Sunday, 25 February - 18:07 Category: Design

Kill the Intro Page!

SYNOPSIS: Intro pages distract your visitor from the real content in your website. Take a closer look at what I mean.

Death to the intro page! This is the second article this month in which I have proposed a killing. (Previously "under construction" pages were my target.)

So why do I begrudge the existence of those pleasant little 10-15 second intros on websites? Surely they do no harm?

It all began in the late 90s when web designers discovered that they could use Macromedia Flash. Pretty soon any customer who could afford it was being proposed cool little animation introductions to their business that would wow their prospects. This has to be one of the most wonderful examples of being sold something cool just because well, it's cool. The awful thing is it's still happening today. Only last week a client asked me if they should have one for the new website we are redesigning. The truth is it is a useless idea. It was useless in the late 90s and it is useless now. Why?

Well let me explain by analogy. I want to you to imagine you are in a new town and you decide to go for a cup of coffee in a swish looking restaurant. Just before you enter the Doorman rugby tackles you to the ground and says "Look pal, you can go in after you've seen this short presentation on how great our coffee is??. In reality you don't want to be told how great the coffee is you want to check out the variety, the price, the smell. In other words, you want to make your own mind up.

When you think about how you browse the Internet I bet it doesn't involve you looking for adverts. I think you are looking for the answer to a question which will be delivered to you through great information, not through believing advertising. None of us are that gullible. And anyway, someone has taken the trouble to get to your website why then would you want to create a barrier to their entry?

Intro pages are there so web designers can show them off in their portfolio. They do nothing for your business in fact, they are a positive detraction. If you have one I urge you to give it a swift but timely death!

Click here to see a stunning portfolio!

Posted By:Jed Wylie on Sun, Feb 25th 2007, 18:07