Gaming websites are more than just platforms to showcase or review games. They are also meant to create an engaging and immersive experience for the users, one that makes them want to come back for more. But how do you design a gaming website that users love? Here are 11 UX design tips and tricks that can help you create a gaming website that stands out from the crowd.
1. Understand your target users
The first step to designing a gaming website that users will enjoy is to research your target audience and understand their needs and preferences. You need to create user personas, user stories, and user flows, and understand their motivations, goals, pain points, and expectations. This will help you tailor the design and content of your website to suit their needs and interests. Here is an example of how Agente team created user personas, user stories, user flows, and information architecture for a gaming website.
2. Focus on the UI aspect of your gaming website
The user interface (UI) of your gaming website is the visual layer that users interact with. It includes elements such as colors, fonts, icons, buttons, menus, images, videos, animations, etc. The UI of your gaming website should be attractive, consistent, intuitive, and responsive. It should also reflect the theme and style of your games and create a sense of immersion and excitement for the users. Here is a guide to game UI design by Toptal.
3. User flow should be seamless
The user flow is the path that users take to complete a task or achieve a goal on your website. For example, the user flow for buying a game could be: browse games -> select game -> add to cart -> checkout -> download game. The user flow should be seamless, meaning that it should be easy, fast, and smooth for the users to navigate through your website and accomplish their desired actions. You should avoid unnecessary steps, distractions, errors, or dead ends that could frustrate or confuse the users. Here is an example of how UX Planet designed a seamless user flow for a game.
4. UX design is a subtractive process of constant elimination and iteration
One of the key principles of UX design is to keep it simple and eliminate anything that does not add value to the user experience. You should constantly test and iterate your design and remove any elements that are redundant, irrelevant, or cluttered. You should also use white space, contrast, hierarchy, and alignment to create a clear and organized layout that guides the users’ attention and helps them focus on the important information.
5. Follow popular design conventions
Design conventions are the common practices or standards that users expect to see on a website. For example, users expect to see a logo on the top left corner of a website, a navigation menu on the top or side of a website, a search bar on the top right corner of a website, etc. Following design conventions can help you create a familiar and intuitive interface that users can easily understand and use. You can also use design patterns or templates that are proven to work well for gaming websites.
6. Provide clear and concise content on your gaming website
The content of your gaming website is the information that you provide to your users, such as game titles, descriptions, reviews, ratings, screenshots, videos, etc. The content of your gaming website should be clear and concise, meaning that it should be easy to read and understand by your users. You should use simple and direct language, avoid jargon or technical terms, use bullet points or lists to break down complex information, and use headings and subheadings to structure your content.
7. Use high-quality images and videos
Images and videos are essential for gaming websites as they showcase the graphics and gameplay of your games and entice the users to try them out. You should use high-quality images and videos that are relevant, appealing, and informative. You should also optimize them for web performance by compressing them or using lazy loading techniques to reduce loading time and bandwidth consumption.
8. Incorporate social proof and feedback
Social proof and feedback are the testimonials or opinions of other users or experts about your games or website. They can include elements such as ratings, reviews, comments, likes, shares, awards, badges, etc. Social proof and feedback can help you build trust and credibility with your users and influence their decision making process. They can also help you improve your games and website by providing valuable insights and suggestions.
9. Make your website accessible
Accessibility is the practice of making your website usable by people with disabilities or impairments, such as visual, auditory, cognitive, or motor impairments. Making your website accessible can help you reach a wider and more diverse audience and comply with legal and ethical standards. You can make your website accessible by following the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) and using tools such as color contrast checkers, screen readers, keyboard navigation, etc.
10. Optimize your website for mobile devices
Mobile devices are becoming increasingly popular for browsing and playing games online. Therefore, you should optimize your website for mobile devices by making it responsive, meaning that it adapts to different screen sizes and orientations. You should also consider the touch interactions, the limited screen space, and the network speed of mobile devices and design your website accordingly.
11. Add a call to action to your gaming website
A call to action (CTA) is a button or link that prompts the users to take a specific action on your website, such as buy a game, sign up for a newsletter, follow you on social media, etc. A CTA should be clear, compelling, and visible on your website and should communicate the value and benefit of the action to the users. A CTA can help you increase conversions, engagement, and loyalty on your gaming website.
Conclusion
Creating a gaming website that users love is not an easy task, but it can be rewarding and profitable if done right. By following these 11 UX design tips and tricks, you can create a gaming website that is attractive, intuitive, engaging, and fun for your users. If you need any help with designing or developing your gaming website, feel free to contact us. We are a team of experienced and passionate UX/UI designers and developers who can help you create a gaming website that meets your goals and expectations. Contact us today and let’s get started! 🎮