In the summer of 2019, my company Plunk Inc. was approached by Sunlight Entertainment to design and develop a website for Ryan’s World, one of the top YouTube channels globally. At the time, Ryan’s World had a strong presence on YouTube and social media but lacked a central hub for customers and viewers to explore the brand. Living in Los Angeles, where I had launched my company in 2018, I recognized the potential to build a platform that could serve as the gateway to the Ryan’s World universe.

To meet their goal of launching the website before the critical holiday season, I proposed a phased approach. In Phase I, we focused on delivering essential pages, such as a homepage and a merchandise page with affiliate links to retailers, ensuring a functional and appealing website for the holiday rush. After Christmas, Phase II would expand the site to include supplemental pages that showcased the full spectrum of the Ryan’s World brand, including their YouTube channels, partnerships, and characters.

I worked directly with Shion Kaji, Ryan’s father and president of Sunlight Entertainment, to develop a full Figma prototype based on their needs. The design went through several phases and, after an approval from Shion, I developed the website with WordPress, providing a custom theme that leveraged Gutenberg blocks, Advanced Custom Fields, and other WordPress technologies to create a fast, secure, and user-friendly experience. This project was not just about creating a website; it was about crafting a digital foundation for a growing international brand. The phased strategy allowed Ryan’s World to meet immediate business needs while planning for long-term growth, establishing a vibrant online presence that reflected the energy and creativity of their brand.

Although I closed my web development company in 2022, the Ryan’s World website remains largely unchanged from the design and development work I completed in 2020. The site can be viewed at ryans.world.