For the last couple of years, gaming has become one of the largest entertainment industries globally. The gaming industry exceeds box office and music industries in terms of revenue, having reached around $145 billion in 2019.
Because of this, creating a gaming website might be a good idea, especially if you are interested in the topic. One of the best tools to create a website is WordPress. It is the most popular content management system worldwide due to its versatility and wide customization options.
This article will explain how to create a gaming website using WordPress and what should be included in it.
1. Determine Your Gaming Site Type
The massive gaming industry offers a wide variety of content possibilities. Therefore, it might be best to decide which content you want to focus on before building the website.
Some of the most common content types for a gaming website include:
- Gaming news site. Gaming journalism is one of the most popular types of content nowadays. Websites like IGN and Gamespot provide various news ranging from new game releases to updates about gaming influencers.
- Review blogs. Review blogs usually contain the author’s own views and experiences towards a particular video game or console along with a score as the verdict. It may help fellow gamers to decide whether or not a product is worth buying. It is also possible to gain revenue from this type of content by accepting sponsorships.
- Game tutorials. Many people depend on online tutorials to help them complete various activities, including playing video games. Many gaming websites provide tutorial content to help their audience beat a video game or troubleshoot problems regarding their game or console.
- Gaming video hosting. Gaming video content has an extensive audience base with around 1.2 billion global viewers in 2020. Most people may expect gameplay in your video content, but it is also possible to include other content types, such as reviews and tutorials in video format.
Keep in mind that you don’t have to stick to only one type of content for your gaming website. Eventually, you may want to combine various types of content to keep your audience interested and attract new visitors to your website.
2. Install WordPress
Installing WordPress might sound complicated if you are new to building a website. However, most hosting providers provide features to help users to install WordPress with a few simple steps. All you need to do is input the essential information into your account, and the system will take care of the rest.
If you have more technical abilities and want more control over your WordPress installation, you may prefer to install it manually. By installing WordPress manually, you might better understand how WordPress works, making it easier to maintain the website.
3. Register Your Domain Name
A domain name is an integral part of your website’s branding. This name should represent your site’s characteristics as a gaming website. It is also essential to ensure that the domain name is relevant to your target audience and can leave a lasting impression on them.
You may notice that most gaming sites have the word game on their brand, which might be the most logical solution. However, it may take away your site’s ability to stand out among its competitors.
Try including other keywords related to the gaming culture to make your website unique and relevant. Some popular examples of gaming websites with unique names are Rock Paper Shotgun, Kotaku, and Polygon.
Don’t forget to use a domain name checker tool before you decide on a name. Then visit domain name registrars, like GoDaddy or Namecheap to purchase and register your domain.
4. Choose a Gaming-Based WordPress Theme
Choosing a suitable theme for your WordPress site can help it look aesthetically pleasing and professional. Since WordPress has a large user base and community, there are thousands of free and paid themes available to choose from.
When deciding on a theme, pay attention to its responsiveness and impact on your site’s load time. Ensure it works smoothly on various types of devices, including mobile phones, since they account for approximately half of the web traffic worldwide.
Some of the most popular WordPress themes for gaming websites include Geco, Plaxer, YouPlay, and Game Addict.
5. Install Gaming Plugins
Various WordPress plugins are available to download and install depending on what kind of content you want to include on your gaming website. These plugins can help you manage your website easier and add a variety of different features and functionalities.
Some recommended plugins you might want to consider include:
- WP Product Review Lite. If you want to include reviews on your website, this might be an excellent plugin to use. It allows you to add starred ratings and improve the appearance of your reviews.
- bbPress. Including forum functionality on your website is a good way to build a community and drive more traffic. bbPress is a good WordPress forum plugin with a simple and intuitive interface to help you create and manage forums easily.
- Twitch TV Easy Embed. Twitch is the most popular game streaming platform on the internet. With this plugin, it is possible to embed Twitch streams into the WordPress site and customize the appearance.
- Yoast SEO. Search engine optimization is a strategy to improve your website’s ranking on the search engine result pages. Plugins like Yoast SEO can help you improve your blog’s structure to better fit the search engine’s algorithm.
Pay attention to how many plugins you install and activate since using too many plugins can negatively impact your site’s performance.
6. Customize the Gaming Site
Once you successfully install a theme and the needed plugins, it is time to make your gaming website more unique and personalized. Most WordPress themes allow you to change several elements like color palettes and layouts to make your website look different from the default theme appearance.
Try to include high-quality media, such as images or videos, to your website to make it more interesting. Keep in mind that these media files need to have the ideal size and format to maintain your website’s load time.
Finally, start adding content to your website to attract visitors. Check various social media platforms and use tools, such as Google Trends, to find out what topic might gain audience attention.
Conclusion
If you are interested in the gaming culture and industry, making a website that covers this topic might be a great idea. Due to its massive popularity, topics surrounding video games attract a large target audience, which can be monetized.
In this article, we have learned the essential steps to creating a gaming website using WordPress, including:
- Determine your gaming site type
- Install WordPress
- Register your domain name
- Choose a gaming-based WordPress theme
- Install gaming plugins
- Customize the gaming site
We hope this article has helped you to understand how to make a gaming website using WordPress. Follow the steps presented in this article and start sharing your interest in gaming through your website.
