How to Make a Gaming Website

A gaming website is a great way to create a central hub to share your passions. Whether you’re a streamer, a developer, or a blogger, it gives you a blank canvas to build a space that’s entirely your own.

With the right approach, it can be one of the most rewarding projects you take on and something you can keep building and growing for years. In this guide, you’ll learn about the different types of gaming websites, how to build one, how to grow an audience, and, ultimately, how to make money from it. 

1. Choose the right type of gaming website

Before you can begin building, you first need to define your website’s purpose. “Gaming” is a massive umbrella, so try to hone in on what you want to achieve.

• Are you a streamer looking to promote your channel and connect with fans?

• Do you want to create an online community for like-minded people to talk about gaming?

• Are you a gaming journalist planning to publish reviews, opinion pieces, or industry commentary?

• Are you an indie developer showcasing your latest title and development updates?

• Do you want to create content about a specific console, genre, or even a single game?

All of these are solid starting points, but in a space as broad as gaming, they’re just the tip of the iceberg. The possibilities are nearly endless, so don’t be afraid to think outside the box. Many successful gaming websites fill a gap that nobody else saw.

Clarity here helps everything else fall into place. When you know your focus, it naturally defines your target audience, which in turn influences your site’s tone, layout, content strategy, and overall style.

 2. Build your gaming website

Once you know what kind of gaming site you want to create, it’s time to make it happen. From picking a platform to designing your pages, let’s look at the key steps to build a gaming website that creates a great experience for your visitors.

Choose your platform

Start by choosing the platform you’ll use to build your website. This decision affects everything from how your website looks and functions to how easy it is to build and manage. If you want to do more with your website in the future, like set up content subscriptions or manage a newsletter, choosing a platform with those features now can save you time migrating your site later. Once you’ve chosen your platform, you can begin making tangible progress and start putting the pieces together.

If you’re new to website building, Squarespace offers intuitive drag-and-drop design tools, a real-time visual editor, and professionally designed website templates or an AI website builder to get you started. For more experienced creators, Squarespace offers powerful features like integrated SEO tools, built-in analytics, and content gating. These tools make it easier to understand your audience, expand your content, and earn from your website traffic.

See more ways to make money with a website

Choose your name and domain

With your platform chosen, it’s time to bring your idea to life. This starts with your website’s name, and by extension, its domain.

Your site’s name plays a big role in shaping first impressions. It signals what your website is about and helps set the tone for your brand. Ideally, it should be relevant, easy to remember and spell, and reflective of the content or community you’re building.

Make sure the domain is available before registering it and check its availability on the social media platforms you plan to use, too. If you find yourself making too many compromises, like awkward spellings or adding random characters, it’s probably worth thinking up a different name.

If your site will focus on a specific game, franchise, or platform, be mindful of copyright and trademark rules. Many developers have restrictions on how their IP can be used, especially in domain names. Always double-check usage guidelines so you don’t fall foul of legal issues down the line.

Try the free Business Name Generator

Essential pages

As your site is taking shape, think about its structure. While every gaming website is different, most will benefit from a few essential pages. These should be easy to find and offer the key information visitors are likely to look for.

Here are some key pages to consider including:

• Homepage: This is where most visitors will land, so it should instantly grab attention and clearly show what your site is all about. Use it to highlight your latest content, embed a live stream, or promote upcoming events or updates.

• About: Share your story. People like knowing there’s a real person behind the screen, so talk about your passion for gaming, why you started the website, and your goals for it moving forward.

• Content hub: This is the main space for whatever you create. That could be blog posts, game reviews, videos, or stream archives. Make sure it’s easy to browse.

• Shop or support: Create a place to sell your own merch or digital products, like game guides. You can also use this page to accept donations or promote subscription content.

• Contact: Include a way to get in touch. Whether it's a contact form or a direct email link, make it easy for fans, sponsors, and collaborators to reach you.

In addition to dedicated pages, it can also be helpful to feature some of this information on more than one page. Add content blocks like social feeds, mailing list signups, or event schedules to different sections of your site, so you can keep important content visible to visitors wherever they are.

Design your website

You’ve chosen how you’ll build your website and what it’s called. Now it’s time to dive in and start building. This is where your vision finally starts to take shape.

