There’s been a big push in recent years to make websites more engaging and captivating for visitors. The sheer volume of websites and the ease with which visitors simply click away to find a competitor make trying new ideas essential, especially if they lead to converting or retaining customers.
Many major brands have turned to gamification to keep users on their platforms. BuzzFeed, X, Todoist, Interland, Habitica, and LinkedIn have all infused ways to enhance engagement through a kind of game. Even so, the best place for a WordPress developer to turn to is a sector that’s entirely focused on enhancing gamification.
Bringing Gaming on Top of Gaming
WordPress gives developers the foundation to build gamified experiences on top of any site.
In iGaming, due to heightened competition, platforms need to offer both a vast library of games and gaming incentives. A casino offer with free spins is a popular way to go. It gives new players who use the code the chance to use 50 free spins on a selection of slots and another ten free spins on the promo game.
While the users will be coming to the website to pay and play the games available anyway, an offer like this gives a chance to enjoy a further layer of gamification for signing up. The design of the platform itself will mean that anyone who takes on the offer will be exploring quite a bit of the total offering, but in a way that’s game-centric.
As a result, the user gets a tour of games that they may want to play, can get a better idea of the on-site experience, and, most importantly, will stay engaged while doing so. Of course, there are also ways to gamify an offer like this to add another layer of intrigue and engagement.
Different Ways to Explore Gamification
Everything about all of the leading iGaming platforms is about increasing engagement around different forms of gamification. In recent years, in fact, WordPress has become key to the industry, with custom plugins creating new functionalities that enhance gamification elements.
Some opt for game-like mechanics and blending elements of personalization. New customers can earn points and badges for their use of the site and business. From there, repeat customers can earn more to unlock things like discounts or a first-look at exclusive goods and events.
Then again, there are many more straightforward, but not quite as captivating, gamification deployments, like a wheel to spin for prizes or discounts. Web designers can also look beyond integrating promotional materials that lean on gamified elements to enhance engagement through this approach.
For this, turn to the layout and interactive nature of the website itself. Some say that you should explore ways to inject some game juice into the navigation. With exaggerated feedback like particles flying and color or sound effects, users get a sense of responsiveness and playfulness, which is a subtle way to increase on-site engagement.
Getting feedback and performing actions, preferably with those interactions leading to some kind of subtle or overt reward, automatically gamifies a platform and makes it more engaging. Even when a site is focused on gaming, brands will go further to implement promos that add another layer of gamification.
A Collection of WordPress Plugins to Explore
The WordPress plugin directory offers a growing collection of gamification tools for developers.
With the increased emphasis on creating gamification options, there’s been a rise in the number of plugins available for you to use. Easily the most popular and well-reviewed is GamiPress. The all-in-one gamification plugin looks perfectly suited for just about any angle you want to run with.
At over 10,000 active installations and 493 reviews amounting to five stars, it’s definitely the plugin you’ll want to start with to at least explore your options or to get inspiration for your own build. The core of the plugin is its rewards system. You can offer points, achievements, ranks, and rewards for all forms of interactions on the site.
For shorter-term or one-time gamified options, you could look to the WP Optin Wheel. It’s a prize wheel pop-up that offers prizes to users while also taking their email for the chance to win. It’s also rocking a big five stars across its reviews and is presently active on over 1,000 sites. Similarly, RafflePress can empower a giveaway and referral marketing campaign, boosting the draw and interactivity of your advertising.
Many classy plugins can increase the gamification of your site as a whole or your more specific marketing events. If you want something a bit more customized, you can explore how it’s done on iGaming platforms for some inspiration.
