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What do people think of Splash pages

Are splash pages a good idea?

  • Total voters
    62
R

Renderz

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Feb 27, 2004
315
0
Hi all,

I've been a designer for almost 20 years now; I was designing websites when Splash pages were too popular (if you know what I mean). However, has that attitude changed at all?

Is it really that annoying to see a short introductory page, like a book cover?

I'd like this groups opinion on that as I would fasinated to know the result.

Thanks.
 
Don't like them
I want to get to the site's info

Woof, Woof - Dawg
pawprint.gif
 
Splash pages are less annoying than embedded audio but neither should be used imo. I too remember a time the concept was way way overused.. didn't like em then, don't like em now, clever or not, auto redirect or not, :pthbbbt.
 
MacDawg said:
I want to get to the site's info
Click to expand...

Exactly. If I want to watch a site, I'll head to YouTube. Otherwise, I want to get to the content that I'm after. I'm sure the designer put a lot of effort into it, but they need to realize that over 90% of visitors just don't give a damn about their effort. Web sites are a place to share information and unless the splash page is very related to the content and is s form of the content, it should be avoided.

Also, I probably wouldn't realize a web site even has a splash page because I reach most sites through search results, which means I don't come in through the front door, and this is very typical these days.
 
Also, they're bad for SEO. Google will index your splash page, which doesn't have your main content on it.
 
No. No no no no no no no no.

Did I mention no?

Splash pages were fun 10 years ago, when the majority of the web was boring ol' text, and you wanted to, well, make a splash. "WOW! I'm made of this cool new Flash animated graphics technology and not just boring text!" It was new, it was novel, it was impressive.
 
i agree with everyone so far

i hate splash pages

imbedded audio

slow, complicated flash

bad navigation




yuck!
 
They are a hinderance to accessibility, usability and indexibility.

Absolutely a bad idea. Splash pages originated in the days when Flash was amok and if you had anything other than two small images on your site it took forever to load. They were born out of informing the user of whatever in-depth media may follow - which in this day and age doesn't, for most intents and purposes, matter.
 
I belive most site designers (and owners) ready KNOW that splash pages are not liked: hence the "skip intro..." button they usually have.

If I see a "skip intro" button, I usually just skip the entire site as well. Splash pages make me feel actively hostile towards the site.

Put me down as a big NO then!

I wonder if you, OP, are a designer who has been asked to do this for a client, and you wanted to prove the error of the client's ways to him by showing him this thread? With 20 years experience (that's about the entire life of the web) you must have already known the answer to your poll?
 
Renderz said:
Hi all,

I've been a designer for almost 20 years now; I was designing websites when Splash pages were too popular (if you know what I mean). However, has that attitude changed at all?

Is it really that annoying to see a short introductory page, like a book cover?

I'd like this groups opinion on that as I would fasinated to know the result.

Thanks.
Click to expand...

Try this simple experiment: Build a top level page that loads quickly and is informative and place a button on it that says "Cover this page with a 15 second flash animation of a spinning logo" and then count how many people "opt in" to the splash page.

Put a counter on the button and see what happens.
 
I use them mostly because they are a necessary evil for introducing content where you need to give options to leave or stay. I don't care for them unless they are necessary.
 
Yes, if you want to drive people away without them looking at your content.

So no. Just look up web site usability researches.
 
bobr1952 said:
I use them mostly because they are a necessary evil for introducing content where you need to give options to leave or stay. I don't care for them unless they are necessary.
Click to expand...

That wouldn't be a splash page. That would be a disclaimer page, which has its own rules as it's usually in place for legal reasons, not because the designer wants to showoff his Flash skills.
 
A splash page is just another page in the way of me getting to the content I want. They offer nothing. The web is about information – splash pages do not offer this. All the do for me is slow me down and very often lead me to closing the site.

You can't really compare with a book cover... a book cover has a very important job.... it stops the pages falling out!
 
Thanks for the reply folks. I had a feeling I knew the response would be negative, however what is surprising is the passion against it :-D

I shall definitely not implement it to my client, and this thread will certainly come in useful in politely saying "ah, no!" :)

Thank you all.
 
I normally avoid splash page. But they can be usefull sometime when you want to offer a langage or location choice, or to present some important information right at the beginning like a slideshow of pictures or to animate the result of a funding campaign per example. Otherwise, i prefer embedding flash into a more general page.
 
The only time they're anything besides an annoyance IMO is when you're offering the user a choice of ways to enter your site (e.g. choose your language, or pick a country [for multinational orgs that have different products or pricing in diff't countries]) -- in which case they're more portal pages than splash pages, anyway. And are still less than ideal for the user (picking the user's language or location based on IP; making it really easy to switch once you're inside, and saving those choices in a cookie would be a smoother experience for most users).
 
I voted no even though my site has one. But I guess it's all down to the content. My site/hosting has a few minisites so it's a lot cleaner to have the links displayed there rather than tucked away on the main site somewhere (the blog).

If it was a site I visited regularly I wouldn't like to see a splash page.
If it was a site for a game or film then I wouldn't mind it.
Flash intro splash pages can go to hell.
 
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