Introduction
The sky rocketing growth of the
fantasy sports industry has drawn several businesses, sports enthusiasts, or
both towards fantasy sports app development. Data from The Fantasy Sports and
Gaming Association attests this growth with the number of fantasy sports
players in just USA and Canada doubling from 32 million in 2010 to 62.5 million
in 2022. Worldwide, these numbers
multiply to present an opportunity before fantasy gaming businesses to cater to
billions of sports fans.
While the passion for sports remains
the primary magnet to attract more and more users, the UI of the fantasy sports
apps constitutes the major part of the appeal towards these apps. It is through the user interface (UI) that
users access and experience the digital version of their favourite sport and it
becomes the decisive factor determining the success of your fantasy gaming
business.
So if you already have a fantasy gaming app whose
profitability you want to ensure, or are considering building one to partake in
this lucrative industry, this blog will help you understand the importance of
UI/UX in fantasy sports apps by
detailing what constitutes a good UI and how you can implement it to ensure the
success of your app.
Understanding User Interface Design For Fantasy Sports
Just by opening Play Store and
reading reviews of fantasy sports apps, you can see how often the term
“interface” comes up. Evidently, it is used in a positive connotation for apps
with desirable ratings, and negatively for apps with subpar ratings. That is
why user interface is critical for fantasy sports app development.
Discussed below is the central role of the user interface in fantasy sports apps-
1. Guiding seamless navigation
Don Norman, the pioneer of user
experience design stressed how important it was to enable users to seamlessly
achieve their goals while using a product.
This can be ensured in fantasy sports
apps by enabling users to onboard easily, select players and teams, set up
leagues, access real-time match data in a simple format, analyse players’ past
performances at a click, transact with ease and view competitors’ scores
clearly.
These are the bare minimum factors defining seamless navigation as they constitute the core of the fantasy gaming experience. The UI’s main role is to facilitate seamless navigation to enable users to enjoy their time on the app, rather than worry about how to use it. That is why, designing intuitive sports apps is no longer an option, but a necessity to ensure fantasy sports app success.
2. Simplifying Decision-making
Users’ adrenaline rush while using
fantasy sports apps must be sustained to keep them hooked. Activities such as
adjusting lineups, making trades for live games needs users to make really
quick decisions, surpassing their fellow players.
A good user interface will facilitate
such activities by eliminating all potential roadblocks to user experience. It
will ensure users have necessary data at their disposal and get only as much
information on their feed as required for optimizing their lineups (such as
players’ performances and scores). In
the time-bound competition of a fantasy game, a good UI allows users to make
quick decisions and maintain a strategic active roster, line up of bench
players.
The controlled view of information at the right time also reduces users’ cognitive load, that comes with making sense of a high volume of data at a time.
3. Ease of doing transactions
For fantasy sports apps, transactions
are not just ways to distribute money as part of an exchange exercise. They are
means to reward users for investing in the app and incentivise them come back
again to a trusted source to willingly spend their real money.
A well-designed UI facilitates
seamless transactions instantly. It directs users to their respective payment
gateways (as applicable in their respective countries) and for this purpose,
verifies their identities systematically at the start, where they must
mandatorily enter their locations along with other details.
Seamless transactions make users feel in control and build credibility for the app, to which they can easily refer their friends, without the worry of potential chaos and money loss.
4. Facilitating Competition
Fantasy sports apps thrive on the
competitive spree users enter with fellow players. It is the very spirit of the
game. Fantasy sports fans enjoy
interacting with each-other, while creating contests with friends and competing
with fellow sports fans across the world. This justifies creating a social
community within a fantasy sports app to promote greater engagement.
For this, the user interface needs to show live game statistics, leaderboard rankings, league standings and score calculations based on rules set by the admin very clearly. It should also help them track their progress across game levels and compare their scores with friends to enjoy the experience.
5. Competitive Edge
Your fantasy sports app will not be the only one to exist in
this competitive market. But it can surely be one of its kind, by providing a
superior user experience through its well-designed interface.
Consider a fantasy sports app that
does not let users go about the basic gaming activities (such as player and
team selection) with ease. Is it likely to attract more users or are its users
going to churn out in favour of better market alternatives?
