The iGaming industry has boomed in recent years. Fueled by both technological developments and the temporary closure of casinos and betting shops due to Covid-19, more and more players began to turn to digital methods of gambling, with iGaming soon becoming one of the largest sectors in the overall gambling industry. The sector is varied and made up of a range of different companies and service providers, including slots developers, online sportsbooks, and software solution firms. What they all have in common, though, is a reliance on effective web design to attract business, secure customers, and guarantee their company’s success. Let’s take a look at why web design is so important and how best to optimise your iGaming company’s platform.
First impressions are everything
The home page is the very first thing a potential customer will see when they visit your website. No matter what kind of business you are, ensuring this first impression is a positive one is crucial. For iGaming companies, this is even more important. Online gambling is a massive industry where lots of money is involved, you need to make sure that your business immediately conveys a sense of reliability, legitimacy, and professionalism to attract and retain players.
Aesthetics are important and can be tricky to get right. Keeping things relatively simple is usually the best option. Use basic, easy to read fonts and a few large, clear images. Avoid cramming too much information onto your homepage or filling it with images and videos, this can overwhelm visitors instantly and immediately put them off.
Utilise space properly
Many iGaming companies will have large product lines and extensive catalogues, so how do they advertise these to customers without overcrowding their websites?
The answer is through careful and considered utilisation of the available space. This can be done by cleverly designing layouts and menu systems to offer the customer the option to explore topics further without overloading them with too much information. Use simple pictures or icons that visitors can click to take them to subsequent pages with further information.
Navigation bars and drop-down menus are also invaluable tools for this, they can work to provide information on your products without your website appearing too busy, and through measured design and integration can fit in perfectly with your platform’s overall visual appearance.
Intuitive design
Ease of use is an extremely important element when it comes to effective web design. Your website should be clearly laid out with easily identifiable pathways and routes to different sections. It should be accessible for all customers regardless of age, gender, or cultural background. Making your website easy and enjoyable to navigate will motivate visitors to spend time on the platform and discover what products your company has on offer.
Be transparent
Online gambling is a highly regulated and often scrutinised market. Providing transparency and information on how your platform or software works is key to establishing brand trust and reputation.
This can be done by providing basic licensing accreditation at the bottom of your homepage featuring certificates from the relevant regulatory bodies, or by including embedded video content detailing the processes and systems behind your software.
Cross-device design
While desktops and laptops used to be the main way people browsed the internet, today people are increasingly using mobile devices to get online. Ensuring your website is optimised to function across multiple devices is essential. Formatting and web page layout should not be adversely affected through viewing on a smaller or larger screen, while your content should respond to and function normally when viewed in both portrait and landscape modes.
Furthermore, your website should function as normal across a range of browsers. Chrome and Safari are the two most commonly used internet browsers, so you should guarantee that your platform performs well on both of these.
Security measures
Customer security and player protection are key issues for iGaming companies, with many security measures stipulated by law and relevant gambling commissions and authorities.
You must ensure that customer data and information is secure when it is stored or processed by your website, as sensitive information can be vulnerable to data breaches and cyber-attacks. To do so, secure your platform with SSL encryption and fortify this with transport layer security (TLS). TLS will encrypt data stored on your platform and can only be unlocked using one of over 300 trillion possible combinations.
Conclusion
Web design can make or break a business, few things work to discourage customers more than a poorly thought-out, difficult to use, unattractive website. For digital businesses like iGaming companies, this is even more important. Guarantee the success of your iGaming company by following the basic principles of effective web design and ensuring your customers are engaged, safe, and secure when using your website.
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