on Google? SEO + page speed
Slow pages hurt rankings.
Decent — limited control.
Can't customize how Google sees you.
Built for it. Fast pages rank higher. Each location gets its own ranked page.
Built for it. Each location gets its own ranked page.
Can you update all 50 stores at once? Multi-location
Change one store, edit 50 pages.
CMS helps — but Webflow owns the data.
One site only. No multi-location support.
Update once. All 50 pages refresh.
Database-driven. One change, everywhere.
Can customers buy online? Commerce
WooCommerce — expensive to maintain.
Basic store. 2% fee. No fleet accounts.
Stripe embed only. No inventory.
Not included — upgrade path available.
Apparel + auto accessories in Phase 2. Architecture ready.
Can it connect to your POS or loyalty program? Integrations
Plugin-based. Breaks on updates.
Zapier workarounds — not native.
Read-only data feeds at build time.
API-native. foreUP, POS, fuel feeds — confirmed in discovery.
Can your team update it without breaking it? Content editing
WordPress dashboard — risky for non-technical staff.
Clean editor — only works inside Webflow.
Small changes often require a rebuild.
Simple editor. Can't accidentally break the design.
Content editor + store admin. Separate, safe.
What if someone hacks it? Security
90% of hacked sites run WordPress.
Webflow manages it. You have no visibility.
Platform handles it — no control.
No server = nothing to hack.
Static layer has no attack surface. Store is hardened.
Who owns the site when you're done? Ownership
Technically you — but plugins own your structure.
Webflow does. You can't leave without rebuilding.
The platform does. Entirely.
You do. Code delivered day one.
Code + database. No vendor lock-in.
What about the rebrand in 2027? Future-proof
Start over. Content locked inside Webflow.
New design drops in. Content survives.
Business logic, store, and data survive any rebrand.
What does it cost after launch? Ongoing
$39/mo platform fee. Forever.
~$0/mo. Cloudflare free tier.
~$20–$40/mo total. DB + hosting.
Bottom line
New paint. Same broken house.
Looks great. They own you.
Fine for a food truck. Not 50 locations.
The right foundation. No lock-in.
Built for where Space Age is going.
— A3 / A4
Platform · Technical view
The market. Technical view.
Performance · Capabilities · Ownership
Spec
WordPress + AI
Webflow
DIY Builder
W&W · Next.js SSG
W&W · Astro + Next.js
Cost
$1.5k–$3k
+ $50–$200/mo hosting
$3k–$6k
+ $23–$39/mo CMS plan
$500–$2k
+ $17–$49/mo platform
$3,500–$5,500
Foundation list · ~$0/mo
$6,800–$11,200
Signature cohort · ~$20–40/mo
TTFB / page load
800ms–3s TTFB
PHP render + plugin chain
200–600ms TTFB
Server-rendered edge CDN
150–400ms TTFB
CDN-served, limited dynamic
<50ms TTFB
Static HTML, Cloudflare CDN
<50ms static / ~120ms SSR
Static marketing + Next.js ISR
Lighthouse (perf/access/SEO)
45–70 / 72 / 78
Plugin JS bloat tanks perf
72–84 / 85 / 88
Some render-blocking still
75–88 / 80 / 85
Lean but limited meta control
95–100 / 98 / 100
Targets 100. Sean Morse 100/100/100.
95–100 static / 90+ SSR
Static pages consistently 95+.
SEO: structured data / schema
Plugin-dependent
Yoast/RankMath. Manual schema.
Built-in OG/meta
No schema.org by default
No schema control
Platform defines what Google sees
Full schema.org markup
LocalBusiness + per-location JSON-LD
Full schema.org + product
LocalBusiness + Product + Store
Multi-location data layer
No data layer
50 WP pages, manual sync
Webflow CMS collection
Vendor-locked. No export API.
Not supported
No per-location logic
JSON/YAML data layer
Single source → 50 pages at build
Postgres + Prisma ORM
Real-time, API-served, portable
Commerce
WooCommerce plugin
High maintenance + CVEs
Webflow Commerce
2% txn fee. No inventory API.
Stripe embed only
No inventory, no user accounts
Not included
Upgrade path to Next.js layer
Next.js + Stripe + Postgres
Apparel, auto accessories, online ordering
CMS / content editing
WordPress admin
Plugin updates break it.
Webflow Editor
Clean. Locked to Webflow forever.
Minimal / none
UI edits, no content architecture
Sveltia CMS
Git-based, free, no vendor lock
Sveltia + DB admin panel
Static content + dynamic store mgmt
Integrations
REST + plugin
Works until plugin update breaks
Zapier / Logic
Webhook-based workarounds
Minimal REST
What you see is what you get
Read-only API at build
Fetch + static render. No write.
Native API-first
foreUP, POS, fuel feeds, webhooks
Attack surface
High
PHP + MySQL + n plugins
Platform-managed
No visibility. Webflow's problem.
Platform-managed
No control or visibility
Near-zero (static)
No server. No DB exposed.
Low (layered)
Static marketing + hardened API
Code + data portability
Partial
Theme + plugin dependency
None
Webflow proprietary. No export.
None
Platform-dependent entirely
Full
Git repo + Sveltia data. Day-one.
Full
Git + Postgres export. Any dev can maintain.
Rebrand survivability
Full rebuild required
Theme couples design + content
Full rebuild required
CMS structure locked in design
Full rebuild required
Start from scratch
Components swap, data persists
Design and data fully separated
Full brand-independence
DB + logic survive any visual rebrand
Assessment
Updates content. Doesn't fix the foundation.
Professional output. Architectural ceiling.
Correct for 1-5 page solo operators.
Right marketing foundation. No lock-in.
Full-stack architecture for operational complexity.
— A4 / A4
