One of the most common requests I get from web design clients is "can I have a Flash intro with that?" These are words that good professional web designers dread to hear. Flash intros are an artifact of 90's web design; a fad and a novelty which is still so prevalent that some users still demand it. From the website owner's perspective, I can see how a slickly-made, animated Flash introduction must be good thing - what better way to show off their fantastic website than to decorate it with an expensive (and equally expensive-looking) introduction? The aim of this article is to explain why Flash intros are a very bad thing in terms of design, usability and search engine visibility.
If you are considering adding a Flash intro to your website, ask yourself the following questions:
Would your website users like it?
The vast majority of web users would find it an unnecessary barrier to the rest of your website. Upon encountering a Flash intro, users tend to either skip it or leave the site immediately. Several surveys and reports back up this fact - particularly a report by Marketing Sherpa which suggests that even in 2003, 80% of users "hated" Flash intros. By adding a Flash intro you risk losing users before you have had a chance to make an impact. Couple this with the potentially substantial cost of designing such a feature and you find a compelling reason to avoid it altogether. However, the drawbacks don't end there.
What purpose does it serve?
With very few exceptions, Flash intros don't convey useful information; their sole purpose is to act as eye candy. Even if the Flash intro does convey useful information, this is still ill-advised, which allows me to segue nicely to my next point.
Do you want your website to be visible to the search engines?
It doesn't seem to be common knowledge but is a very pertinent fact - search engine crawlers do not index Flash nearly as effectively or consistently as they do for regular HTML. If your Flash intro includes important text about your website, it is far better to present this as regular web page content which is readily accessible.
Are any other established sites doing it?
I don't recall Amazon, eBay or Yahoo using a Flash intro, so you probably shouldn't either. This is a good rule of thumb for any non-standard feature on your website - if the big sites aren't doing it, take it off your "to do" list.
What effect does it have on your website's image?
The ever-increasing proportion of savvy Internet users perceive the Flash intro as a dated gimmick. On the Internet, where your first impression may be your only impression, don't portray your website in a negative light from the very first page.
Finally, a question you should be asking me:
Are you just biased against Flash?
Not at all, in fact I use some Flash on my own website. I think Flash is a great medium, but only if used correctly (and sparingly). An intro, however, is rarely an example of correct use.
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