How To Make a Gaming Website: A Practical Guide (2024)

Games are fun. That’s why more than three-quarters of US adults play video games. It’s why the gaming market has a global value of $475 billion, and the reason brands from Starbucks to Sephora use gamification to boost sales. 

A gaming website is your chance to get in on the action. Whether you’re a professional gamer, a game developer, an aspiring content creator, or a hobbyist, you can use a gaming website to build community and share your unique perspective with the gaming world. And if you want to make money, you can do that too.

Here’s an overview of site types and monetization strategies—and how to make a gaming website of your own.

What is a gaming website?

A gaming website is any site that focuses on video games or video game culture. The term can also apply to a gambling site, but this article focuses on websites related to video games. You can create one to share industry news, connect with others in the gaming community, or build your reputation in the gaming world. 

You can also add a game to a website with a different primary purpose, like an educational website or an online store. Games boost engagement, and some businesses use them to encourage actions like interacting with content or making purchases. This is known as gamification, and it can be an effective marketing and audience development strategy for gaming sites and non-game sites alike.

How to create a gaming website

1. Plan your website
2. Choose a website builder
3. Select a hosting service
4. Build your website
5. Develop content
6. Create a gaming server
7. Launch your website
8. Promote your website
9. Monetize your website

You don’t need web development, game development, or coding experience to build and run a successful gaming site. All you need is an internet connection, a great idea, and a point of view. Here’s how to make a gaming website:

1. Plan your website

First, decide what type of gaming website you want to build. Here are some popular options:

• Gaming blog. Gaming blogs cover news, trends, and current events in the gaming world. Some also rate games, publish game reviews, and embed trailers or game footage.
• Community website. A community game website or forum lets community members come together to discuss games and gaming news.
• Online store. If revenue generation is one of your primary goals, consider creating an ecommerce website and selling games, downloadable gaming guides, merchandise, or equipment.
• Personal website. If you’re a dedicated gamer, you can build a personal game website and use it to stream gameplay.
• Game server. You can also build a private server and use it to host multiplayer games on your site.
• Portfolio website. If you’re a games developer or publisher, you can also use a gaming website to display your skills, promote a specific gaming project, or help gaming industry professionals find you.

Once you’ve settled on a gaming website type, consider your niche. The gaming world is vast and diverse, so a niche gaming site can help you stand out. You might focus on different games in the same genre (like indie games, survival horror games, or Japanese games), a specific gaming topic (like women in gaming, game development, or professional gaming), or even your favorite game.

2. Choose a website builder

Website builders let users design and produce websites without learning to code or hiring a web developer. A good builder offers drag-and-drop design tools, responsive templates and themes, customization options, and integrated search engine optimization (SEO), marketing, and analytics capabilities. Look for an option that offers robust features, high-quality customer support, and the option to add services or functionalities as your website grows.

3. Select a hosting service

Some website builders (including Shopify) offer integrated hosting, which means you won’t need to find a separate hosting provider. If your builder doesn’t include website hosting, look for a web hosting service that offers these essential features:

• Frequent backups, SSL certificates, and DDoS protection
• Adequate bandwidth and storage for your gaming website type
• 24/7 customer support
• Fast loading speeds
• An uptime guarantee of at least 99.9%
• Custom domain names and domain registration

Once you’ve secured a web host, choose a unique domain name and register it with one of the many domain registrars such as Domain.com, GoDaddy, or IONOS. Your domain name is your website’s browser address, like www.shopify.com. You can use a domain name search tool to check availability and explore alternatives if your top choice is already taken.

4. Build your website

Next, plan your site architecture (or structure). Start by listing your gaming site’s essential pages; then decide how you’ll organize them and how they’ll show up in your navigation system.

Once you have a list of pages, choose a theme, which is a collection of settings that govern the appearance and functionality of your gaming website. Select one that fits your site’s purpose, and look for options to optimize display on mobile devices. You can customize theme elements using builder tools or add custom code snippets (short strings of HTML code) for advanced customization options.

5. Develop content

Create high-quality content for your site. The type and volume of content you create will depend on your site’s purpose. If you run a gaming news site, review site, or blog, content is your main product, so develop a full content strategy and create valuable content that meets the needs of your target audience. 

6. Create a gaming server

A gaming server is the central authority in a multiplayer game. It sends game data to players, letting them interact with each other and view the state of gameplay at the same time. You don’t have to create a game server to run a gaming website, but you’ll need one if you want to host multiplayer matches or a tournament game.

Setting up a gaming server requires a computer with a lot of processing power, a reliable internet connection, and software and licensing for the specific games you want to host.

7. Launch your gaming website

Preview your site, test key functions, and go live. Once you’ve published your site, submit a sitemap to Google to speed up the indexing process. Indexing allows search engines to find your site.

8. Promote your website

Promote your gaming website to get the word out to your community and drive traffic to your site. Here are some marketing tips that can help:

• Incorporate keywords. Keywords boost your SEO rankings and help your target audience find you. Use keyword research tools to identify relevant keywords, and incorporate them throughout your content, remembering to add them to headers, titles, and meta descriptions.
• Post on social media. Post about your gaming website on social platforms like Instagram, Facebook, and TikTok. You can promote new content or upcoming events, tease reviews of new or popular games, and use contests or giveaways to encourage your audiences to post user-generated content (UGC) about your site.
• Earn backlinks. Links from reputable websites to your gaming site can boost your domain authority, which improves your website’s visibility to search engines, and links from popular gaming websites or YouTube channels are also a quality traffic source. Cross-posting is one popular link-building strategy: You’ll create engaging content for other websites and invite gaming website owners to submit relevant content for publication on your site, requesting a backlink in each case.

9. Monetize your website

You can also use your gaming website to make money. Here are a few ways to generate revenue:

• Sell ads. Paid advertising is one way to monetize a gaming website. You can sell ad space directly or join a PPC advertising program to earn money from your website visitors.
• Create exclusive content. Some content creators charge a subscription for access (or early access) to protected content, such as game guides, podcasts, or other media.
• Earn brand partnerships. Successful gaming influencers can earn money by reviewing or promoting games or gaming brands. If your website is a go-to resource in a specific gaming niche, you can also pursue brand ambassadorships or consider joining an influencer platform like Shopify Collabs.
• Sell products. You can sell game-related products or design your own merchandise to further promote your brand. 
• Host a real-world activation. If you build a dedicated community of engaged fans, you might even consider planning a brand activation. For example, the band Weezer created an arcade game for the 30th anniversary of their Blue Album, using the Shop App to reward players with Weezer merch and Shop Cash.