How are online casinos beginning to innovate through Web Design

The online casino industry has been one of the greatest success stories of the internet era. Over the last twenty years, the sector has gone from a niche offering to a global behemoth. The online gambling industry is worth more than $66 billion, and that figure is expected to grow to $92.9 billion by 2023. The industry is becoming further separated from the land-based casinos that started it all, and this is reflected in the web design of the pages.

Here are some of the ways that online casinos are distancing themselves from land-based options.

The Shift Away From Aiming to Replicate Casinos

The initial aim of the online casino industry in the early days appeared to be to replicate casinos as closely as possible. The selling point was that they would attract casino players who wanted the opportunity to play from anywhere. Nowadays, the demographic for these sites include a vast majority of people who have never set foot in a physical casino. For this reason, there is not much need for operators to try to replicate their land-based counterparts. Instead, they can portray a more modern image in line with the online offshoot of the gambling industry.

Hero Images Reflecting Online Trends

This shift has become apparent in the choice of hero images used on the pages of online casinos in 2021, compared to five or ten years ago. In the past, this imagery would have predominantly been used to show real-world casino themes. Nowadays, it reflects the preferences of online players. An example of this can be seen here, where the hero image clearly displays a list of modern slot games that would only be found at an online casino. Indeed, looking at the entire page design of this site, it is clear that it has disassociated itself with its ancestors and is only looking to attract modern players. This is done through its offerings as well as its design.

Semi-Flat Design

One of the most obvious changes in the design of online casino web pages has been in the shift towards semi-flat design. This is where designers opt for simpler elements without any shadows. In the past, there had been an almost ubiquitous opinion that 3D design made a site look more futuristic. But now designers are preferring basic options because of the benefits that come with them.

Semi-flat design pages can have some shading and even a bit of depth to them. But the important thing about them is that they are not overly complicated. This helps with users’ comprehension of the site, and also allows the pages to load more quickly than they would with complex design elements. Online casino players want to get to the action as quickly as possible, so they need the pages to load up swiftly and easily.

Hamburger Menus

In the past, online casino operators may have felt the need to clearly display all of their different offerings with visible links on the home page. This is not necessary for the modern age, as most people who log on to an online casino know what to expect, and now how to navigate vast libraries of content. With this in mind, it has allowed a lot of operators to clear up their home page design and go for much simpler options.

This has seen a rise in hamburger menus, which are small, three-line icons found near the top of the page in the corner. Internet users have already become accustomed to clicking on these to find an expanded list of options. At online casinos, operators can use a hamburger menu and then show their offerings in different sections once players have clicked on it. These menus look slick and are called hamburger menus because they look a bit like the popular food with its different layers.

It has become abundantly clear that online casino operators are now trying to distance themselves from what came before. This is because the online offshoot of the industry is now much more successful and, if anything, land-based casinos should be learning from online versions. This move into the future is highlighted by the modern web design methods being used.