How to Build a Casual Games Website Like Big Fish Games

To build a website like Big Fish Games, you need four things working together: a game catalog that is easy to browse and search, a way for players to try a game before they pay, an account and payment system that handles purchases or memberships, and a steady supply of new titles. The website is the smaller part of the work. Licensing or making games, and keeping the library fresh, is where most of the effort and budget goes.

This guide covers what a casual games portal actually is, which similar sites are worth studying, the features players expect, a step by step build plan, and the factors that decide what the project costs.

What a site like Big Fish Games actually is

Big Fish Games is a long running casual games brand known for hidden object, match three, puzzle and time management titles. Its model is simple to describe and hard to copy: a large library of short, approachable games aimed at adults who play in short sessions, sold through a storefront that lets people sample before committing.

Under the surface, a portal like this is three products stacked together:

• A storefront. Catalog pages, categories, search, game detail pages, reviews and a checkout.
• A distribution system. Browser play, downloadable installers, or links out to app stores, plus licence checks so paid games stay paid.
• A retention engine. Accounts, wish lists, memberships, email, new release announcements and seasonal events that bring players back.

If you are planning a similar site, decide early which of these you are really building. A free, ad supported browser portal is a very different project from a paid download store with memberships.

Similar sites worth studying

Before you design anything, spend time on the portals that already serve casual players. Each one has chosen a slightly different business model, and those choices shape every page.

Look at how each site handles the first thirty seconds: what a new visitor sees, how many clicks it takes to start playing, and where the site asks for an account or a payment. That sequence matters more than visual style.

Features players expect

A catalog that is easy to browse

Casual players browse by mood rather than by title. Group games by genre, difficulty, length and theme, and add filters for platform. Search should handle typos and partial names. Each game page needs screenshots, a short trailer if you have one, system requirements and honest reviews.

Try before you buy

Free trials, timed demos or a free first chapter lower the barrier to a first purchase. Technically this means time limited licences or a gated build, and the trial must end gracefully with a clear path to buy.

Accounts, purchases and memberships

Players need one account that remembers what they own, their progress and their payment method. If you offer memberships, you also need recurring billing, upgrade and cancellation flows, and member pricing logic. This is where careful payment integration pays for itself, because failed renewals and confusing cancellations generate most support tickets.

Community features

Ratings, reviews, forums, achievements and friend lists give players a reason to come back between purchases. Plan moderation from day one: reporting, filtering and an admin queue.

Play on any device

Many casual players now play on phones and tablets. A responsive site is the minimum. If mobile play is central, you may need native apps alongside the website, which is a separate piece of mobile app development work.

Step by step: building a casual games portal

1. Pick a niche and a business model

Competing head on with established portals is hard. A narrower focus works better: puzzle games for older players, educational games for children, games in Arabic, or titles from independent studios. Then decide how you earn: single purchases, memberships, ads, or a mix. The model decides your feature list.

2. Secure your content

Decide whether you will make games, license them from studios, or run a marketplace where developers publish their own. Licensing needs contracts, revenue sharing and delivery pipelines. A marketplace needs developer accounts, upload tools and review processes. Making games in house is the slowest and most expensive route.

3. Scope the first release

List the minimum a player needs: browse, try, buy, play, and come back. Leave forums, achievements and gifting for later releases. A short product scoping exercise at this point saves months of rework.

4. Design the experience

Wireframe the home page, category pages, game detail pages, checkout and library before any visual design. Test the flow with real players in your niche. Make sure the design meets WCAG accessibility guidelines, since casual audiences often include older players who rely on larger text and clear contrast.

5. Build the platform

Build the storefront, account system, licensing, payments and admin together, because they depend on each other. Plan for spikes when a popular title launches.

6. Test thoroughly

Test every game on every supported platform, every payment path including refunds and failed cards, and every trial expiry. Load test the catalog and checkout.

7. Launch and keep the library moving

A games portal is never finished. Plan a release calendar, seasonal events and regular promotions before launch, and give your team an admin panel that makes publishing a new game quick.

Choosing a technology stack

There is no single right stack, but the choices fall into a few patterns.

For browser games, page speed is part of the product. Track the Core Web Vitals from the first build, and treat performance work as ongoing rather than a launch task.

What drives the cost

Prices for a project like this vary too widely for a single figure to be useful. What you can control is scope. These are the factors that move the budget most:

• Content source. Making your own games costs far more than licensing, and licensing costs more than an open marketplace.
• Business model. Memberships, trials and licence management add more back end work than simple free play.
• Platforms. A browser only portal is cheaper than a website plus native iOS and Android apps.
• Custom design. A distinctive interface with animation costs more than a clean template, but casual players do judge quality quickly.
• Community and moderation. Forums, chat and reviews need moderation tools and staff time.
• Running costs. Hosting, CDN bandwidth for game files, payment processing fees, support and marketing continue every month after launch.

The practical way to control spend is to launch a focused first version, measure what players actually use, and add features based on evidence. Open source tools, managed hosting and a proven payment provider all reduce early cost without boxing you in later.

Mistakes to avoid

• Launching with a thin library. A portal with a few dozen games feels empty. Secure enough content before launch to fill every category.
• Forcing sign up too early. Let people play or try first, then ask for an account.
• Ignoring licence security. Weak licence checks let paid games circulate for free.
• No plan for marketing. Players will not find a new portal by chance. Budget for search, social and email from the start, ideally with a digital marketing plan built alongside the site.
• Treating launch as the finish line. The library, events and promotions need a team after launch.

Is a Big Fish style website right for you?

It suits founders who have access to games, through a studio, licensing deals or a developer community, and who can commit to running the portal as an ongoing business. If you only have the website idea and no content plan, start with the content. The platform can be built in months; a library and an audience take longer.

If you are planning a games portal, a marketplace or any content heavy platform, Codeeo's team of 80+ across Dubai, Riyadh and Karachi has delivered 200+ projects across the UAE and the US. Our web development team can help you scope a first release, choose a stack and build it to scale.