Vegas Insider Picks Subscription
Vegas Insider was looking to reach a broader audience with their sports betting picks and so wanted to change their subscription model. The redesign was a much needed update to the website while also solving for the new subscription product and the flow that it entailed.
Role
Lead Designer
Timeline
3 months
Platform
Web
Areas
Strategy, Information Architecture, Design, User Flows
Background
Vegas Insider’s original subscription product was a “pay-per-pick” model. Their ability to grow their subscription revenue was tied to the performance of their individual experts. The idea was to change the model to an all-in-one subscription for a monthly fee, reducing choices for users and giving them access to all picks from all experts. The website needed a redesign to support this change in subscription model and the new vision for Vegas Insider.
Research
We analyzed the site's Google Analytics to identify top-performing pages for funnel improvements and work prioritization. I also asked the team to share their knowledge of the users' preferences and motivations. Since the site is over 20 years old and the business leaders know their users well, we skipped user research due to time constraints and confidence in their insights.
Mapping the Current Experience
I mapped out the current experience to see how the subscription funnel currently worked, areas where it could be improved, and what might be needed logically from a user flow standpoint to change to make sense with a single subscription.
Homepage
The homepage was heavily focused on articles above the fold, which didn’t make align with the primary use case of the website. Picks would need to be higher on the page in the redesign.
Confusing Navigation
The free and paid picks were housed on separate pages with no links to each other. There also wasn’t a clear path from viewing a specific league to viewing all picks. This would be addressed in the redesign to make these user paths clearer for more prominent upsell placements.
Competitive Analysis
I analyzed subscription websites and their sign-up flows, focusing on CTA placements, UX messaging, and upsell strategies. Common elements included multiple CTAs pushing free trials, upsell placements in subscription flows, and banner placements at the top and bottom. Simple modal sign-ups were the quickest and most user-friendly, giving a sense of unlocking content. Landing pages typically used "start for free" as the primary CTA, gated content highlighted locked features, and often gave one away for free to entice users.
Goals of Redesign
Simple
Make VIP features easier to find. Offer clear CTAs and a simple sign up process.
Engaging
When landing on the page, users should get the sense that there are always interesting picks to bet on.
Trustworthy
Make it clear to users that VI experts and their records are best in the industry.
Week-Long Sprint
After discussing the business and product goals for the project, we spent a few days brainstorming possible solutions with the engineering team. This allowed us to identify any constraints early and adapt quickly.
Final Solution
Simplified Navigation
We restructured the picks pages navigation making it easier to find premium picks from the most visited page on the site - “Free Picks”. Today’s Picks consolidates all leagues with links to view more picks at the individual league level. This also improved the experience for subscribers, allowing them to find their paid picks without altering their original navigation pattern.
Redesigned Homepage
The homepage was redesigned to put picks at the forefront of the product. The goal was to answer anyone who landed on the page “what do I bet right now?”. We also make expert records prominent on the page to highlight the brands authority in the space. For subscribed users, every time you log in, the top navigation bar will have a button labeled “today’s picks” with a counter of how many new picks are available today to help users utilize their subscription more readily.
Checkout Flow
I updated and modernized the checkout flow to match the style of the website and make the experience feel like it was happening all in one page. I also made sure that after processing the payment, a confirmation message would take users straight to the picks picks to immediately start seeing the value of their purhcase.
Landing Page
The landing page presented both the monthly and yearly subscription option, a breakdown and comparison of the product feature compared to the free product, and user testimonials for social proof.
Impact
The redesign moved Vegas Insider from an outdated legacy site onto a modern, scalable foundation. That put the brand in a position to grow alongside the rest of our North American portfolio.
Built the site on a consistent system of reusable page templates and components
Brought it in line with our other brands so features and flows could be shared. The checkout flow was later adapted for Action Network.
Made subscription tracking seamless for the team and set up later pricing tests, which led to a 5% increase in subscription conversions
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