Website design is more important than ever, especially in the iGaming industry, which encompasses legally permitted real money gambling sites such as online casinos, dedicated poker sites, online sportsbooks (also known as online bookmakers), and bingo and lottery websites.
Having a modern, sophisticated, user-friendly and well-designed website can be the difference between someone deciding to join that website to place sports bets or play games and looking for somewhere else to spend their money.
With that in mind, here are several key iGaming website design trends commonly used by today's most successful operators. These trends enhance the user experience in several ways.
An outdated, poorly designed website can be extremely off-putting and cause business owners to lose revenue.
It has been proven that websites with slow-loading pages and content, unnecessary clutter everywhere, and features/buttons that are either unresponsive or don't work will be far less successful than a modern, well-designed, multi-functional site that's visually appealing.
It's important to keep things fresh and not let websites stagnate, and it's just as important to try out the latest innovations and trends in website design.
It must also be fully optimised to work well on smartphones and tablet devices, not just laptops and desktop computers, and in any decent web browser, such as Chrome, Firefox, Microsoft Edge, Internet Explorer, Safari, Vivaldi, and Opera, to name a few.
The official Lucky Koala online casino, which many industry experts and players regard as the top-rated casino site in Canada, is a great example of a fun, well-designed, user-friendly, and easy-to-navigate website design.
Players are more likely to return to high-end websites like this and avoid outdated sites that don't work properly. When designing iGaming sites, website designers aim to ensure that each time someone visits that site, they will have a seamless and hassle-free experience.
One of the objectives of a web design is to give that website a unique character and ensure it reflects the brand and iGaming operator's mission. Doing so will help increase revenue by generating more conversions and retaining existing members.
Today's most successful online casinos have intuitive and interactive websites that are far more engaging and immersive for users than ever. Everything will be neatly compartmentalised and easy to navigate with just a few simple taps or clicks to get where you need to be.
Players don't want to spend hours looking for their favourite games, and they don't want those games taking forever to load. They want everything to run smoothly and be easy to find. The most important thing is that the website is safe and secure.
Therefore, website designers in the iGaming industry tend to include the following modern design trends to enhance the user experience:
Safety and security - the best-designed online casino websites will have the necessary cryptographic SSL (128-bit or higher Secure Socket Layer) and TSL (Transport Layer Security) certificates to enhance the security on that site, and perhaps 2FA or MFA secure login features
High-end visuals and audio elements - this can enhance the overall visual aesthetic of that website to make it more eye-catching, which can leave a lasting memory and make people want to return to that site in future
Fast-loading games that are easy to find – technological innovations, such as cloud gaming, live streaming capabilities, fast internet speeds, HTML5 technology, and more efficient web browsers also help websites work to their full potential
Optimal navigation – it helps to have plenty of spacing in between sections, with oversized and responsive buttons/player controls that make it easy to find your way around the website
Other interactive website design elements trending on today's best iGaming sites are game search engines and game filter settings that actually work and bring relevant/instant results.
Players also prefer sites with clear and concise bonus offers that aren't misleading, with banners providing brief details about the wagering requirements, the value of the bonus, which games are included in the promotion, and how long they have to complete the wagering requirements.
Having a fun, engaging, intuitive, responsive, user-friendly, visually appealing, modern, interactive, easily accessible, fun, and well-designed website is more important than ever for online casino operators.
The top sites today also have touch-friendly buttons, optimised font sizes and colours, relevant menus and navigation bars, carefully selected typography, captivating themes, and the right kind of branding that remains consistent throughout the website. It's a skill that only a few operators have truly mastered.