Mako Engine — Product Blueprint
A high-fidelity redesign of the full Mako experience: a conversion-ready onboarding flow, a customer request-tracking portal, an admin workspace for the team fulfilling requests, and a super-admin console for the business. Use the navigator on the left, the arrows, or ← → keys. Each screen carries a spec of what it contains and why.
01
Onboarding
Contact-first, 5-step flow that ends in payment and a live account — the leak that currently loses every lead.
02
Customer portal
Request quota, status lifecycle, threaded updates, real reports and self-serve billing.
03
Admin portal
A triage queue with SLAs, a request workspace, and per-client context for the team doing the work.
04
Super admin
MRR and churn, subscription management, and control of users, admins and their roles.
Every screen uses Mako's real brand and real portfolio clients (Caffè Milano Lagos, Woodforte, Scent Maniac, Xendible…). Data is illustrative. Toggle light/dark from the top-right.
Onboarding · Contact & business
The redesigned flow opens by capturing who the lead is — the single biggest gap in the current form, which collected brand preferences but no name, email or phone.
New: contact captured firstFixes: no way to reach leads5-step progress
Your site, live in 7 days.
Answer a few quick questions and our team builds, hosts and manages a premium website for one flat monthly fee.
7-day launchLive before your next strategy meeting.
$0 upfrontFlat monthly fee, cancel anytime.
Fully managedHosting, security & updates handled.
Step 1 of 5
Let's start with you
We'll use this to set up your account and keep you posted during the build.
1
2
3
4
5
Amara Okafor
amara@caffemilanolagos.com
+234 801 234 5678
Caffè Milano Lagos
https://…
Your details are stored securely. No spam, ever.
What's on this screen
- Name, work email, phone, company — the identity fields the current form never asks for.
- Optional current-website field so the team can review what exists today.
- Persistent 5-step progress bar so people know how much is left.
- Brand panel restating the core promise (7 days, $0 upfront, managed) to hold motivation.
Why it changed
- The live form submits to a free email relay and asks zero contact details — a completed submission today is unreachable.
- Contact-first also lets Mako recover abandoners (save & resume by email).
- Every field is validated inline with a specific message, not one generic "complete all fields" error.
Onboarding · Goals & style
Keeps the two genuinely good ideas from the current form — the "one headache" question and the visual style picker — and tightens them into one step.
Kept: the "magic question"New: visual style swatches
Built around your goals.
The clearer you are here, the sharper your first draft. There are no wrong answers.
Step 1 savedAmara · Caffè Milano Lagos
Step 2 of 5
What should your website do?
Pick every action visitors should be able to take.
✓
2
3
4
5
Sell products online
Take table bookings
Collect leads
Grow an audience
Share info & menu
Customers keep DMing us to order — I need online ordering and a menu that doesn't look like an afterthought.
Pick a style direction
Clean Modern
Simple, bright, professional
Premium Minimal
Spacious, elegant, refined
Bold Brand
Strong, vibrant, memorable
Corporate Trust
Reliable, polished, clear
What's on this screen
- Multi-select goals that map directly to the modules the build team drops in (store, bookings, lead form…).
- The open "one headache" question, kept verbatim — it's the strongest part of the current form.
- Four style swatches with real colour/vibe previews rather than text-only labels.
Why it changed
- Goals + style were two separate steps; merging them cuts the flow to a length people finish.
- Selected goals pre-configure the request categories the customer sees later in the portal.
- Answers now persist per step, so a refresh or a "Back" never wipes earlier input.
Onboarding · Brand assets & domain
Where files and the domain decision are captured — reliably stored this time, not attached to an email that may never arrive.
Fixes: unreliable email uploadsNew: domain field + DNS help
Bring what you have.
Don't have a logo or photos yet? Skip it — our designers can create everything from scratch.
Files stored securelyUp to 25MB each · kept on your account
Step 3 of 5
Your brand & domain
✓
✓
3
4
5
Yes, I own oneNo — register one for me
caffemilanolagos.com
We'll guide you through pointing DNS & issue SSL automatically.Upload assets · all optional
logo.svg
Logo
6 photos
Business images
Add photos
Team / founder
+ Add colour
What's on this screen
- Own-a-domain yes/no, and — critically — a field to actually enter the domain plus a DNS/SSL reassurance.
- Drag-and-drop uploads for logo, business photos and team shots, with clear size/format limits.
- Optional brand colour picker so designers start from the right palette.
