Site redesign.

[arthurm]

I have been thinking that the design of my site www.reviewonlinecasinos.co.uk is looking old, so started looking at other casino review sites for ideas on a re-design.
Using the search term 'casino reviews', I'm starting to wonder if a re-design is worth the effort. Without naming any, to my eyes some of these sites have pretty poor design, but must still be getting traffic/conversions.
I have published my proposed re-design on a domain that I no longer use, just to get peoples opinions - it's at www.thedarkknightslots.org

Any advice welcome, but the site builder I use has a limited number of templates, so this is the best one I could find.
Thanks.

[T3ddyBlair]

Arthurm, something iv learnt over the years with SEO is the best thing is to slowly redesign your website so that you don't upset your rank. Sometimes the ugliest of websites convert better as they are plain and simple for players to navigate around.
Doing a full redesign on your website might sound like a good idea, but you might notice a drop in rank because your content might change and the way search engines have viewed your website in the past.

Regards

Blair H

[Marit VS]

I have been thinking that the design of my site www.reviewonlinecasinos.co.uk is looking old, so started looking at other casino review sites for ideas on a re-design.
Using the search term 'casino reviews', I'm starting to wonder if a re-design is worth the effort. Without naming any, to my eyes some of these sites have pretty poor design, but must still be getting traffic/conversions.
I have published my proposed re-design on a domain that I no longer use, just to get peoples opinions - it's at www.thedarkknightslots.org

Any advice welcome, but the site builder I use has a limited number of templates, so this is the best one I could find.
Thanks.

I have to say, from our list of affiliates, I often find it very difficult to predict how much a site is going to send traffic based on looks alone. Some that I personally wouldn't spend more than a minute looking at, work better than the prettiest sites - and Vice Versa.

[Maria F]

Hi Arthrum,

You are totally right, many times ugly/plain looking sites get very good traffic. I think your site looks nice, so my advice would be to concentrate in content and do small changes whenever you see the need for it.

I wish you all the best with your site!

[davemerry]

Hi Arthurm!

It's good that you're looking to redesign your site, I've given a few of my thoughts below:

1. Don't link so much from the opening paragraph. Users who visit your website will want to know what it is all about and digest the content easily, the links seem very prominent and distracting. If you want to keep them, make them more neutral colours.

2. Have a numerical structure of operators. We found that adding an actual numerical order of the casinos on our affiliate sites increased conversions for the top listed (assuming your most important). It'll act as a subliminal guide to users, who otherwise would just have to make a choice by scrolling.

3. Add a call to action. Design a play now button of some sort to put next to each casino, make it REALLY easy and simple if they want to click through. The way I always think of it is, would my dad be able to navigate this website simply? If you want to get a quick answer, give it to a parent or anyone old and non-tech savvy - then ask them to visit bla bla casino. Watch their actions and the likelyhood is at the moment they'll struggle to do it as swiftly as they possibly could.

4. Have you thought of moving the navigation, or at least part of it, up to the top of the site? There is space for it and it could guide users to a more relevant page

You mention you're using a site builder, may I ask what that is? Any reason you're not getting stuck in with HTML? You should be able to grasp the basics in a few months and the long term effects would be great!

Cheers and all the best,
Dave

[arthurm]

Dave,

You must be reading my mind. Your suggestions are exactly what I was thinking of doing.
Thanks to everyone for your comments.

Arthur