Alternatively, consider a fantasy
sports app that not only enables users to seamlessly progress with core game
activities, but also allows them to customize their contests the way they like
to have the best experience they can get. This app, with its superior UI, is
sure to attract more users and retain existing ones.
Examples of Good Fantasy Sports User Experience
As a fantasy sports app development company, we understand the
importance of delivering a good user experience. We bring you some examples of
a good fantasy sports user experience from our work diaries to help you
understand what users expect from fantasy games today-
Boomer 11
About the app:
50,000+ real users, headquartered in
UAE, on a mission to unite and invigorate sports-centric communities throughout
GCC countries.
Problems:
1. The use of real money in
gaming apps is prohibited by the UAE Government.
2. Yet, a stable revenue model
was needed by the client.
3. The client also wanted to implement an unprecedented predictor module.
Our Solutions:
1. Incorporating e-commerce
prowess to enable users purchase real products with real money on the app.
2. Allocating a sum of virtual
coins for every product purchased, which they can use in fantasy gaming.
3. Simplifying the implementation of the Predictor module to forecast match outcomes by analysing individual player performances to predict which player is most likely to win.
We took the design a step further by
ensuring simplified log-in with email or password once the user has registered
through with their mobile number and OTP. This helps avoid the numerous OTP
messages from unknown numbers that follow mobile logins each time.
Additionally, the app guides users seamlessly through the Home Screen, My
Matches (matches they have already joined), Upcoming Matches, My Contests, My
Teams and Teams Preview Screen. Users enjoy the gaming experience with relevant
information accessible to them very easily and admit this was something they
really missed in UAE.
DPL 11
About the app: Launched in 2024, 10k + downloads on Play Store.
Problems:
1. Insufficient match details
visible to users in subpar colour combinations.
2. Plummeting count of daily active users, less time spent on the app and very low engagement in core game activities.
Our Solutions:
1. Clearly visible match
updates, match status, league names, match times and contending teams before
users in balanced colour and font combinations.
2. Implementing a multi-level marketing platform through sophisticated logic and a referral, cashback system to incentivise users to play more.
In our meticulous re-design of the app, we ensured to simplify every touchpoint of user interaction with the app through a carefully designed user flow right from the OTP Registration, Sign in, Home Screen, Profile, My Teams, My Contest, and more.
American Dream 11
About the app: USA’s and Canada’s leading fantasy cricket application.
Problems:
1. The use of different payment
gateways in USA and Canada as per their laws.
2. Cluttered existing design making it difficult for users to navigate the app.
Our Solution:
1. We implemented two separate
payment gateways to ensure users in the USA and Canada could carry on with seamless
transactions (Zelle for USA and Gigadat for Canada users).
2. Prioritizing and simplifying users’ navigation through the app to maximize their satisfaction.
No matter which country your users
are in and irrespective of the laws your fantasy sports app must abide by user
experience must not be compromised. It is what will grow your business and get
you credibility in today’s competitive world. Given the unique nature of
requirements for each business, our custom fantasy sports app development
services ensure the solution is tailor-made to address your unique needs and
fulfills its purpose as a growth engine for your business. It is these unique
factors, the nature of business needs, technology used, and development time that
determine the fantasy sports app development cost.
Fantasy Sports App UI/UX Best Practices
The importance of user-friendly
interface in fantasy sports apps can be easily surmised by its mention in every
article that lists out the qualities of a good fantasy sports app. The logic is
very simple here. If your users (for whom you built the app and those who will
spend their money and time on the app) can achieve their goals of using your
fantasy sport app (selecting players, teams, analysing player performance
statistics, betting in matches, competing with their friends and winning cash
prizes) without any hassle, they have reason to stick to it and come back for
more.
This needs a thorough knowledge of the best-practices involved in designing the UI/UX of a fantasy sports app. We discuss the same below to give you a perspective of UI/UX designers to facilitate fantasy sports app UI optimization.
1. Intuitive Navigation
Imagine a user coming to your app in
the final 30 minutes before the real match begins and losing all excitement
while figuring out how to use the app or what to do next to carry on with the
game.