Why it changed
- The current form asks "own your domain?" but never lets you say which domain.
- Uploads route through a free relay today — attachments are size-capped and often lost. Here they're stored on the account and visible to the build team.
- Everything is optional with a graceful "our designers will handle it" path, so no one stalls.
Onboarding · Plan & checkout
The step that turns a lead into revenue. The current flow ends by "selecting a plan" and emailing it — no payment, no customer. This closes the funnel.
New: real Stripe checkoutFixes: plan names unifiedMonthly / annual toggle
What's on this screen
- Three plans with the monthly-request count front and centre — the mechanic the whole model is built on.
- Monthly / annual toggle to lift average contract value.
- A live order summary and Stripe card form; the CTA creates the subscription.
Why it changed
- Today the funnel ends without taking payment — a "customer" is just an email. This is the single highest-impact fix.
- Plan names are unified to Basic / Growth / Scale everywhere (the portal currently calls them Starter/Standard/Pro).
- Successful payment provisions the account, so onboarding and the portal are finally connected.
Onboarding · Build kickoff
The moment the current product doesn't have at all: a confirmed account, a clear 7-day timeline, and a door straight into the portal.
New: onboarding → live account handoff
What's on this screen
- Confirmation that payment succeeded and the account exists.
- A 7-day timeline with concrete milestones, setting expectations for the managed build.
- A primary route into the portal and an optional kickoff-call booking.
Why it changed
- Today's success screen is a dead end ("we'll get back to you") with no account and no next step.
- A visible timeline reduces "is anything happening?" support pings during the build.
- Confirmation and welcome emails fire here — the start of the customer relationship.
Customer portal · Overview
The subscriber's home base. Leads with the one number the plan is sold on — requests used this cycle — and the real status of their site.
New: request quota meterFixes: placeholder analyticsBrand-consistent UI
Customer
Overview
Requests2
Reports
Billing
Settings
A
Amara O.
Caffè Milano Lagos
Welcome back, Amara
Here's how your site & support are doing.
Search requests
Requests this cycle
5 / 8
Open requests
2
1 in progress · 1 in reviewSite status
● Live
99.98% uptime · 240msAvg turnaround
1.8 days
▲ faster than targetRecent requests
View all| Request | Status | Updated |
|---|---|---|
| REQ-1042 Add online ordering to menu page | In progress | 2h ago |
| REQ-1039 Swap hero image (new interior shot) | In review | Yesterday |
| REQ-1034 Update opening hours in footer | Done | Aug 28 |
| REQ-1031 Add Instagram feed to homepage | Done | Aug 24 |
REQUEST QUOTA · GROWTH
3of 8 left
Resets in 9 days · Sep 11
YOUR SITE
caffemilanolagos.com
SSL validLive
What's on this screen
- Quota meter ("5 of 8 used", resets in 9 days) — the plan's core mechanic, made visible for the first time.
- KPI row: open requests, real site status & uptime, average turnaround.
- Recent requests with true status pills, and a right rail for quota and site health.
Why it changed
- The live dashboard shows invented analytics ("Indonesia 1,025", "Male 70% / Female 30%") — removed entirely.
- Customers currently can't see how many requests they have left; churn risk when they feel they're "not getting value".
- UI now uses Mako's green brand instead of a stock blue admin theme.
Customer portal · Submit a request
The core recurring action. Structured enough for the team to act without back-and-forth, light enough that customers actually use their quota.
New: category, priority, affected pageQuota shown at point of submit
Customer
Overview
Requests2
Reports
Billing
A
Amara O.
Caffè Milano Lagos
New request
Tell us what you'd like changed.
Design change
LowNormalUrgent
Add online ordering to the menu page
/menu
Customers want to order for pickup. Please add an "Order online" button on the menu page linking to our new Paystack checkout, and show it in the top nav on mobile too.
Drag files or click to upload · PNG, JPG, PDF up to 25MB
Uses 1 of your monthly requests
THIS CYCLE
3of 8 left
What counts as one request?
- A single change or task (one page, one feature).
- Bundle small tweaks into one request where you can.
- Bug fixes on our work are always free.
What's on this screen
- Category & priority so the team can triage and route work automatically.
- Affected-page field and rich description to kill the usual clarification round-trip.
- A running "uses 1 of your requests" note plus a live quota card and a "what counts" explainer.
Why it changed
- The current form is only Title / Description / Screenshot — no category, priority, page, or quota context.
