Topic awaiting preservation: What's So Evil About Splash Pages?

I've been prompted to ask what is everyone's opinions on splash pages for websites. Are they bad? Good? Why so?
Im dabbling in web design at the monent, unfortunately (give me Max or anything else any other time, ANYTHING but Flash) for a current module at University and it got me wondering....anyways, what you all think about them?

"You know you have been doing 3d too long when you walk into a church and think, "God, the polycount of this place must be huge!"

I tend to find them annoying. They're one more page I have to click through to get to the information I want. Although, on portfolio/art sites they might be ok (depending on how they're implemented). So I guess for me personally, if its a site that I'm going to for information, no splash page please.

The goal of a website is to give something to the user. Splash pages give the user nothing.

[This message has been edited by Slime (edited 09-29-2003).]

I don't mind splash pages if it's a portfolio or something and the splash page shows off some of the person's work. (Like www.goodbrush.com for instance). I also don't mind them when they are giving me a choice of something like whether to load a HTML or Flash page.

I hate them when they're a completely useless piece of crap Flash animation. It's even worse when the person forgets to give you a skip button. That's the point where I get the hell out of there and never come back.

:::11oh1:::

I usually find them fairly annoying, no matter what the site is about. But once in a while, someone creates an incredibly cool splash/flash entry page and I don't mind hanging around and watching. Why? It's stupid and petty when I think about it, but the 2 extra seconds and that extra click are somehow irritating when I'm working or researching on the web. I just want the info, not art or a commercial.


Amerasu

with 600k broadband I don't really care whether theres a splash page or not but the dial up brigade might....


~We're not here for long, we're here for fun~

I'm sure I wrote a list down once:

1. They provide one extra link for the suer to go through tog et to your site.

2. They usually have no purose except to show off (if they have a sue then they become gateway/portal pages).

3. The main page are your website is your prime real estate for search engines and links from the main page are deemed more important that those elsewhere,

4. On the search engine front you also need content on your front page and just sticking in metatags just doesn't cut the mustard these days.

On the plus side they:

1. Give you a way to set up a site's mood and feel before people get in.

2. If it is your site then I suppose you can do what you want as long as you take on baord the fact that you will annoy visitors and ruin your search engine rankings.

3. Urmmmmmm

___________________
Emps

FAQs: Emperor

oh, that's easy. When you buy a book, do you want to have to read the first 15 or so pages before you get to the table of contents? (emphasis on "have to")

Put it another way: do you enjoy self-promoting advertisements? If you do, splash pages are for you. (Hey! You've reached domain.com! Welcome to domain.com! We do great stuff! Domain.com! Domain.com! Woo! We're the best! Click here.) Otherwise, they serve no purpose.

Design element? Hardly.

A fair and reasonable presentation of information? Not a chance. The only information that is ever contained in a splash page is the knowledge you had before you even got there (i.e. the ability to spell the domain name).

They should be banned.

ANd people who do them should be shot...unless it's for a personal project, in which case you deserve cookies.

-S

quote:

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The goal of a website is to give something to the user. Flash pages give the user nothing.

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was that meant to be "splash" page or did you actually mean "flash" page? if so i think you're greatly overgeneralizing...

chris


KAIROSinteractive

Oops, I meant "splash," thanks. I'll fix that.

Myself, I hate Flash pages, simply because they can occasionally cause problems with my browser, and they can invade my ears with unwanted sound. But I like looking at pretty artwork on splash pages when it's something good, at least, and has at some remote relevance. If it doesn't fit into those two categories, I either don't care, or I have a mild dislike of it, but nothing enough to make me complain.

-Xel

About Flash pages, I usually dislike them.
About Splash pages, I always hate them.
It's a matter of taste, basically. I like to have full control over my Internet navigation and what I want to see and don't want to see. Anything that tries to steal this power from me will be despised.

living in the country, in new zealand, with a connection that most probably runs along a barbed wire fence...

need i say more?

Since i usually am doing something else while browsing (i.e. painting, typing a letter, messaging, etc), an additional click does not mind me, as i just click, go back to continue what i was doing, check the site, BOOKMARK THE ACTUAL MAIN PAGE (if i like it), nd resume doing my stuff again.

On the other site, most flash pages annoy me, as they are used where they should not be at all (like mu uncle's page (right click the header and almost anything, and you will see what i mean). There are few exceptions, like Joe Cartoon.

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Alevice's Media Library

Like many already said before, I don't like splash / cover pages for the extra ( and ) useless click they bring.


Mathieu "POÏ" HENRI

Generally I think the fewest clicks to content is the best method when looking at the Information Archetecture of a site.

There are definate exceptions. As mentioned earlier, for a portfolio or to choose a low/high bandwidth set of pages are okay, or for interstitial ads (which suck but do pay the bills).

So I'd say as a rule, I'd avoid them, but when it comes to the web the rules are made to be broken



.:[ Never resist a perfect moment ]:.

Just say no!

you want an 'Intro'? work it into some corner of your site...

I don't even like splashes on my programs.... just load the damn thing and then get back to me...


Code - CGI - links - DHTML - Javascript - Perl - programming - Magic - http://www.twistedport.com
ICQ: 67751342

flash:
splash:

Best Flash splash page ever: http://www.zombo.com

...either you'll like it or you won't.

Cell 1250 :: alanmacdougall.com :: Illustrator tips

And I don't...all I get is this annoying guy contrantly telling me 'Welcome to Zombo.com" "The Unatainable is unknown at Zombo.com" "You can do anything at Zombo.com" over and over and over and over....

God that was annoying.

quote:

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God that was annoying.

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I think that was the point.

Zombo.com has no point at all, but seeing as I surfed there half expecting the pointless, it gave me a chuckle. Some type of brainwashing method going on there. The mans voice was soothing and made me feel powerful. Give me another one of those pills. . . *runs off*

*runs back*

Splash pages - For me it really depends on the context of the site. They are about as annoying as pop-ups when researching, but for personal sites and portfolios I don't see a problem. Splash screens show off, and most personal sites and portfolios are there for the same purpose. All I know is they better have a skip intro button or I'm gone.

I don't mind splash pages for portfolios / personal sites, like most have said, but they are annoying for "info" based sites.

PS. Great sig ramasax, i'm playing with iso. pixel art at the mo.

Thanks Prawn, I know you are, your post is what made me try my hand at it. Fun stuff, almost as fun as Zombo.com

Q-Bert is pure gold material for a sig

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Alevice's Media Library

that's right ramasax show me up, just kidding.

zombo.com is great

I was watching Zombo.com and looking at Ini's thing from here

Highly hypnotic....

God- fuck zombocom....


Code - CGI - links - DHTML - Javascript - Perl - programming - Magic - http://www.twistedport.com
ICQ: 67751342