UX Strategies That Improve the Online Casino Experience

UX or user experience is a measure of how pleased your users are with a visit to your site. For companies that rely on their web presence as their sole source of revenue, UX is vitally important and can make or break them.

Aesthetics is Relative

Many designers try to create gorgeous layouts in an effort to attract players with aesthetics. In their attempts to do so, however, they often neglect to take into account the functionality and the fact that beauty is in the eye of the beholder. What you think is beautiful may be repulsive to other people and vice versa. Focusing on cramming as much bling into your design to try and dazzle the users, designers end up with a site that is hard to navigate, slow to load, and unresponsive at times. Instead, you should concentrate on universal values. For instance, use warm, inviting colors. They aren’t as eye-catching but will make your players feel welcomed and relaxed. Another good tip is to make sure that all text is visible and easy to read. High-contrasting text may not comply with your aesthetic design, but your players will be grateful.

Navigation

One of the biggest sins any web designer can make is creating convoluted and confusing navigation paths. Navigations should be intuitive and easy, not a labyrinth that only the most determined users can overcome. You can check it out here to see how navigation can work in a simple, but highly effective UX on this review site. Remember, if your players can’t find what they are looking for in a reasonable amount of time, they will simply leave. After all, it’s not like there is a shortage of online casinos out there. They have hundreds to choose from, and once disappointed with the design of your site, they are hardly coming back for another try.

Functionality Above All Else

If your web design isn’t functional, no number of decorative details and clever design tricks will save it. Put yourself in the shoes of an average user and try to imagine how they see your design. Can they navigate it easily? Is the design sufficiently functional to allow players to get to the page they are looking for without hustle? Are you forcing your users to jump through unnecessary hurdles? These are just some of the questions you have to ask yourself before pressing that publish button. If you get any of these elements wrong, your UX will take a hit. Get a few of them wrong and it will plummet.

Make it Easy

Most users don’t want to spend a lot of time browsing and looking for games to play. That is why organizing your games in categories like Most popular, Recently added, Best rated, and similar can make it easy for them to find what they want. New players will be especially grateful for this, as it will save them from wandering around the site, not knowing what to play. There are some other functions that should be easily found, like account details, terms and conditions, and support. Speaking of terms and conditions, some countries regulate how this section should be organized and what elements it must contain, so make sure to check them beforehand.

Sign Up and Play

The process of registering a new account should be as simple and straightforward as possible, but without compromising security. If you make your players jump too many hurdles before allowing them to actually play, there is a big chance some of them will simply give up and go elsewhere. Not only is a lengthy sign-up procedure detrimental to UX, but your bottom line as well. You want them playing games, not filling endless forms. Consult with your security expert on how you can make this procedure as painless as possible.

Content is King

The only reason people visit online casinos is to access your content and play games. That is why it should be prominently displayed and easily accessible. We already talked about sorting and categories, but that isn’t all there is to it. The screen is prime real estate and fitting everything you want is, in most cases, impossible. That is why you have to prioritize. Your blockbusters and most popular games should hold a prominent place. You want them to be the first thing a player sees when entering the site. Bonuses you may be offering are also important content and should be as visible as possible. Go easy on popups, as they tend to annoy people, and use them sparingly only for the most vital information. Everything we said goes double for mobile users, as their screens are even more restricted.

Customer Must Come First

One strategy that will make sure your users have a positive UX is putting them first. The entire approach is based on the sole idea of your users having an easy and smooth experience with your site. Remember that they have one main objective, playing a game. What makes things easier is the fact that this is your goal as well. Anything that distracts them from that goal should be eliminated as soon as possible. Your objective to streamline the procedure from signup to placing a bet as straightforward and obstacle-less as possible. A key challenge is making your front page clutter-free. It should provide enough information and have useful links, but without looking overwhelming and confusing. Having a layout that looks too busy can distract players and even make some of them simply leave the site. Add in the fact that the same layout needs to work both on computer screens and mobile devices and you get the picture of why web designers are paid so much. Making all of these components work in unison is a tall order.

Pay Attention to Details

They say that the devil is in the details and they aren’t wrong, whoever they may be. In this case, the details we refer to are pages that aren’t directly connected to gambling, like help, FAQ, search, user account, and similar. Many designers make the mistake of assigning them a low priority when it comes to the front page, effectively hiding them from users. Whenever a player has trouble accessing one of these sections, it lowers their experience and adversely affects their opinion of the site. After several such attempts, he or she may very well decide that it simply isn’t worth their time and find another online casino, a one with a better design. That is why these links must be placed conveniently, preferably at the top or bottom of the page, where they can be easily found and used.

Listen to Feedback

Nothing elevates UX as a feeling that the company listens to its customers and corrects any mistakes it may have made. If you listen to your players’ feedback and act on it, it can create a bond and instill a sense of loyalty in them. That is why you should go out of your way to get them to leave feedback. If at all possible, make sure you do something about it. Even if you can’t, a nicely written reply explaining why it is impossible to act on their complaint will do wonders for a large majority of your user base. This is especially important for new casinos, just starting out. No matter how much testing you do, some bugs will slip through and be found by users. Just think of them as your advanced beta testers and thank them for discovering any issues. Listening to what they have to say is vital in improving the UX.

Choose Your Icons Carefully

It is well-documented that large icons facilitate player engagement and have better CTR (click-through rate) than smaller ones. The trouble is, the bigger they are, the less space you have to display everything. Finding a sweet spot can be a challenging task. Animated icons are a nice and eye-catching addition, but have too many of them and the performance may suffer, especially for players with low-end devices or insufficient internet speed. Use them only for your biggest breadwinners. Even if you make them as lean as possible as to not affect loading times, having too many animated icons can clutter the front page and make it look too busy.

Time Is of The Essence

Not many people have enough time or patience to spend hours searching for something on your site. Be respectful of their time and allow them to get to what they are looking for as quickly as possible. The search function is vital in this. The results must be accurate and speedy. If your search takes a long time, nobody will use it, robbing you of an important tool. The search bar should be easily seen, usually on the upper right corner of your home page. Make sure that, as soon as the player clicks on it, it displays suggested searches. Over time, these suggestions will expand to include more and more items, making it easier for users to find what they are looking for.