How to Build an Engaging eSports Tournament Website?

Posted by Jhon Oliver on November 25th, 2021

No doubt, eSports is one of the fastest-growing gaming markets. In 2019 alone, the global eSports market size was valued at 1.1 billion US dollars  and it is expected to grow at a CAGR rate of 24.4% from 2020 to 2027.

The stats clearly indicate that investing in this huge market will be an intelligent decision. eSports has a massive fan base be it in terms of viewers or players. In 2019, there were around 197 million eSports enthusiasts worldwide, which is expected to be 286 million by 2024. 

Therefore, if you’re planning to invest in eSports tournament software development, you are on the right track. You can acquire an adequate user base and make significant revenue with your platform. However, this requires you to build and launch a feature-rich and scalable robust website that can attract users easily and keep them engaged for a long time. But how can you develop such a powerful platform? What features and functionality will you need to add? What process do you have to follow? 

This article will solve all such doubts and help you create the finest eSports tournament website. Before getting to this guide, let’s first have a quick look at some basic information.  

What is Esports? 

Esports or electronic sports is a widely popular industry that involves video game competitions, especially between individual professional players or teams. Professional players can play a wide range of video games such as Counterstrike, League of Legends, Dota 2, etc., and earn a big amount of prize money. Players can also connect with their fans on online streaming platforms and social media. Not just players, but Esports is extremely popular amongst viewers as well. More and more people across the world love watching professional eSports players compete with each other in tournaments. 

What is an Esports Tournament Platform?

eSports tournament platform is highly beneficial and essential for both players and operators. It facilitates users to track and manage eSports events comprehensively. Operators can schedule and promote eSports events, manage users on the platform, offer prize pools, run competitions, and more. It also facilitates players of different levels to compete in their favorite eSports games, win prizes, and join a big eSports community. Electronic Sports League (ESL), Toornament, Battlefy, and GameBattles are some of the popular eSports tournament websites you can take inspiration from. 

Now let’s see a step-by-step process to develop a successful eSports tournament website.

Steps to Consider for Building Esports Tournament Software

Choose The Esports Genre 

Esports incorporates a wide variety of game genres that you must know before building an eSports website. You have to decide which genres and games you want to cover on your website. Here are the top eSports genres you can consider:

Real-time Strategy Games 

In Real-time strategy games, all players can play the game simultaneously in real-time. The game does not advance incrementally in turns. In this, players make strategies unless opponent players eliminate them. The Civilization series and Starcraft are some of the most popular real-time strategy games. 

First Person Shooter

This is the most popular genre in the eSports sphere. In the First Person Shooter game, players fight on S-map. Some of the most sought-after First Person Shooter games include Call of duty, Counterstrike, and more. 

Fighting Games 

Fighting games are there for decades. However, this genre has also gained immense popularity in the eSports industry. There are many popular fighting games in eSports, such as Kombat, Streetfighter, and more. 

Multiple Online Battle Arena

This eSports genre can help you attract maximum users as it involves big prize money for them. Popular games like Fortnite, PUBG, League of Legends, and more are included in this category. 

Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Games

This is one of the genres responsible for driving huge popularity and viewership in the esports market. Games like fantasy, warcraft, starcraft, and many more are included in this category. 

Choose the Right Development Option

You have three options to build an eSports tournament website, which includes eSports website builder, WordPress, and custom development. While using a website builder may seem easy and cost-effective, it may not help you build a high-performing website that can get you a competitive edge.

WordPress is another popular option used by many entrepreneurs. It offers a range of themes and plugins to help you build an esports website seamlessly. 

However, if you are looking to build a unique and highly professional website that is in line with your brand requirements, then you must choose a custom coding approach. Consider building an eSports tournament website from scratch with the help of experts. This requires you to find one of the reliable eSports platform development companies like Betfoc. 

When selecting an eSports software developer or company, ensure to check several important things such as experience, expertise, reviews, testimonials, and so on. 

Features to Cover in eSports Tournament Software 

Now you have chosen the best suitable development option, it is time to decide what features you want to include in the platform. Here are some of the key features you must consider for an eSports tournament website for better user engagement and retention rate. 

• Create & Manage Tournaments

Your software must enable users to manage existing tournaments and create custom tournaments seamlessly. 

• Multiple Esports Integrations

The software should cover all the major eSports such as CSO, DOTA, LOL, EA, etc. to attract players with various interests and choices. 

• Social Media Sharing

Let the players share their gameplay and achievements with their friends/family on different social media platforms. This helps boost players\' gaming spirit.

• Live Chat

Players can chat with their friends or fellow players while playing any Esports tournament. They can discuss game strategies to have well-planned and winning gameplay.  

• Leaderboard

A comprehensive leaderboard for displaying the scores of different players participating in the tournament. This feature can boost the competitive spirit of players.

• Live Streaming 

Allow players to watch the live match streams on the same platform. Live streaming keeps players engaged and helps you avoid a huge abandonment rate. 

While these are the crucial features, you can ask the software provider to add customized features based on your unique requirements. Remember the more the features, the better players’ engagement you will have. 

Design and Development 

Once you have decided on the features and functionality and have chosen the best software development partner, start working on your project. You must look after each and every aspect when developing an eSports website. Focus on designing a user-friendly yet highly attractive platform. The user interface should not be complicated, as it may cause confusion amongst players and make them leave the platform soon. Try to use simple and intuitive design elements so that users can interact seamlessly.  

Also, you must emphasize writing scalable so that your software can perform exceptionally well in any given situation. Make sure the software is mobile responsive to engage mobile users as well. 

Quality Assurance 

A thorough QA testing is essential to ensure that the website works and looks perfect. Consider testing the website for various aspects including compatibility, usability, security, performance, and more. 

On a Final Note!  

Now you know all the required features and a detailed process, it is time to kick start your project. To build a successful eSports tournament platform you need to make informed decisions at every stage be it regarding development partner, features, or others. Make sure you choose one of the reliable eSports platform providers who can provide you with customized and end-to-end solutions.