Top Features For A Performance-optimized Web Page
March 10, 2022
Marketing your video game online is all about taking potential customers on a journey, but that journey is all for naught if you don’t stick the landing with a sticky landing page.
No matter how good your video game’s digital ads, sponsored search terms, organic social posts, or other marketing touchpoints are, it’s all for nothing if your final point of sale on the web isn’t optimized to seal the deal.
Here’s what you need to know to ensure that your game’s landing page is fit to perform.
Design
Optimizing an existing landing page usually begins with some kind of performance audit using tools like heat maps. For the sake of this blog post, however, we’re going to be discussing performance optimization from the perspective of a brand-new page with no history to draw from yet.Elements
Your landing page should be designed to do one thing: sell your game. That being said, the mission can be aided by multiple elements. While it can be tempting to throw in as many bells and whistles as possible to show off your game, it’s far more important to keep your site’s visitors focused on your message. Remember the “Three C’s” to focus your landing page elements, minimize distraction or confusion, and steer your potential players to a purchase. Clarity The first thing players should see is the title of your game. From there, it’s dealer’s choice. At minimum, however, you should include: Short Description Summarize what kind of game you’ve made in a sentence. What’s the gameplay style? Use simple, clear language. This might be all a player needs to read to get them excited about your game. Platform Availability Is your game available on multiple platforms. Be sure to show players where they can pick it up with a row of relevant device icons, even if it’s a row of one. Buy Button Let players buy your game right away. Don’t make them scroll down. Don’t make them guess with coy copy. Pop a clear opportunity to pay for your game where nobody can miss it, and don’t be afraid to repeat your offer on every section of your page your visitors scroll through on their way to the bottom… where you should also include a final buy button. If you’re afraid of being oppressive, you can consider a hovering buy button that follows users as they navigate your page. Gameplay Trailer Video games are a medium of motion. Place an easy-to-watch teaser or full gameplay trailer somewhere prominent to strut your game’s stuff. Screenshots A gallery of your most compelling gameplay stills will help give potential players time to get a solid look at what your game has to offer. Lead with the image you think will be most compelling, followed by several images that show its variety and depth. Testimonials Reviews and recommendations from trusted sources like established video game sites or influencers can go a long way toward tipping any on-the-fence site visitor into a sale. Prominently display your best testimonials on your game’s landing page as long as they contribute to your overall marketing message. Additional Information If you think you need more ways to communicate your game’s value, you can always link out to additional sites, including your game’s social media channels. Contrast Even if you know what to include on your site, your visitors’ ability to absorb each element all comes down to presentation. Make your graphic and text elements pop by cranking up contrast. Large, declarative headlines can be followed by smaller, informational copy. Reviews and testimonials can pop as pull-quotes. Your gameplay video and still images can be sandwiched between smaller text or graphic elements to a rhythm to scrolling down your site. The clearer your page’s graphic design, the better your results — and contrast will play a huge part. Consistency If you’re doing your due diligence, you’re driving traffic to your landing page somehow — through organic digital content, paid ads, influencers, or some combination of all of the above. Be sure to calculate as much consistency between your consumer-facing communications and the overall look, feel, and tone of what’s on your landing page. You can’t necessarily control how folks will discover your game, but you can help them feel at home when you’ve worked hard to pique their interest elsewhere on the internet.SEO
Despite how it may feel as you scroll through paid search results every time you use a search engine, SEO is still very relevant and important to the success of your site — and any digital advertising you do (and, if you want to succeed, you will be doing it). Focus on clarity and consistency. The text on your game’s website should be clear and contain the same keywords as your ads. In general, the name of the game can be the name of your game, plus relevant words that describe your game and catch the eye of potential players. As traffic begins to come in, be sure to use an analytics tool to assess which keywords and phrases work. A keyword-rich short description, testimonials, and any other key section of your site can help. It takes time, patience, and a corresponding budget to create an optimum word mix, but if your keyword-optimized ads work well, it will boost the organic search results for your website with the same keywords. In other words: it’s a cycle, and one that you’ll have to work to feed with relevancy. When you provide truly relevant content for the keywords, your game will rise to the top of a search engine’s results. This won’t just benefit your website, either. Working to master your game’s SEO will not only help your dedicated website, it can also help you sell your game on Steam or other digital retailer platforms by driving their landing pages higher in searches. The bottom line? Working to discover and use the right words is worth it.Optimize for Mobile
The majority of mainstream web traffic has shifted to mobile devices like phones and tablets, and the trend shows no signs of slowing down. Make sure you’ve either designed a site that works flawlessly on both desktop and mobile devices, or that you’ve optimized designs across both. Starting with a clean, concise design on one platform will make it all the easier to shift it to another.Accessibility
Depending on where you’re selling your game, you’ll want to ensure that your players can read everything on your landing page with minimum effort. If your game is global, or you want to help measure your international reach, consider posting a region or language menu near the top of your page to welcome players the world over.Load Times
The faster your landing page’s loading time is, the better. Make sure to use a prominent analytics tool, like Google’s PageSpeed Insights, to determine which, if any, images, assets, events, or other page elements may be slowing your site down. Once you’ve identified any meaningful slowdown culprit, seek out solutions to either optimize their speed on your page, or track down suitable alternatives.
Optimization Made Easy
Want to take out the guesswork of creating a performance-optimized web page for your game? Empower players to discover, buy, and enjoy your hard work with ease. Use Xsolla Buy Button on your current website or build a brand new page with Xsolla Site Builder to accomplish everything described here and beyond. Implementation is simple, we can help you customize and launch a secure site with secure global payment options in no time flat. And remember when we mentioned testimonials? Check out some of our own. How to Get Started Download our One-Pager See how Xsolla Site Builder and Xsolla Buy Button take the guesswork out of creating a fully-optimized landing page that you can count on. DOWNLOAD BUY BUTTON 1-PAGER DOWNLOAD SITE BUILDER 1-PAGER Create an Account Getting started is easy. Simply create an account, select your tools, and follow the steps. Partner with Xsolla Need more help? Our experts are ready to help you every step of the way. Email us at business@xsolla.com to learn more. New to Xsolla? Get started by setting up a Publisher Account. Already an Xsolla client? Contact your Xsolla Account Manager to take your revenue to the next level. Xsolla exists to empower developers to take their games as far as possible and achieve their fullest potential. We’re ready to streamline your web site creation and maintenance experience so you can concentrate on your game and its players. 
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