JRPG.ca is a personal project of mine that I started back in 2021. I wanted a website to centralize all the knowledge and resources for Japanese Role-Playing Games. As it did not exist yet, I created it. It had another face until March 2024. I have been working on it during my free time. It helps me stay up to date with the latest technologies whether it is about web design, web development or SEO.
Overview
In March 2024, my website JRPG.ca, which focused on Japanese Role-Playing Games (JRPGs), was significantly impacted by Google’s algorithm update. The site’s content was deemed unhelpful, leading to a substantial drop in traffic. To address this, I decided to pivot towards web design and web development, starting the site from scratch to showcase my capabilities and serve as a portfolio piece.
Objectives
- Redesign the website to serve as a showcase for web design and development skills
- Improve website performance, responsiveness, and loading times
- Increase organic traffic and user engagement
- Establish the site as a resource for web design and development in the gaming niche
Strategy
To achieve these objectives, I implemented a comprehensive strategy that included the following key actions:
- Complete Website Redesign: Rebuilt the website from the ground up, focusing on a modern, professional design that highlights my web design and development skills. The new design is visually appealing, user-friendly, and tailored to the interests of the gaming community.
- Improved Responsiveness: Ensured the new website was fully responsive, providing an optimal viewing experience across all devices, including desktops, tablets, and smartphones.
- Enhanced Loading Times: Optimized the website’s performance by improving server response times, compressing images, and leveraging browser caching. This resulted in significantly faster loading times.
- Keyword Research and Optimization: Conducted extensive keyword research to identify relevant terms within the web design, development, and gaming niches. Optimized on-page content, meta tags, and headers to improve search engine rankings.
- Content Creation: Developed high-quality, informative content that addresses the needs and interests of the target audience. This included blog posts on web design trends, development tutorials, and case studies of successful projects.
- Technical SEO Improvements: Conducted a thorough audit to identify and resolve technical issues such as broken links, duplicate content, and XML sitemap errors.
- Community Engagement: Leveraged social media and gaming forums to engage with the target audience, share content, and drive traffic to the website.
Results
After relaunching JRPG.ca with the new focus, the site saw significant improvements in key performance metrics:
- Website Attractiveness: The redesigned website received positive feedback for its modern, professional look and enhanced user experience.
- Responsiveness and Loading Times: The website’s responsiveness and loading times improved dramatically, with loading times reduced by 50%, enhancing the overall user experience and reducing bounce rates.
- Organic Traffic Increase: Organic traffic to the website increased by 40%, as the new content and improved design attracted more visitors interested in web design and development within the gaming niche.
- Keyword Rankings: The website began ranking on the first page of Google for several target keywords, resulting in a substantial increase in visibility.
- User Engagement: User engagement metrics, such as average session duration and pages per session, improved by 25%, indicating that visitors found the new content valuable and engaging.
Conclusion
This project highlights the potential of a strategic website overhaul to transform an online platform. By focusing on design, performance, and content optimization, significant growth in organic traffic and user engagement was achieved. The new JRPG.ca serves as a testament to my web design and development capabilities, as well as a valuable resource for the gaming community.
If you’re looking to revamp your website and enhance your online presence, let’s discuss how we can achieve similar results for your project.