When you're trying to set it up on your own, competition sites can be a minefield. You can put in all of your best efforts and yet it won't work and no one will rush to tell you why. Too many things can go wrong: you missed something you didn't even know about, you neglected some detail, didn't test or optimize it properly,
Tentacle's team has seen it all and decided to share the top five reasons why skilled game competition sites fail.
Whales. There are not many things that people agree with Google these days, but we all agree that "slow" is no longer an option for websites. If your competition site takes more than a couple of seconds to completely load, then it's failed – and whales are probably to blame. Whales can be factors like:
Massive images, usually taken right from decent digital cameras, inserted into pages without any cropping or editing
Large numbers of HTTP requests or database requests, made by websites designed with no respect for server stress
Javascript libraries, which are important for a lot of website interactive features, delaying the page from working until they've been imported and activated fully.
Lack of resources. It's a shame if your competition site goes viral and then goes down under the strain of traffic. One of the best ways to combat technical problems is to make sure your website's running on a CDN – or Content Distribution Network. This way, if one channel fails, another can easily step into place.
Not Optimised For Search. Even the most beautifully designed website can fail if it's not been optimized for search. The buying process begins with a search on Google and if your website can't be found it's never going to receive any visitors.
No Promotion. One of the main reasons why websites fail is due to a lack of promotion. Once your skilled game competition site is live you need to drive visitors (traffic) to it. This can be achieved through the following marketing channels:
Organic traffic (unpaid Google Search)
Referral links (Links from other websites)
Social media
Email campaigns
Paid advertising
If you're not actively promoting your website, your business is not going to reach its full potential. A website can work wonders if it's promoted and it will increase your customer base and sales.
Unqualified develoeprs. If your competition site isn't built by professionals then you could be getting a bad deal. Cheap websites usually don't result in the best solution for your marketing campaign and after a couple of months since going live, you'll realise the cost of your miscalculation.
None of the above is the end of the word. You don't have to market on all of the channels mentioned above or solve each problem by yourself. As long as you turn to skilled game and competition site professionals like Tentacle Solutions, all of the above can be solved or even avoided.
If you need help developing a competition site for your company, the experienced team at Tentacle Solutions is happy to assist. Based in Glasgow, Scotland, we deal with all facets of competition site design development, including predictive analytics, testing, creative UI/UX services and more. Contact us today to learn how we can help you create a one-of-a-kind competition site.
When you're trying to set it up on your own, competition sites can be a minefield.