The world of online casinos has blown up over the last decade, with more appearing on the market every year making the industry increasingly competitive.
This, alongside growing expectations from consumers, has put pressure on casino websites to do more to make sure the customer is at the center of their design efforts.
This focus on user experience (UX) doesn’t come without its rewards, however, as we will explain in this article as we go into detail about the links between UX designs and conversion rates in the industry.
The Psychology Of Gambling
Before we go into detail about how UX designs convert online casino players, it’s important to gain an understanding of the psychology behind gambling.
Gambling itself is ultimately a game run of an adrenaline rush that stimulates the part of the brain that reacts to rewards.
This risk-taking element is something that many online casino websites play on, with features that include broadcasting the latest jackpot winner or the amount they’ve given away in total.
Many websites will also share stories of the biggest casino wins through blog posts to further personalize the experience and make people believe they have a chance to win big.
User-Friendly Casino Website Elements That Convert Visitors
If you’ve ever visited an online casino website before, you’ll be aware that many stick to the same glamorous aesthetic that you see in traditional, land-based casinos.
This can work really well with converting visitors into paying players as it gives the illusion that a better life will come if they engage in gambling on that website.
There is an extremely fine line with this website design, however, as overdoing it with the color scheme or with outlandish animations can quickly devalue the UX.
Another important feature to consider with conversion rates and casino websites is the navigation processes.
The truth is, more than most other activities on the internet, gambling is often something people engage with on an impulsive basis.
This means when they visit an online casino website they want to be able to find the game they’re looking to play in an instant.
If they can’t even find where the different categories of games are, or how to search for what they’re looking for, then they’re likely to find somewhere else to play.
It’s for this reason that many online casino websites have the most popular games on the front page, creating a user-friendly design that will work for most people.
With increased awareness about out-of-control gambling habits, online casino websites must also consider how they will transfer some of the control to consumers.
This can be done with different user-friendly design elements, such as allowing users to put manually limit their spending or providing reminders to take a break if they’ve been gambling for some time.
How Non-User-Friendly Designs Impact Conversion Rates
As aforementioned, the reason gambling is so successful is because of the stimulating reaction it has in the reward center of the brain.
With online casino websites having made scratching this itch even easier, more people are flocking towards digital forms of gambling to get their fix.
Despite this, however, the significant number of non-user-friendly designs can have catastrophic effects on a website’s conversion rates.
This is largely because the impulsivity and adrenaline that someone feels will be replaced with frustration, confusion and even anger if the site isn’t easy to navigate.
If this is the first time someone sees a website, these feelings are likely to implant a negative opinion of the website in their mind.
As a result, a large majority of people (especially casual players) will leave the website to look for one with a more user-friendly design, where conversion rates will probably be higher.
The Role Of Casino Affiliate Websites In Customer Conversion
Despite increased competition in the world of online casino websites, many of the distributors are still falling behind what their consumers expect.
With website designs that tend to be outdated and create overwhelming experiences in terms of UX, it’s easy to wonder how these can still be successful.
This is where the rise in casino affiliate businesses has come from.
Run more like businesses, those behind the websites know that their commission comes from the number of people they can convince to visit a casino-based website.
This gives them the incentive to create outstanding user experiences, following the best design principles in the industry to meet consumers’ expectations.
One website that has done this well is Online Casino Gems, who have adopted key features from traditional, land-based casinos to sell the websites they are advertising.
In particular, they stick to a darker color theme, which gives the ‘bubble’ illusion and helps to draw people in.
Theoretically, this also makes a user believe it’s harder to exit the website, making them more likely to follow the website leads put in front of them.
User experiences and design elements like these on the various casino affiliate websites build up trust in the recommendations they provide.
As a result, online casino websites themselves can be forgiven by consumers who access their website in this way as they will trust the effort to navigate the site is worth it.
Summary
This article clearly shows the significant link between the level of thought that goes into UX during the website design process and conversion rates in the long run.
If a website isn’t easily navigational and doesn’t allow the user to feel as if they have a real chance of winning, it can ruin the impulsivity that drew them to the website in the first place.
When online casino websites first gained their popularity, this could have been make or break for a company, but the likes of casino affiliate websites have minimized their effect.
By creating a sense of trust on a website where user-friendly website design is a top priority, people are more willing to forgive some level of difficulty. In turn, this has helped to increase conversion rates and has been a big contribution to the success of modern online casino websites.