DevHub is a platform where consumers can build websites and make money for their work. It had “over 300,000 sites built on the platform by the end of 2009” and is still recognized as a leader in website building and monetization. Their long term success is credited to solving a few core problems by implementing gamification:
- A large portion of their user base were confused and had issues getting started.
- User base fatigue from site-building, long term user activity would gradually decrease.
- Many websites were being rushed and had little to no valuable content.
Geoffrey Nuval, the CEO of EVO Media Group which created DevHub, recognized that there were flaws in their system that needed to be addressed. To alleviate user base frustrations and assist in the early stages of learning and website development, DevHub created the DevHub Site Stream. The site stream was a dynamic checklist that provided suggestions and steps for consumers to fully flesh out their creation. New users could access it as a guide to making their first website. Experienced users were able to benefit from the checklist by making sure they didn’t miss anything. DevHub was able to help their new consumers build a website while at the same time teaching them how to create valuable content.
After introducing the DevHub Site Stream, DevHub went and implemented gamification strategies for their entire website. Their goal was to combat user fatigue and increase consumer engagement by providing additional incentives for proper website creation. Users were awarded coins and points every time they completed a step towards making a new website. DevHub made the points and coins valuable by adding a leaderboard and marketplace to their website. The leaderboard displayed the users with the highest amount of points to encourage friendly competition and bragging rights. The coins were able to be exchanged for tools, templates, and other goods to improve the quality of their website.
Each and every new game element DevHub implemented was to reach their overall goal of increasing user engagement and helping create quality websites. Following the implementation of the DevHub Site Stream and other gamification features, there was an enormous increase in user retention, website quality, and website creation:
- Website building actions increased 9 times over per site.
- New users on average did 10+ building actions on their first visit, leading to a 90% completion rate of fully developed websites.
- Nearly half of the user actions were from the DevHub Site Stream.
- The DevHub marketplace has become an extra revenue stream for users who want to sell goods and services.
Creating a proper gamification system for your organization can be a daunting task. Despite this, implementing gamification for your organization can have incredible results. Professionals with years of experience in gamification implementation can assist with defining your goals, developing a plan, and implementing features that will exceed your expectations.
Image credits: Wikimedia