- Showing quota at the point of submission sets fair expectations and nudges upgrades honestly.
- Save draft lets customers capture an idea without spending a request immediately.
Customer portal · Request detail
Where a request lives its life: a clear status lifecycle and a threaded conversation with the team — instead of a row that's forever stuck on "Open".
New: status lifecycleThreaded updates & attachments
Customer
Overview
Requests2
Reports
Billing
A
Amara O.
Caffè Milano Lagos
REQ-1042In progress
Add online ordering to the menu page
Opened Aug 30 · Design change · Normal priority
✓ Submitted
✓ Reviewed
3 In progress
4 Your review
5 Done
A
Customers want to order for pickup. Please add an "Order online" button on the menu page linking to our Paystack checkout.
menu-mockup.pngD
On it! Quick check — should the button also appear in the sticky mobile nav, or just on the menu page? Draft coming your way tomorrow.
A
Both please — sticky mobile nav too. Thanks Daniel!
Write a reply…
DETAILS
AssigneeD Daniel A.
CategoryDesign change
PriorityNormal
Counts asRequest 6 of 8
Page/menu
ATTACHMENTS
menu-mockup.pngWhat's on this screen
- A 5-stage lifecycle (Submitted → Reviewed → In progress → Your review → Done) shown as a progress bar.
- A threaded conversation with the assigned team member, including file attachments both ways.
- A details rail: assignee, category, priority, which request-of-quota it counts as, affected page.
Why it changed
- Today every request is permanently "Open" with no way to converse — customers email or DM instead.
- A visible "Your review" stage gives customers an explicit approval step before a change ships.
- Each status change triggers an email/notification, so people don't have to keep checking.
Customer portal · Reports hub
Keeps the one genuinely working feature of the current portal — the live uptime check — and surrounds it with the real analytics and care reports that justify the subscription.
Kept: live uptime checkFixes: fake traffic charts
Customer
Overview
Requests2
Reports
Billing
A
Amara O.
Caffè Milano Lagos
Reports
Your site health & monthly care summaries.
Status
● Live
200 · 240msUptime · 30d
99.98%
▲ 0.02Visitors · 30d
4,182
▲ 12%SSL
Valid
Renews Nov 2Visitors
Last 8 weeksTop pages: /menu · /reservations · /
Site status
caffemilanolagos.com is live
Responded 200 in 240ms · checked 2 min ago
Monthly care reports
August 2026 report↓ PDF
July 2026 report↓ PDF
What's on this screen
- Live uptime / response / SSL checks (the current portal's one working feature, kept and elevated).
- Real visitor analytics from an integration (Plausible/GA) with top pages — not template filler.
- Downloadable monthly care reports the team publishes, giving tangible proof of the subscription's value.
Why it changed
- Today's charts show fabricated numbers and a "gender split" no small business tracks — a credibility risk.
- Care reports are the retention hook: a monthly artefact that reminds customers what they're paying for.
- All figures are labelled with their source and last-checked time so nothing looks invented.
Customer portal · Billing
Self-serve plan management with real invoices and cycle usage — matched to the plan names used everywhere else.
Fixes: empty invoices, test cardPlan name: Growth (not "Standard")
Customer
Overview
Requests2
Reports
Billing
A
Amara O.
Caffè Milano Lagos
Billing
Manage your plan & payment.
CURRENT PLAN
Growth · $25/mo
8 requests / month · renews Sep 11, 2026
PAYMENT METHOD
VISA
•••• 4242
Expires 05 / 2027
Next charge $25.00 on Sep 11
Invoices
| Invoice | Date | Amount | Status | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| INV-2026-08 | Aug 11, 2026 | $25.00 | Paid | |
| INV-2026-07 | Jul 11, 2026 | $25.00 | Paid | |
| INV-2026-06 | Jun 11, 2026 | $18.00 | Paid |
What's on this screen
- Current plan with request allowance, renewal date, and self-serve change/cancel.
- Payment method management and a clear next-charge line.
- A populated invoice history with downloadable PDFs.
Why it changed
- The live billing page shows "No invoices yet" and the Stripe test card — it isn't a real integration.
- Plan tier reads Growth, matching marketing and checkout (the portal currently says "Standard").
- Self-serve cancel is both a trust signal and a way to capture a save/downgrade offer at the right moment.
Admin portal · Request queue
The team's command centre — every client request in one triageable queue with owners and SLAs, replacing an inbox full of relay emails.
