Big Fish Games Website Optimization
About the Project
Big Fish Games website distributed more than 2.5 billion games in 11 supported languages. Gaming platforms include Mac, PC, iOS, Android and browser-based. The front-end team was tasked to improve the website so Big Fish Games could continue providing the best casual games, the unbeatable value, and second-to-none customer service.
I worked on this project in partnership with another UI designer. Together we collaborated with the product and development teams to realize the improved future Big Fish Games site.
Role
Interaction design
Visual design
Usability testing
Prototype
Brand identity
APPROACH
Below is an experience map I created to illustrate how a typical Big Fish Games user starts from browsing games on the website. As the user downloads and plays a game, his/her experience with Big Fish switches to the client-facing desktop app Game Manager.
Usability Study Focus Area
Level of difficulty finding a game.
How easy is it to purchase a game?
question_answer
First impression about Game Manager.
To better understand how the website performs from the users' perspective, we turned to usability study. The study focused on tasks core to the website users. Since Game Manager is an integral part of website experience, it was evaluated as part of the website experience.
The study's key finding confirmed new users needed a comprehensive onboarding system. Another finding suggested introducing search and better sorting options would benefit all user types. The team had a good understanding of the user needs at the end of the study.
design process
The team first needed to modernize the website infrastructure before implementing additional functionalities. The design team took on revamping the website information architecture and adapting Grid System to streamline development workflow. Layout design took a modular approach to accommodate a wide range of content generating scenarios.
Wireframes were created for review and usability testing.
Phase 1 new section sitemap
Selected website wireframe
Feature Redesign
Part of the website improvement was to modernize the website's look and feel. I started with upper UI design, which included the interactive main menu and full-width carousels. The header was redesigned to also integrate search and user account components.
Next, I tackled the footer. The modular layout design approach worked great with the amount of content and various types of information to be included in the footer area.
The product page was designed with scalability in mind. In the genre/merchandising page design, sorting was positioned front and center. Users were invited to browse and explore content in more customized fashion.
BEFORE: Home page upper UI
AFTER: Home page upper UI design concept
Leverage sorting for a customized genre page experience
Product info page design with phase 2 features such as recommendation carousel, rating and reviews.
Store and purchase flow
Store redesign addressed usability study findings. For better content, I worked with the copy writer to establish clear call to action excerpts. To improve subscription rate, the service opt-in was integrated into purchase flow.
STORE: Personalize gift certificate page
BILLING: Update currency user flow
New User Experience
For someone new to downloadable games, the many steps to downloading a game can be daunting. My job was to first identify the moments that were confusing and uncertain to new users. I then worked with the content strategist for messaging to guide new users as they move forward in the process.
To validate the carefully orchestrated onboarding experience, I created rapid prototyping that allowed validations and timely iterations.
Hi-fidelity new user flow prototype
Final note
The optimization layout the fundation for upcoming features such as Forums and Help revamp, Loyalty Program, Blog integration, Intelligent merchandising module...etc. Big Fish Games website's IA, navigation, and layout stay true to the original website design years after the optimization.