You want to avoid that all costs.
This can be done by carefully analysing the user journey in the app and
identifying all touchpoints of interaction to simplify them altogether.
Intuitive navigation would look like every user being able to find what they need on your fantasy sports app easily (be it their teams, matches, teams preview, player statistics and so on). It would help you capitalize and add value for your user even if they joined the very last minute and still made the most out of your app.
2. Data Accessibility
User-centric fantasy sports app design should
consider the cognitive load users experience on seeing such a high volume of
real-time data (match scores, player performance, points calculation, total
earnings).
In the excitement to compete with
their peers, enjoy the game and leverage their strategic prowess, the one thing
users don’t want is data scaring them away or seeming to have been calculated
out of nowhere.
You can make crucial match data accessible to users by presenting it clearly, and in order. Users should be able to see a simple break-down of calculations and instantly make sense of them. It is best to use charts, graphs and contrast colour-coding to help them identify important trends, register decisive events and simplify decision making.
3. Organize Information
While having all necessary
information at one’s disposal is necessary, it is not desirable to crowd it on
your users’ feed all at once.
That would end up confusing and
frustrating them for not being able to make sense of it and interfere with the
time they expect to enjoy their favourite sport.
Instead, welcome them to a home screen that shows presents a clear glance through of core information like “My Matches”, “My Teams”, “My Contests”, “Upcoming Matches” and let the user decide what specifics they want when. They should be able to click on a particular field (e.g., Team Preview) and see each player’s historical performance when they want.
4. Avoid Complex UI Elements
No user should have to worry about
what a particular button means or what they should do next to proceed in the
game, particularly when the competitive spree is at its peak.
Keep your UI clear of all irrelevant elements and menus (often the result of a templated approach to fantasy sports app development). Opt for intuitive icons and layouts that guide the user, add to the visual appeal of the app and facilitate seamless functionality.
5. Real-time Updates
Implementing real-time updates in
fantasy sports apps keeps users
glued to the app and promotes consistent engagement.
Imagine your user receiving a custom
push notification on their selected player hitting a boundary and them scoring
because of the same according to the rules you set.
Additionally, keep them engaged with the live
status of their scores informing them how far they are from ranking first on
the leaderboard.
It is through these updates that you can translate the nail-biting energy of any game into its digital medium and make the experience interactive and immersive.
6. Balance Visual Appeal and Functionality
Creating a visually appealing fantasy
sports app interface is necessary
and desirable, but not at the cost of compromised functionality.
The best user interface services will balance both, with thorough knowledge of design trends, colour coding efficiency and combinations, brand consistency and user experience to ensure your app visually attracts users and its smooth functioning captivates their long-term attention.
7. Device Compatibility
Design trends in fantasy sports app suggest that users want their apps to
function consistently irrespective of the device they use. This is in keeping
with the digital native lifestyle of users, which take seamless transition across
web and mobile for granted.
As such, the Mobile UI for fantasy
sports apps should function as seamlessly as the web app, and vice-versa.
Irrespective of the device used by the player, the app’s performance should not
be compromised.
Ensure web and mobile compatibility
for your fantasy sports app, along with the platform it functions on (Android,
iOS or cross-platform). It is also important to make sure that the app is
responsive to various screen sizes and resolutions.
Why User Interface Is Critical For Fantasy Sports App Development?
In this article we saw how user
interface design impacts fantasy sports app success. It is the medium through which your users interact with the app
and form their perceptions of enjoying their favourite games digitally.
As with any other app, poorly
designed interfaces and compromised user experience lead to users getting
frustrated with the choice they made and churning out in the favour of other
alternatives.
Therefore, choosing the right UI
framework for fantasy sports apps is not just a means to an end of developing a
competent app. It is pivotal to winning user loyalty and gaining a competitive
edge in an industry producing fantasy gaming apps at a very rapid pace. This is
where the fantasy sports app usability comes
in the picture to act as the true differentiator for your business and expand
your user base across the globe with users coming back to your app for more.
So, when you consider fantasy sports
app development, be sure to consider whom you’re building it for, and does it
have everything in place to provide them with a seamless experience.