Case Study

Modernizing a Popular Japanese Learning App for the Web

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Yomiwa Web App – After the Revamp

Client Overview

Yomiwa is a widely used Japanese learning app that helps language learners read, translate, and understand Japanese through OCR and dictionary tools. It has tens of thousands of active users and a strong reputation in the language learning community.

The Challenge

Yomiwa's mobile app was praised for its rich features, but its web presence was lacking. Users had no way to use the tool on desktop, and the existing website was mainly static and outdated. The goal was to create a powerful, fast, and user-friendly web app version to extend the experience to desktop users.

Key Issues

  • No functional web app — only a static marketing page
  • Limited access for users who preferred desktop or Chromebook environments
  • Need to preserve the brand identity while providing a fast and responsive web interface

Our Process

1. Technical Planning & Design

We kicked off the project by analyzing Yomiwa’s mobile app structure and identifying core features to bring to the web:

  • Collaborated closely with the founder to prioritize dictionary and search features for web users.
  • Proposed a tech stack centered on performance and scalability using Next.js, TypeScript, TanStack Query, and Tailwind CSS.
  • Designed a minimalist, app-like UI that felt intuitive and mirrored the mobile experience while taking advantage of larger screen real estate.

2. Development & Deployment

Once the scope and design were validated, we moved to development:

  • Integrated Japanese dictionary data with fast client-side search capabilities.
  • Deployed to Vercel for automatic scaling and fast global CDN performance.
  • Conducted thorough QA testing across browsers and devices to ensure a consistent experience.

The Results

The new Yomiwa web app successfully extended the mobile experience to the web, unlocking new use cases for students and professionals alike. Performance and user satisfaction were key metrics, both of which saw major improvements.

The Web App is usable across desktop, tablet, and Chromebook devices without any installation.
Instant Global Access
Optimized frontend enables sub-500ms search results for tens of thousands of dictionary entries.
Lightning-Fast Search
Users praised the web app for its familiar interface and quick onboarding from mobile to desktop.
Seamless Mobile-to-Web Transition
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