To help you get up and running, use a website template or Squarespace’s Blueprint AI website builder to give your site a polished, professional look right out of the box. 

That said, choosing the right starting point will still make things easier. The best pages and layout for you depends on the kind of site you’re building. Are you creating a visual-heavy site with bold graphics, flashy animations, and embedded streams? Or are you going for a clean, content-first layout that lets your writing take center stage? 

With the basic structure of your site in place, tailor the fonts and color schemes to make the site feel reflective of your brand and personality. And remember: great web design isn’t all flashy graphics and in-your-face visuals. What matters most is usability. Feel free to go bold with your design if that fits your brand, but keep your navigation simple, your content clear, and your site working smoothly across all devices. The goal is to create a space that people enjoy visiting and want to come back to.

3. Grow your gaming website

Growth doesn’t happen overnight, but with consistent effort and smart promotion, your audience will steadily increase. Set clear, measurable goals and choose the right metrics to track them, like visitor count, traffic sources, and time on page. These insights help you track engagement over time and identify what content resonates most, so you can refine your approach going forward.

When it comes to growing traffic, these four strategies are a great place to start.

Publish content regularly

The more content you create, the more chances people have to find you. Each new blog post, video, or stream is another opportunity for someone to discover your site.

Publishing regularly builds momentum, keeps your content fresh and relevant, and helps you sharpen your craft over time. It also keeps your existing audience coming back. The more often they return, the stronger your connection becomes, and the more likely they are to share your content.

Optimize your website for search

One of the most reliable strategies to bring new visitors to your site is via organic search. The SEO process involves using different strategies to ensure your website content is relevant and helpful to your target audience.

That includes clear page titles, descriptions, URLs that include relevant search keywords and page content that’s well-organized. A website builder like Squarespace will include some built-in SEO functionality. If you’re new to SEO, Squarespace AI can also scan your website and make recommendations to improve your site’s search friendliness.

Search engines also prioritize websites that are quick-loading and work well on all screen sizes. Since gaming websites are often heavy on visuals, optimizing your images is essential for site speed. 

Share your content across platforms

Share your content far and wide, especially in places you know your audience will be. This includes mainstream social channels like X (Twitter), Instagram, and YouTube, but also platforms where gamers hang out, like Twitch and Discord.

Think of sharing as a two-way street: You can repurpose content you make for your website for social media and vice versa. Your website should point to your social profiles and your content should direct followers to your website to establish it as a hub for your latest updates and posts.

Build an email list

Email marketing remains one of the most effective ways to stay in touch with fans.

Add a signup form to your site, either in the footer or as a pop-up, and encourage visitors to subscribe. That way, whenever something big is happening, you can land directly in your most engaged audience members’ inboxes and keep them in the loop.

4. Start earning from your website

As your audience grows, it’s natural to start thinking of ways to earn money from your content and community. For some, the goal might be to cover basic costs or earn a little on the side. For others, it’s about dreaming bigger: building a steady income stream, growing a personal brand, or even turning your passion into a full-time career.

Here are some of the more popular and time-tested strategies to make money from a gaming website.

• Sell merch: If you’re a popular streamer or you’ve built a strong, recognizable brand, consider selling your own merch, like print on demand clothing or stickers. You could also offer digital products like gaming guides, stream overlays, or custom artwork.

• Offer memberships or premium content: Create a member-only page to post exclusive content behind a paywall or charge for access to premium video and blog collections. 

• Partner with sponsors: As your community grows, brands may reach out to collaborate. Sponsored content and product placement can become great revenue streams and introduce you to new audiences.

• Affiliate links: Earn commission by linking to the gear, games, or platforms you use and recommend. Many gaming companies offer affiliate programs that pay a percentage of each sale made via your link.

• Display ads: Platforms like Google AdSense let you run ads based on impressions or clicks. It’s a fairly hands-off way to earn from a high-traffic website. You can also sell ad space directly to brands if they approach you for a partnership.

• Accept donations: Sometimes, fans just want to show their appreciation. Give fans an easy way to show their support with a donation or crowdfunding section on your website or a tip jar on your social profiles.

Making a living from your gaming website is usually something you build toward over time. However, by deciding on a clear monetization roadmap early, you’ll be ready to execute your strategy when the time comes.