APSquared

BarGPT Rewrite

BarGPT Rewrite Using ShipFa.st NextJS Boilerplate

As our site,BarGPT, had been growing we knew that the original codebase, which was our first attempt using NextJS, had a lot of flaws. As we considered refactoring it we finally decided to take a shot using the NextJS app router. We wanted to build on a proven pattern so we went with the ShipFa.st boilerplate, and I think we can say it has been a success.

The Experience

It took about 2 weeks working 1-2 hours a day (this isn't a full time job for us) to fully rewrite and launch the new BarGPT. Having a boilerplate eliminated a lot of the mundane decisions around sending emails, setting up subscriptions, defining basic authentication, etc. That allowed us to focus on some the things that would help differentiate the site, which is key especially for the side hustler who has limited time.

Tips for Gettig the Most Out of ShipFast

  • First and foremost, use what it gives you. Don't try to go against the grain. That being said, don't be afraid to tweak things for how you need them. For example the way the SEO images were handled wasnt exactly how we needed for the dynamic nature of BarGPT, with a few lines of code changed we were golden.

  • When changing behavior try to "wrapper" the existing code rather than directly changing it. It may not alway be possible but it helped make the code more maintainable.

  • When I needed to add some extended helper functions I used ChatGPT to help write the. With a good prompt you can have it write a lot of useful helpers.

  • Use the Discord. One of the biggest benefits of paying for ShipFa.st was the Discord community that helped answer some questions and provided inspiration on ways to use ShipFast.

The Results

While I can't be sure that the new code is the reason, we've seen about a 40% increase in traffic in the site since launching. Using Google PageSpeed we can see our score almost doubling with very little effort put into true performance optimization. Now ShipFast isn't responsible for all of that, but it sure helped me go in the right direction. All in all, I'm happy with the purchase especially since it was a one-time purchase and can be used for future projects.

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