Recent Posts
No posts found!
About the project
Westside Jiu Jitsu Academy x Hailstorm-Development
Tab Watkins & Ken Short, founders and coaches at Westside Jiu Jitsu Academy, reached out to Hailstorm back in September 2023 for help rebranding and updating their existing site for 313 BJJ West. Since we built and launched the original site in February, the content was still good and we were able to repurpose it for the new site.
Some of our goals for this project were to:
- Keep a similar style and layout to the existing 313 BJJ West site
- Update photos and other static media assets to include the updated branding
- Add a new section where affiliates can be added
- Improve overall site accessibility
- Plan, strategize, and identify a rollout plan for the migration and new launch date
RoleS
Website Migration
Media & Content Migration
Web Design
Analytics & SEO
Client
WestsideJJA.com
Date
December 2023
The Challenge
As we previously mentioned, we built the original site for 313 BJJ West, so all we needed to do was migrate the existing content to the new domain. Then, once the site was updated with the new gym name and logo, we could start to send traffic to the Westside Jiu Jitsu Academy site.
When changing domains or launching a new site, there is a risk of losing traffic. For example, if redirects aren’t set up properly and users try to access an old page, they will be sent to a 404 page if the page doesn’t exist on the new site. After planning the launch and configuring Google Analytics for the Westside site, we were successfully able to retain existing URLs and continue to increase
Project Timeline
Check out the full timeline of the project below, starting with planning for the original site for 313 BJJ West.
December 28, 2022
313 BJJ West Planning Starts
Planning for the new 313 BJJ West site started in late December 2022, with a planned launch in spring 2023.
February 20, 2023
313 BJJ West Website Launches
Students are able to book trial classes, view the current schedule, learn about their instructors, and more - for the first time.
August 20, 2023
Planning for Westside Jiu Jitsu Academy Starts
With the gym affiliation changing, the site needed to as well. We began talks of what the new site would look like and how we would send new users looking for 313 to the Westside JJA site.
September 10, 2023Check Out Westside Jiu Jitsu Academy
Westside JJA Website Launches
After planning content migration and talking about SEO impacts for launching, we were successfully able to launch earlier this fall.
The Results
New users
+
500
Bounce rate
-
0
%
Sessions
+
0
As of 12/11/23, Westside Jiu Jitsu Academy has seen an uptick of pageviews by 1,750 new users in the last 30 days. Also, their bounce rate has decreased, and their average session duration increased as well.
For reference:
- A session is the browsing session of a single user on your site.
- Bounce rate is the percentage of single-page visits. It is the number of visits in which a person leaves your website from the landing page without proceeding or browsing further.
- Average session duration is the total duration of sessions (in seconds) divided by the number of sessions.
- Pageviews are defined as a view on a page of your site that’s being tracked by Analytics code. Each refresh counts as a new pageview.
What Did We Learn?
Setting up analytics prior to completing a migration can provide valuable metrics
Quality assurance and testing efforts are imperative for a smooth transition
Setting expectations with students about rebranding can encourage them to provide feedback
Keeping messaging to students consistent can help eliminate confusion
Let's Collaborate!
Have a great idea for your small-midsize business or a new project?
Email info@hailstorm-development.com and let’s get the ball rolling!⚽