New: unified triage queueSLA / due trackingFixes: requests trapped in email
Admin · Ops
Queue14
Clients
Reports
Team
D
Daniel A.
Build team
Request queue
14 open across 6 clients
Search
Open
14
across 6 clientsUnassigned
3
needs an ownerDue today
2
SLA < 24hOverdue
1
▼ action neededAll openMineUnassignedUrgentScale clients
| Request | Client | Priority | Assignee | Due | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| REQ-1051 Checkout button broken on mobile | W Woodforte | Urgent | — Unassigned | Overdue 3h | New |
| REQ-1042 Add online ordering to menu | C Caffè Milano | Normal | D Daniel | Tomorrow | In progress |
| REQ-1048 New "Wholesale" landing page | S Scent Maniac | Normal | P Priya | Due 6h | In progress |
| REQ-1046 Swap testimonials section | X Xendible | Low | D Daniel | Sep 4 | In review |
| REQ-1045 Update product prices (12 items) | M Mashakara | Normal | — Unassigned | Sep 5 | New |
What's on this screen
- Every request across all clients in one sortable queue, with client, priority, assignee, due date and status.
- Triage KPIs: unassigned, due-today and overdue counts so nothing slips.
- Quick filters (Mine / Unassigned / Urgent / by tier) and an SLA countdown per row.
Why it changed
- There is no admin side today — requests land as emails to info@ with no ownership, status or SLA.
- Colour-coded priority and overdue flags let the team see what needs attention at a glance.
- Assignment routing can key off the request category captured in the customer form.
Admin portal · Request workspace
Where an agent actually works a request: full client context, status controls, internal notes, and time tracking alongside the customer thread.
New: internal notes vs client repliesStatus control & time tracking
Admin · Ops
Queue14
Clients
Reports
Team
D
Daniel A.
Build team
Queue / REQ-1042
Add online ordering to the menu page
Caffè Milano Lagos · Design change · opened Aug 30
Client threadInternal notes 2
A
Please add an "Order online" button linking to our Paystack checkout — sticky mobile nav too.
Paystack plugin already installed for Woodforte — reuse that config. ~2h of work.
Reply to clientInternal note
Type your reply to Amara…
+ Attach⏱ 1h 40m logged
STATUS
In progress
AssigneeD Daniel
PriorityNormal
SLADue tomorrow
Time logged1h 40m
CLIENT CONTEXT
C
Caffè Milano Lagos
caffemilanolagos.com
PlanGrowth · $25
Requests6 / 8 this cycle
SinceJun 2026
What's on this screen
- A tabbed panel splitting client-facing replies from internal team notes on the same request.
- A status control, assignee, SLA and time-logging in the right rail.
- Client context at a glance: plan, requests used this cycle, tenure — so agents prioritise correctly.
Why it changed
- Internal notes keep coordination out of the customer's view — impossible with the current email flow.
- Time tracking and SLA give the business real data on cost-to-serve per plan.
- Seeing a client is near their quota (6/8) helps agents flag upgrade conversations at the right moment.
Admin portal · Clients
The book of business for the ops team — every client's plan, quota usage, open work and site health in one list, with at-risk accounts surfaced.
New: per-client context & health
Admin · Ops
Queue14
Clients
Reports
Team
D
Daniel A.
Build team
Clients
42 active accounts
Search clients
Active clients
42
▲ 4 this monthSites live
40
2 in buildNear quota
5
upgrade candidatesAt risk
2
overdue / down| Client | Plan | Requests (cycle) | Open | Site | Owner |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CCaffè Milano Lagos Since Jun 2026 | Growth | 6/8 | 1 | Live | D |
| WWoodforte Since Mar 2026 | Scale | Unlimited | 3 | Down | P |
| SScent Maniac Since May 2026 | Growth | 8/8 · full | 2 | Live | P |
| XXendible Since Feb 2026 | Basic | 1/3 | 1 | Live | D |
| MMashakara Since Apr 2026 | Scale | Unlimited | 1 | Live | P |
| PPetra Gruber In build · Day 4 | Growth | — | 0 | Building | D |
What's on this screen
- Every client with plan, quota usage meter, open requests, site status and owner.
- Health KPIs surfacing near-quota (upgrade candidates) and at-risk (site down / overdue) accounts.
- Rows link straight into that client's requests and their site's report.
Why it changed
- No concept of a client record exists today — the team can't see who's near quota or whose site is down.
- "Near quota" is a live, honest upsell signal; "at risk" is a churn early-warning.
