Are you getting in the way of your visitors when they come to your site? Do they have to wait to enter?
It’s not as common as it used to be, thank God, but I still see sites whose owners (or, more likely, their designers) think that having a Flash intro is a good thing. Well, let me tell you: it’s not – it’s a VERY BAD THING.
English Queue by http://www.flickr.com/photos/gagilas/
Your site has mere seconds to convince a visitor that they’ve made the right choice in following a link to your web address. That means, the visitor needs to know immediately whether the site has the information he or she needs. If you insist on holding things up by presenting a collage of product images or perhaps sweeping views across the fields and woods visible from your office window, chances are that the ‘back’ button will be pressed before the ‘loading’ bar reaches 50%.
Still unconvinced you’re losing customers with your Flash intro? Then ask yourself this: If it’s such a good thing, why do all these sites have a ‘Skip Intro’ button?
Picture this. We meet at a networking event. You approach, we shake hands, you ask me what I do. But instead of answering, I ask you to watch while I do a little dance and maybe hum a little tune for you. Now, if I was foolish enough to wear a ‘Skip Dance’ button on my nose, I’m sure you would be tempted to press it really hard. However, being polite and full of sympathy, you probably back away with a pitying smile.
Just because you have a web site does not mean you have permission to waste a potential client’s time by displaying some clunky graphics that have no purpose other than to tell visitors how clever your site designers are.
Got a Flash intro? Bin it.
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