Some Key Features a Game Developer’s Website Must Have

A highly competitive industry so many people want to break into, the games industry is booming right now. A billion-dollar business, for any aspiring game developers or ambitious game-making startups, ensuring they stand out from the crowd is a real challenge. In particular, marketing themselves is key, making a website a hugely important tool for any game makers out there.

A typical game developer’s website should highlight their experience and enable any major companies or exciting independent names to learn about their work before potentially approaching them for a role. Likewise, a small studio needs to ensure its site has everything a potential player, or even an investor, would want to know about. Ticking all the boxes is a necessity, allowing your finest work to stand out and your games to get the love they deserve.

Already, we’re seeing some fantastic gaming websites out there. For example, McLuck games have gathered serious momentum thanks to a slick website that users enjoy navigating. Likewise, indie game developers like Edmund McMillen are online while also sharing content on YouTube and the like. Ultimately, it’s about having an online presence, and a website is a great place to start. So, with that in mind, below are some key features a game developer’s website must have.

Table of Contents

A clear description

Where many people go wrong when it comes to promoting themselves on their own personal website is by failing to promote themselves succinctly. Whether it’s on your website’s homepage or in a section about your work and experience, make sure you do yourself justice here. First impressions also matter online, and if you’re not sharing your journey properly and your various strengths, then any visitors to your site could be turned off in an instant. Likewise, you don’t want to overshare here either, making it important to strike up a perfect balance between too much rambling and not enough information.

A portfolio

It sounds obvious, but not every game developer shares their portfolio of work. Sure, some websites mention the odd project they’ve worked on, but it should all be featured in a clear manner. Be proud of your successes and share them through your portfolio. A portfolio could contain screenshots and trailers, while descriptions of the products you’ve helped shape are also worth doing. Anything that can highlight the work you’ve carried out is worth including here.

Testimonials

Arguably, just as important as having a stunning portfolio on your site, client testimonials are also key. Not only do they build up credibility and trust, but they also enable potential clients to assess the type of projects you’ve worked on and the respected professionals you’ve dealt with. Testimonials are something you should be keen to showcase, making it important to ensure they’re not hidden away on your website.

Contact information

Another inclusion some professionals seem to get wrong, make sure you’re sharing the right contact information on your website. We aren’t talking about personal social media accounts and holiday footage from YouTube here, but any work-related information. It’s probably best to keep it simple, though, and just focus on an email address or a contact form. Likewise, you could also share your phone number, although it’s entirely understandable if you’d rather keep it offline.

Press kit

Finally, it’s worth looking into creating a press kit. Whether you’re an independent developer or a small studio with big plans, a press kit not only makes you look better but crucially provides worthwhile information for any journalists and media outlets to get your name out there. It’s straightforward to curate, and it can go a long way.