- A single owner per account makes accountability and CSM hand-offs clear.
Super admin · Business overview
The owner's view of the business: recurring revenue, growth, churn and where requests are coming from — the numbers that actually run a subscription company.
New: MRR, churn & growthReal operational analytics
Super admin
Overview
Subscriptions
Users & admins
Settings
J
You
Owner
Business overview
September 2026 · updated live
Last 8 months
MRR
$1,284
▲ 14.6% MoMActive subs
42
▲ 4 newChurn · 30d
2.1%
▼ 0.7 ptsARPU
$30.6
blendedRecurring revenue
$1,284 / moPlan mix
42
Growth 19
Basic 13
Scale 10
Recent activity
New Petra Gruber → Growth 2h
Upgrade Scent Maniac → Scale 1d
Churn Bloomhaus canceled 3d
What's on this screen
- MRR, active subscriptions, churn and ARPU — the headline health metrics, with month-over-month deltas.
- An MRR trend chart, a plan-mix donut, and a live activity feed of new subs, upgrades and cancellations.
- Everything is real business data, drawn from Stripe + the request system.
Why it changed
- There is no business-level view today; the owner can't see revenue, growth or churn anywhere.
- Plan mix and ARPU inform pricing decisions and where to focus the funnel.
- The activity feed doubles as an early churn signal and a celebration of wins.
Super admin · Subscriptions
Every subscription in one place with its billing state — including the ones that need attention, like a failed payment in dunning.
New: full subscription managementDunning / past-due handling
Super admin
Overview
Subscriptions
Users & admins
Settings
J
You
Owner
Subscriptions
44 total · $1,284 MRR
Search
Active
42
$1,284 MRRPast due
1
in dunningTrialing
1
build in progressCanceled · 30d
1
BloomhausAllActivePast dueCanceled
| Customer | Plan | MRR | Status | Started | Renews |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| C Caffè Milano Lagos | Growth | $25 | Active | Jun 11 | Sep 11 |
| W Woodforte | Scale | $35 | Active | Mar 03 | Sep 03 |
| R Rustic Table | Growth | $25 | Past due | Apr 19 | Retry 2/4 |
| S Scent Maniac | Scale | $35 | Active | May 22 | Sep 22 |
| P Petra Gruber | Growth | $25 | Trialing | Sep 02 | Day 4 build |
| B Bloomhaus | Basic | $18 | Canceled | Jan 30 | — |
What's on this screen
- All subscriptions with plan, MRR, status, start and renewal, filterable by billing state.
- A past-due row highlighted with its dunning retry count — the recovery workflow made visible.
- Status counts up top and one-click export for finance.
Why it changed
- Billing today is a single-account demo with a test card; there's no way to see the book of subscriptions.
- Failed payments are the quiet killer of subscription businesses — surfacing dunning recovers revenue.
- Owner can comp, refund, pause or change any plan from the row (write actions gated to super admins).
Super admin · Users & admins
Control over who can do what — inviting and role-scoping the internal team, and managing customer accounts, with a clear permission model.
New: roles & permissionsAdmin invitations
Super admin
Overview
Subscriptions
Users & admins
Settings
J
You
Owner
Users & admins
4 team members · 42 customer accounts
Team (admins)Customer accounts
| Member | Role | Scope | Last active | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| JYou (James) james@makoengine.com | Super admin | Everything | now | Active |
| DDaniel A. daniel@makoengine.com | Admin | Queue · Clients · Reports | 5m | Active |
| PPriya N. priya@makoengine.com | Agent | Assigned requests only | 1h | Active |
| TTunde B. tunde@makoengine.com | Agent | Assigned requests only | — | Invited |
What each role can do
| Permission | Agent | Admin | Super admin |
|---|---|---|---|
| Work assigned requests | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| See all clients & the queue | — | ✓ | ✓ |
| Manage subscriptions & refunds | — | — | ✓ |
| Invite / remove admins, set roles | — | — | ✓ |
What's on this screen
- A team roster with each admin's role, scope and status, plus an invite flow.
- A second tab for customer accounts (search, impersonate for support, suspend).
- A plain-language permission matrix for the three roles: Agent, Admin, Super admin.
Why it changed
- The current app has a single undifferentiated login — no roles, no team, no least-privilege.
- Agents should only see their work; refunds and role changes must be limited to the owner.
- Invitations and an audit of "last active" are basic security hygiene for a system holding customer sites and billing.