While land-based casinos usually aim for jaw-dropping grandeur, their online counterparts often take a different approach. From visual aesthetics to convenient and seamless UX design, there is a lot to consider when it comes to the design of an online casino interface — and making the wrong choices can have serious consequences. Read our design guide for online casinos to find out how to make a good first impression.
When starting a new online casino — or revamping an established one — it’s essential to pay close attention to the site’s interface. Every detail counts when it comes to drawing players in from their first glimpse of your home page and keeping them feeling comfortable and secure. Here you can check out SportsBetting AG site interface.
Beauty is in the eye of the player
Visual appeal is one of the first places where many online gambling platform owners go awry.
The wrong aesthetic can turn players away before they even bother looking for their favorite games. Give players a feast for their eyes — your home page should be inviting and easy on the eyes. It’s best to stick to simple color palettes with combinations of 3 or 4 colors, and use the same color theme on every page.
While warm, bright color tones are great, you should make sure not to cross the line into harsh and acidic ones. The site’s design needs to be eye-catching, but it shouldn’t go over the top. Bright, flashing lights may attract players on the casino floor, but it’s a different story when they’re coming out of your laptop or phone screen; they’re more likely to drive players away than draw them in.
Text needs to be highly visible — this is one of a few areas where visual appeal and navigation go hand in hand. This is especially true when it comes to sign-up and deposit buttons. A large font size and a color that’s distinct from the background will make buttons and other pieces of text pop out.
Navigation
Don’t make your visitors struggle to find what they’re looking for.
They’ve come to your site to have fun, not stumble through a maze, so make your online casino interface as intuitive as possible. Starting with your home page, different sections of the site — Casino, Live Dealer, Sportsbook, Bingo, Poker, etc. — should be highly visible, usually arranged in a bar across the top of the screen. It should take as few clicks as possible for new visitors to your site to start an account and find a game to play.
Buttons should be large, obvious, and differentiated from their background. In particular, buttons to register or make deposits should be easy to find and inviting to click on.
Sign up and spin
It should be as easy as possible for players to register a new account, make a deposit, and start playing. The registration button should be prominently placed and highly visible, and the benefits of registering — especially any sign-up bonuses — should be clearly published.
Online registration forms should be neatly organized, spread across two or three pages to make sure the registration process isn’t overwhelming. At the top or down of the form, there should be an indication showing players how far along they are in the registration process (such as “page 1 of 2”).
The search for entertainment
Players need to find what they’re looking for — fast. They’ll judge your platform by the first few search results they see. If their first search for a game on your site doesn’t bring up something that matches their taste exactly, you can bet they’ll leave for another platform without even saying goodbye. Players will expect the search to return quality results even on limited or single-word queries.
The perfect search starts with the search bar. Normally located in the upper right-hand corner of the site’s home page, it needs to stand out clearly from its background — don’t make players look around for the very tool they need to start searching. The search bar should also offer suggested searches as soon as players click on it, and those should grow more useful over time as the site tracks that player’s behavior.
Special offers
Game developers often run slot tournaments. But signing your platform up for one of them isn’t enough; you need players to join in and participate. Offering a welcome bonus won’t encourage players to sign up if they don’t know about it. Special offers such as sign-up bonuses and time-sensitive opportunities like slot tournaments should be front and center, the first thing players see when they enter your site.
Advertise bonuses and other offers in distinct, striking text that stands out from the rest of your platform’s home page — and make sure to put them “above the fold,” so that they are the first thing new visitors see. Make sure any bonus promotions include a large, bright, prominently displayed button encouraging new players to claim the offer.
It’s also common to use interstitial ads that cover the entire site, turning it into a background for the promoted offer, which is featured in a box in the middle of the screen.
A mobile world
The rise of mobile usage is affecting iGaming as much as every other industry. Players in developed countries are spending more time on their mobile devices, and in some developing countries mobile penetration is spreading at an astounding rate. Increasing numbers of bets — in some countries, a majority of them — are coming from mobile users.
That means that players are more and more likely to see your gambling site on a handheld screen.
It’s critical for an online casino or sportsbook to have fully responsive design, working equally well on laptop or mobile. The mobile version will be designed differently, with menus arranged to fit screens that are taller than they are wide.
Deposits and withdrawals
Making deposits should be as easy as possible while retaining the maximum level of security. Offering a variety of payment options will make sure players can make deposits and start betting as soon as possible. It’s common practice to accept credit cards and bank transfers, but players increasingly expect to be able to use e-wallets and other methods, especially those that support cryptocurrencies.
For the sake of security, you’ll need a certain amount of personal information, but asking players to divulge more than what’s required will create an unnecessary barrier. Security requirements should be strict enough to keep away bad actors, but not so strict that they infringe upon players’ privacy.
Be available
Constantly available customer support is one of the best ways to build a solid, trusting relationship with your players.
Players don’t have technical issues on a schedule. Customer service and technical support should be available 24/7. The best form of customer support is a live chat where they can instantly and directly contact a member of your support staff.
