Enchanted Sweeps, a web-based sweepstakes company, encountered challenges with their previous website design, including a complex login/registration process, lack of online identity, confusing task flow, and a dull aesthetic. To address these issues and enhance their brand identity, Bencin Studios proposed a comprehensive redesign. As the designer, I led the effort to create a visually stunning and contemporary design that incorporated imagery and design elements reflecting the "enchanted" identity. The redesign simplified the login/registration process, improved task flow, and prioritized a user-centered approach for intuitive navigation. The result was a remarkable success, with Enchanted Sweeps experiencing a significant 60% increase in revenue.
The online websweeps industry is experiencing rapid growth driven by the popularity of online gaming and mobile devices. To succeed in this competitive market, websweeps businesses must prioritize fairness, security, diverse game offerings, user-friendly interfaces, and strong branding. With 80% of Enchanted Sweeps users accessing the website via mobile phones, a mobile-first design approach was adopted.
Additionally, through research, three competitors were identified: Funzpoints, Spin Palace, and Chumba Casino, each offering unique features and attracting players with various game options and promotions.
Problem: Enchanted Sweeps faces challenges with their current website design, including a complex login/registration process, lack of online identity, confusing task flow, and a dull aesthetic. The revamp aims to create a modern, visually appealing design that reflects the company's "enchanted" identity, improving credibility and competitiveness.
The online websweeps industry is growing rapidly, driven by the popularity of online gaming and mobile devices. To succeed, websweeps businesses need fairness, security, diverse games, user-friendly interfaces, and strong branding. With 80% of Enchanted Sweeps users accessing the website via mobile phones, the stakeholders adopted a mobile-first design approach, making mobile design the primary focus of this case study.
The online websweeps industry is a rapidly growing market, with global revenues projected to reach $127 billion by 2027, growing at a CAGR of 11.5% during the forecast period (2020-2027). The increasing popularity of online gaming and the convenience of mobile devices are major drivers of this growth.
The market is highly competitive, with a large number of established players and new entrants.To succeed in this market, a websweeps business should have a strong reputation for fairness and security, a wide range of games, an online identity, and a user-friendly interface. Additionally, a strong mobile presence and the ability to process payments quickly and securely are essential.
Marketing strategies for a websweeps business should focus on building trust and establishing a strong brand. This can be achieved through affiliate marketing, online advertising, and social media marketing. Additionally, creating a distinguishable brand identity can be an effective way to attract and retain customers.
Overall, the online websweeps industry is a lucrative market with a large potential customer base. However, it is also highly competitive, so businesses must be well-positioned to succeed in this market.
From my research, I identified three competitors: Funzpoints, Spin Palace and Chumba Casino.
As a non-gambler but a dedicated professional striving to provide the best for the clients, I conducted thorough research on competitors to gain insights into the industry and identify areas for improvement.
Funzpoints is another online casino that offers a mix of slot games and other casino games. It also operates on a sweepstakes model, where players can play with virtual currency (Funzpoints) and redeem Premium Funzpoints for cash prizes. Funzpoints provides a range of interactive slot games and offers regular promotions and bonuses to enhance the gaming experience.
Spin Palace is an established online casino known for its wide range of games, including slots, table games, and live dealer options. They offer a user-friendly interface, attractive promotions, and a reputation for providing a secure and fair gaming experience.
Chumba is another well-known online casino that has been operating for many years. They offer a large selection of games, including progressive jackpot slots, and provide a mobile-friendly platform for players to enjoy their favorite casino games on the go.
During the discovery phase, personas were developed to represent the key user groups of Enchanted Sweeps. Samantha, the Player, enjoys online gambling and values bonuses, security, and competitive games. Jake, the Reader, appreciates online casinos for their game variety and convenience, as well as their visually appealing design. He also has an interest in reading comics.
User stories and journey maps were created to gain a deeper understanding of user needs and expectations, leading to a more user-centered approach in meeting their requirements.
The user map provided valuable insights into user behaviors and interactions, highlighting important tasks such as account creation, playing games, and purchasing enchanted coins or comics.
Solution: Bencin Studios will redesign the website, prioritizing a visually stunning and contemporary design that embodies the "enchanted" identity. The focus will be on simplifying registration and login processes, improving task flow and navigation, and enhancing the overall user experience. The goal is to increase customer retention and drive business success.
Taking the discovery phase information into account, I proceeded to develop personas for the key user groups: Users wanting to play games/gamble and Users interested in the other features offered by Enchanted Sweeps.
Samantha, the Player: enjoys online gambling for entertainment and socializing, preferring convenient and accessible online casinos. They seek new games, value bonuses and rewards, prioritize security and trust, and are attracted to competitive games like poker or blackjack.
Jake, the Reader: enjoys online gambling for entertainment, prefers online casinos for game variety and convenience, values attractive design and multitasking options, prioritizes security, and expects a seamless user experience. Additionally, they also enjoy reading comics.
