We talk to Maxime from Slots.info about relaunching a successful casino review site

There's that old saying, "if it ain't broke, don't fix it," which implies that if something is functioning satisfactorily, it is often a good idea not to try to improve it, as it can sometimes create more problems. The idea was popularized in 1977 by Bert Lance, who was US President Jimmy Carter's budget director. However, in today's disruptor-led world, where the trend seems to be 'move fast and break things", Lance's approach would be criticized as being resistant to innovation and could be regarded as complacent.

Of course, there is always a middle way, and as technology and markets speed up, sometimes a website relaunch is both necessary and sensible. We sat down with Maxime from slots.info to find out how he has updated and relaunched the successful casino review site.

PokerVip

Hi Max, thanks for taking the time to talk to us. What is slots.info, and what did you do?

Maxime

Well, thanks for inviting me to chat. Slots.info is an independent website that acts as a central hub for all the information iGamers need about upcoming and new slot games. The information is curated from a range of sources, including direct partnerships with some of the top game developers. It is a dynamic site with a continually updating list of releases. Our users get a sneak peek of what is about to drop or has recently dropped, and they choose how they want the information presented.

PokerVip

If the site was already successful, why did you feel the need to relaunch it?

Maxime

Good question! The casino review business is an increasingly noisy market, and it is essential to be up to date and relevant to cut through the noise. Our requirement was to bring the site bang up to date in a way that did not alienate existing users. There are lots of new affiliate sites launching, and influencer recommendations have become a big thing. Legacy brands like slots.info have history, trust, and brand recognition. The trick is to stay ahead of the curve while remaining reassuring to our long-time users.

PokerVip

So how did you do that?

Maxime

Well, the big trick is not to throw out the proverbial baby with the bathwater. If there are features your users enjoy, work out how to evolve what you have. I like to think about it as evolution, not revolution. We have gone from being a simple slot-review site to an 'intelligence hub'. The structure, navigation, and real-time data are all altered or entirely new, but it still feels familiar and trustworthy.

We retained the high-density scrollable list, but the new site also offers multi-view browsing.

PokerVip

Multi-view browsing, that sounds like 3D chess or something you might experience at a live poker event. I guess it doesn't require a VR headset or special glasses!

Maxime

Oh yes, nothing special at all. Your mobile, tablet, or computer is all you need. When we say 'multi-view', we just mean that users can access the data in ways that suit them.

We have introduced two new views alongside the conventional list view.

● The Calendar View is like a standard calendar, showing releases by day and month. If a game is being released, it will be highlighted on the calendar with a slot icon. Users can simply click the icon to bring up a summary of the game, along with relevant reviews.
● The Grid View divides games into upcoming and released games using two tabs. The grid then contains flip-card style boxes with all the detailed information. Users can choose between games that have been released and contemplate the upcoming ones.
● The List View shows upcoming and released titles and has all the key details immediately visible.
We believe that we have created a cleaner, modern User Interface (UI). There was nothing intrinsically wrong with the old site, but it was feeling a bit dated. It was functional but lacked the latest structures that can be applied.

PokerVip

While a company is updating how a website looks and feels, can they include additional content, or will this be confusing?

Maxime

At slots.info, we went for the in for a penny, in for a pound (dollar, euro – choose your currency approach. We cover real-money slots in a wide selection of countries, so my analogies need to be global too! What I am saying is that if you are making stylistic changes, it is also a great time to include extra information, provided it can be done in a way that does not overwhelm or confuse readers.

In addition to structural changes, we introduced new features to improve player discovery and retention while reassuring our existing users. We used to have static updates, but the new site introduced a real-time "latest releases" feed, so our users know our information is bang up to date.

We also wanted to allow users to try out the games in demo mode. While this has always been a possibility, it used to be a secondary feature. The new UI integrates demos into every browsing mode, so games and information are literally at people's fingertips.

The upgrade allowed us to increase our data depth from limited to rich metadata with previews, and the UI is now modern, structured, and easy on the eye.

PokerVip

Is there anything else people should be aware of when relaunching an existing, successful site?

Maxime

I would say that it is essential not to assume that you know everything. Talk to your customers and industry partners to find out what they want and what they can offer. While you do not want to be restricted by a wish-list, listening to customer feedback and partner development can really give you a competitive edge. This can be done through satisfaction surveys and face-to-face communication. By developing strong relationships with the software providers, we are delivering roadmap-driven, partnership-supported data.

We are a portal built by players, for players. To ensure nothing is rigged, we exclusively feature major, regulated slot providers. Trust is everything to us, and we consider player reviews and community feedback to ensure the step-by-step evaluation process does not miss any important details.

PokerVip

Thanks, Maxim, for your solid advice.

Maxime

No worries, I hope you'll hop on over and let me know how you found it.