Most of you will go to today’s site and wait for a fairly
long time while the entire Flash animation downloads. I
have DSL so I got it pretty quick. However, the wait
time is not my concern today, it’s the growing trend of
creating, or more likely having someone else create, a
super-duper Flash intro for an otherwise static site.
Many of my favorite sites do this. It’s neat. I’m
impressed with the programming ability, but I don’t know
that I like the effect all that much.
For one, I am not a fan of firewall pages. Those are the
pages that stop you for a moment, show you a logo, and
ask you to click to enter the site. I don’t think they’re
needed. Some will certainly write me and tell me that the
firewall page is there for my benefit. It gains information
about my browser and directs me to a page that’s
optimized for my system.
Yeah? Show me one of those pages. For every one of
those, I can show 1000 that are simple logo pages
designed to stop me long enough to look at the logo,
nothing more.
Besides, deciphering a person’s browser and screen
setting takes a JavaScript 1/1000 of a second. There’s no
need to stop me before I come in.
Flash introductions are basically firewall pages that offer
you a show instead of a logo. I admit that the show is
often very cool and impressive, but what good does it
serve to the over-sell a site?
Let’s take today’s site for example. The Flash intro fired
and immediately said things about the site. This is a hip
site. This is a flashy (no pun intended) site. There is a lot
going on in this site. The site moves. The site is going to
be a party.
When the animation and the music stops, and way too
abruptly I might add, I am sent to a static site. Yes, I see
the quotes coming in and going out, but that’s nowhere
near the power and impact the intro suggested would be inside.
Be honest with me – after a stunning, whiz-bang
introduction, do you feel let down after the show?
Also, today’s intro stopped suddenly. It was as if the film
broke and then the page changed. Does that happen when
you surf? It was as if the animation programmer put all
of his or her time and energy into starting the piece, but
finishing it was accomplished be simply shutting off the
machine. Would you rather a Flash introduction come to
an end as cleanly as it started? I would.
As a matter of fact, I would like the intro to simply not
end. I have always felt the best method of using Flash
was to allow the intro to simply “become” the homepage.
When I said that to a group of programmers during a
lecture, they hated the idea because that means a great
deal more work. They would have had to, as they put it,
“build the entire site out of Flash”.
And?
It is my opinion that’s the way to go. As it stands now,
the Flash intro is nothing more than a fancy bow on an
otherwise traditional site, right? You put that intro on the
front of the site to make it stand out, to make it different,
right? Well, after the intro runs, you’re right back to
being the same as any other HTML-based site.
But a Flash-based site…that’s different.
So, that’s my rant. If I were to quantify my thoughts, I
would say:
1. Avoid a Flash intro unless it is something that it
fully needed.
2. If you use a Flash intro, make it very quick
(3-5 seconds) simply for load time, but moreover,
for your user’s sake.
3. Make your Back navigation avoid the Flash page altogether.
It was an intro page. There’s no need to go back to
it a second time.
4. If you start the Flash intro smoothly, end it smoothly.
5. If at all possible, have the Flash intro simply “meld”
right into the homepage.
I have no doubt that some will praise these thoughts and
some will tell me I’m full of it. I’ll make you a bet where
the line between the two groups will be drawn, those who
just surf, and those who have Flash intros.
>>>>>>>>>>>>>
That’s that.
Joe Burns, Ph.D.
Always Remember: When it comes to designing your Web site, the
most important person is not you, but your user.
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