In order to gain a deeper understanding of user needs and expectations, I developed user stories and user journey maps for both personas. These tools provided valuable insights into their perspectives and experiences, enabling a more user-centered approach to meet their specific requirements.
The user map provided valuable insights into user needs, behaviors, and pain points. By visualizing their journey and interactions, we identified opportunities for improvement. The map focused on five key tasks:
1. create an account, 2. play "Casino Style Games", 3. play "Specialty Games", 4. purchase enchanted coins, and 5. buy a comic.
Throughout the collaboration with my colleagues, Ben Kroft (UX/UI Designer) and Elizabeth Gundlach (Artist), we maintained consistency by adhering to established design guidelines. The stakeholders had high expectations for the web revamp, desiring an updated aesthetic, effective game organization, improved user experience, and enhanced web structure.
While the client had significant involvement in the design process, particularly regarding aesthetics, my role focused on shaping the user experience, organizing games, and refining the web structure.
The initial design iterations faced challenges of accommodating numerous games on the landing page and the placement of specialty games. However, with a simplified tab system and improved hero section, the final design successfully addressed these issues. Two new pages were introduced to organize game content, and the revamped design featured a redesigned landing page, "Specialty Games" page, and "Casino Style Games" page. These changes resulted in an engaging user experience, improved game organization, and an aesthetically appealing design that fulfilled stakeholder expectations.
Collaborating with my colleagues, Ben Kroft (UX/UI Designer) and Elizabeth Gundlach (Artist), required me to adhere to the existing design guidelines they had established. This ensured consistency and cohesion throughout the project, allowing us to work seamlessly as a team and maintain a unified visual and user experience across the design.
The stakeholders had high expectations for the web revamp, seeking an updated aesthetic that showcased new artwork and visuals. They also emphasized the importance of organizing the new games effectively, enhancing the overall user experience, and updating the web structure to improve usability. The goal was to create a visually appealing and user-friendly website.
The client's involvement in the iterations and design process, particularly regarding the aesthetic aspect, was highly pronounced. My expertise was more prominently utilized in shaping the user experience, organizing the games, and enhancing the web structure. While the visual changes were a collaborative effort, my expertise in user-centric design played a pivotal role in delivering an engaging and user-friendly website.
V1: The initial challenge was to accommodate over 100 games on the landing page. In the first version, I attempted to organize them by game categories such as Slots, Table, and Blackjack. However, incorporating additional categories like featured games, top games, and video slots posed complexity for both the user experience and the implementation timeline, as it would involve nested categories.
Another issue with this design was the placement of specialty games, which were positioned after all the other casino-style games. As a result, users had to scroll past halfway down the website to access these games. This layout not only created a tedious experience for users solely interested in specialty games but also resulted in a simplistic and monotonous design by simply dividing the page in half.
V2: With Occam's razor in mind, I decided to simplify the tab sysytem by breaking it into two categories: casino style games and speciality games. Then, I used the carrousel style categories to further organize the games into their respective categories. This design also opened up space on the second half of the page. We used this space to explain and speak more bout the "enchanted" identity to connect with the user and gain credibility.
The main problem with this design was the hero section. The section didnt present much information. the client also wanted to see some aesthetic changes.
V3: Building upon the improved organizational structure, I focused on enhancing the hero section. By reducing the height of the hero image, I gained more space to showcase at least one game carousel, enabling users to immediately engage with game options. Additionally, I addressed the client's request for aesthetic changes and updated the artwork accordingly, ensuring a visually appealing design that aligned with their vision.
To enhance game organization, two new pages were introduced to complement the existing catalog. A tab system, similar to that of the landing page, was implemented to categorize each game according to their respective game types. This improvement significantly improved the user experience by enabling users to easily locate and access their desired game type, whether it be Specialty games or Casino Style Games.
The final revamped design included three new pages: a redesigned landing page, a dedicated "Specialty Games" page, and a separate "Casino Style Games" page. These pages were strategically created to showcase the new games and provide organized information, enhancing the overall user experience. Additionally, the design updates improved the login/registration process, refreshed the artwork, and added elements to establish the company's credibility. The revamped design successfully achieved the goals of enhancing user experience, organizing game content, and improving the overall aesthetic appeal.
As the front-end developer, I played a crucial role in bringing the redesigned website to life. The new site was successfully launched in December 2022, and its impact was immediately felt by the company, resulting in a significant increase of 60% in revenue. Furthermore, the redesign positively influenced user retention, site visits, and user satisfaction metrics, demonstrating the success of the project.
To further promote the revamped site, I created engaging marketing videos that were shared on the company's social media platforms, effectively announcing the launch and attracting attention from potential users.
As the front-end developer, I was responsible for implementing the redesigned website. The new site was launched in December 2022, and the company immediately experienced a positive impact on their revenue. With a remarkable 60% increase in revenue and improvements in user retention, site visits, and user satisfaction metrics, the redesign proved to be a resounding success.
In addition, I produced marketing videos to announce the launch of the revamped site on the company's social media platforms.
