Asked before signing.
Answered before you ask.
The questions buyers actually worry about at this price point - including the awkward one about studio size. Straight answers, no sales gloss.
Questions and answers
You're essentially one person. What happens if you're sick, or worse?
The honest answer has three layers. First, everything is documented as it's built - staging links always current, decisions logged in writing, handover pack maintained from week one, not assembled at the end. Second, you own the code from the moment final payment clears, held in your own repository - there is no scenario where your project lives only in someone's head. Third, any competent developer can pick up a documented codebase with a written scope, which is exactly what we leave behind. Compare that to an agency where knowledge lives in staff who can resign any Friday.
How can a small studio charge less than agencies for the same quality?
Because the quote doesn't carry an account manager, a project manager, a creative director reviewing work they didn't do, and an office in a capital city. Industry pricing guides put web applications at $25k-$100k+ in Australia - most of that spread is coordination layers, not engineering. At Diaboliq you pay for senior build hours plus AI tooling that multiplies them. What you give up is redundant headcount, not quality.
Who owns the code and the site when it's done?
You do. Full stop. Source code, repositories, credentials, documentation - all transferred on final payment, stated in the signed agreement. No licence fees to keep access to your own business, no hostage keys. We retain ownership of pre-existing internal frameworks we built the work with, and you get a perpetual free licence to use those as embedded.
Why fixed prices instead of hourly rates?
Because hourly billing pays someone to take longer, and both sides know it. A fixed quote means estimation risk sits with the builder - if we under-scope, that's our problem, not a change request. Scope changes get their own written quote before any work starts, so the original number never quietly grows.
What do you use AI for, and should I be worried?
Code generation scaffolding, test coverage, documentation drafting, automation pipelines. Architecture, security, anything touching your data or money - human judgment, every time. This is disclosed openly rather than hidden behind a fictional team of ten, which is more than most agencies will tell you about how their work gets produced in 2026.
Can you work alongside our existing developer or marketing team?
Yes - roughly a third of suitable engagements look like that. Agencies white-label us as their build arm, in-house marketers bring us in for systems their team doesn't cover, developers hand off design-heavy builds. Your team keeps client contact; we keep the engineering honest.
What happens after launch?
Thirty days of defect fixes are included, free. After that, either run it yourself with the handover pack (it's written for humans), or take a care retainer from $900/month covering monitoring, updates, and a monthly change budget. Cancel with thirty days' notice, no lock-in games.
Do you work with businesses outside Australia?
Yes. The model was designed location-independent: async-first communication, written scopes, staging links - timezone-proof by default. Regular presence in Mauritius means Indian Ocean-region clients also get face-to-face availability part of the year. English and French both work.
Another question?
Ask it directly - email gets a straight answer, usually within two business days.