There are several things a sports betting site requires just to function, but the best sites all have something special to stand them apart from the rest.
It isn’t just about individual gimmicks, designed to draw customers in with the promise of something special. That’s simply dangling a carrot in front of someone to prevent them looking past that immediate bonus or incentive. Customer’s must take all things into account and realise that it’s the whole package that a sports betting website offers which is the important thing.
From the look, design, functionality and usability, to what the website actually offers its customers, everything combines to create a user experience and that is what we look at.
They not only think about offering their customers the best odds, best bonuses, and best incentives, but also how to offer the best experience for anyone visiting the site.
The Look
People are programmed to be drawn to attractive looking things. We all glance in adoration at another person who we find attractive, the same way we can all become captivated by a beautiful scenery or piece of architecture.
It’s how our brains work. Approximately 20% of our brain is solely for vision. What we see is then processed, extremely quickly, and the information is then sent to other parts of the brain. If something is visually impressive, we store it and we remember it.
The saying ‘I never forget a beautiful face’ isn’t just a saying. It’s real. We honestly do retain the memory of something we find attractive.
We react to colours, movement, images, and other visually impressive things. The look of something will give us a positive or negative reaction.
If we think something is attractive we will react positively, we will retain the memory of it, and we are more likely to want to see it again. If we think something is ugly, or even slightly odd looking, we are likely to forget it and not want to see it again.
The aim of a person creating a sports betting website is to attract customers and keep them, giving them more chance to place bets with their company rather than going elsewhere.
So, sports betting websites need to look good. They must use bright, radiant colours, add moving slideshows with special offers and price boosts at the top of the page, and they must keep everything simple.
Plenty of text is required, but it must be kept to a minimum and not take away from the visual impressiveness. A site must not be overloaded with words. Sections on each page with minimal text are okay, but all content on the website must be arranged in such a way that it’s easy to read.
Ultimately, the look of a website can determine if a person is willing to press the ‘Sign Up’ button or exit and search for another sports betting website that looks a little better.
That is why, at Bookmaker Advisor, we judge websites on how visually impressive they are. If a site is attractive to look at, it has more chance of being listed among our best sports betting websites.
Usability
There is nothing worse than going on to a website and feeling lost. You can’t find what you’re looking for and you sit blank faced for several moments before deciding to look elsewhere.
A customer needs to feel welcomed by a site, they need to know everything will be easy to use and all the information they require is in the right place for them to easily find the markets they want to bet on.
A lot of sports betting websites provide hundreds of markets on several different sports, so they must ensure everything is organised and shown in such a way that customers can find what they are looking for.
While the majority of customers will be placing bets on popular sports such as football, horse racing, and tennis, there are some who want to have a flutter on more obscure sports, such as skiing or ice hockey.
So, a sports betting website must create an easy to read menu, with drop down sections listing every sport they accept bets on. When clicking on the sport, it then must take you to a page showing which markets are available for that sport, betting odds, and any other information which will improve the usability.
If you think of a website like a road map, it must go where the user wants it to go.
Keeping everything well organised and regularly updated will ensure that customers do not get lost on their travels and be forced to find what they are looking for at a rival betting site.
A sports betting website must be clear, concise and easy to understand. Choices, such as list of sports and other parts of the site, must be clearly presented in a way that prevents the user becoming confused.
And, everything must be in the correct place with the most important information taking centre stage.
Blocks of text set out in a nonsensical way is always going to have people clicking on the exit button, as will random images spread about the site with no actual purpose.
Bookmaker Advisor takes into account the usability of a site, how easy it is to navigate, and any hurdles we encounter along the way. Only then, can we recommend a site as one of the best sports betting websites around.
Functionality
The functionality of a website is the interactive part which requires site visitors to do something. Whether it’s clicking on a link, filling in a form, or placing a bet, functionality turns visitors to the site into customers who are taking an active role is finding their way around your website.
Therefore, betting companies must ensure that everything is in place to guarantee customer engagement.
Using the most up to date and powerful software will boost the functionality of a site. It helps to make the site faster, decreasing page loading times, and in turn making sure that customers do not get bored or lose patience.
There are going to be literally hundreds of pages within sports betting websites, all with the purpose of getting someone to place a bet. So, all links must worse correctly, and everything must be made easy.
If you’re visiting a site and you see several error messages, you will leave the site and go elsewhere to place a bet. If pages take forever to load, you will go elsewhere and probably not return to the site. If pages do not load properly or the interactive elements are all over the place, customers will go elsewhere.
Ensuring top notch functionality of a website will help to increase traffic, increase visitor engagement time and then increase revenue. More people will visit the site, stick around for longer, and probably visit again.
Poor functionality will have the opposite effect, meaning that the site will lose customers.
When trying to find the best sports betting websites, Bookmaker Advisor takes a keen interest in the functionality of a website. This is the part that is most important, as without it a person cannot place a bet.
Other Factors
There are several other factors which must be considered when determining a list of the best online sports betting websites.
What it looks like, how it functions, and how easy it is to navigate around the site is extremely important in our opinion, but there are other things to take into account.
These include features, customer service, available markets etc. which all combine to create a checklist that sports betting websites must adhere to in order to find themselves a place on our list of best betting sites.
Features
Which features does the website offer?
Customers need to know if they can live stream sporting events when meeting a certain wagering requirement, they will want to know if cash-out or in-play betting features are available, and they will want to know if they can access live scores and live statistics during sporting events they have placed a bet on.
Many people will reject signing up with a betting website that provides a fantastic welcome bonus if it doesn’t give the customer the chance to bet in-play, while others will only join a site if it has access to live event streaming.
Live streaming an event enhances the customer experience by allowing them to watch the action they have bet on. It improves things for the customer and offering features like live event streaming can make a sports betting website a whole lot more attractive to potential customers.
A lack of these special features prevents the customer from staying up-to-date with how their bet is doing and can drastically reduce the enjoyment of the site for a customer.
We detail all features in our reviews and inform visitors to our site of whether a site has in-play betting or live streaming, so customers will know what to expect before even visiting a sports betting website.
