Yes, Everyone Clicks To Skip The Flash Intro On Your Annoying Website
from the make-them-go-away dept
The common use of "flash intros" to corporate websites has never made much sense. Generally, they're a pain, and even for the few folks who want to watch them, after seeing it once, why should they ever want to go back again? Yet, for some reason, web designers love them, and somehow keep convincing corporations to use them. However, a usability expert studying these things now says that " the skip intro button is the most used button on the Internet." While you can quibble over the hyperbole, it does make sense to question why so many firms keep using these types of entryways, when it clearly keeps people from the content they actually want -- such as how to buy your product.Thank you for reading this Techdirt post. With so many things competing for everyone’s attention these days, we really appreciate you giving us your time. We work hard every day to put quality content out there for our community.
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So True
Just my .02 ;-)
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My Pet Peeve
It's especially nice if you are at work trying to legitimately search for something and some crazy movie or music starts streaming out of your speakers. It's wonderful.
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Flash costs you my money
It never ceases to amaze me the number of fools who put up Flash home pages and don't have the sense to provide a link that will allow me to skip it. If I really want to buy their product, or I really need information on it, I can sometimes find a Google link to an inside page where I can continue my search. If I can't I'm forced to send my business to their competitors.
Example - Winsor and Newton. I've spent several thousand dollars on oil paints the past three years. I was ready to buy their brand based on recommendations, but I wanted to download the list of pigments in their colors. Well - A Flash only intro and the best Google brought up were randomly named pdfs and a few pages with links that led nowhere useful. I did find pigment info from Holbein however, so I've spent thousands on their paints instead. In the meantime Google's finally stored a link to the inside of W&N's site that leads to the information I wanted. Too late now - I love the Holbein paint and don't plan on changing.
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Time Better Spent
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Re: My Pet Peeve
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Re: My Pet Peeve
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Competent Designers stopped using them about 5 Yea
It's the amateurs and old school designers that refuse to keep up with the industry that are sticking to their ignorant guns.
But don't stick it to all web designers, almost all of us know how much of a pain they are.
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no way
Unfortunately, i don't make enough just yet to let those clients go somewhere else.
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yup yup
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So I'm not crazy
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Since we're talking pet peeves...
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Re: So I'm not crazy
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Yes, Everyone Clicks To Skip The Flash Intro On Yo
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Flash Splash pages
Any web developer who does this stuff is way out of touch with the marketing aspect of site development. You can embed flash into a page to deliver a message- we do it on our site, but it doesn't require a visitor to sit there while the thing plays. Use it for its strengths, not its weaknesses.
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Oh man
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come, join the other 97% of us.
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The only good thing I've seen Flash used for lately is video playback.
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Normally one to hate the use of flash...
http://www.2advanced.com/
I wouldn't doubt the ability of flash designers just yet, as these folks designed nearly their entire site in flash, and it looks, well, awesome. But then again, the people at 2advanced never had a skip intro button: not that I would click it, anyways.
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Firefox + Flashblock Extension
Also, my most major websites now download significantly faster. Here's the extension:
https://addons.mozilla.org/firefox/433/
Happy surfing!
Sol
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the skip intro story
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Absolutely
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Flash still has some uses
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Imagine - Doing What The Client Wants
Useability studies? Please provide details. I've seen studies that say the exact opposite.
For the guy that won't put Flash on his PC, bully for you. You won't do business with anyone who does, who is that hurting - the merchant? What if the merchant with the crappy Flash had far better stuff at a lower price? Oh yeah - stick to your principles and make him suffer.
The client should have the final word if for no other reason then he/she is paying for the design. An astute business person would take a designer's advice into consideration, but for many business people, the proof is in the putting.
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So true...
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Re: Flash costs you my money
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wnna see the most annoying falsh site on the web ?
go to www.bedroomsource.com
and prepare to be amaized -- or bewildered !!
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Re: Flash costs you my money
I thought you were just being a jaded blogger, but no! you were dead on right! That Winsor and Newton site is ENTIRELY in Flash. That's why Google couldn't index the stupid thing! I'm serious, the whole site is Flash, even with a navigation scrollbar, IN FLASH, on the right side of the screen!!! They had some really nice graphical look and feel to their site, and they probably paid a lot of money for that site, but to be honest it looked like a 2-bit, 10-person firm put it together. It was truly awful. You should submit that site to websitesthatsuck.com!
My wife ran across this type of web developer attitude recently with a couple of guys who came to pitch Flash-based website design to her and the guy she shares an office phoneline with (they're both lawyers with their own solo firms in the same office building). These tards kept trying to sell her on the whole Flash idea, but her and her partner were like: "Well, we're lawyers, so that style of site really wouldn't work for us." to which these tards kept saying, "yeah, but we really want to do flash." Give the customer what they want you morons! - not what YOU want! Sheesh.
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Skip Flash Intro
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choice
If you have the choice between being forced to create a site with a flash intro or losing that customer, please lose that customer. I have had several customers whom I turned down because they did not want to hear about a site without the flash intro... some of them came back to me afterwards, some didn't... but I feel a lot better for not having a single site with a flash intro out there.
Flash intro's... on top of being incredibly annoying, they are just so 1990's!
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Better use for Flash
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Re: Re: My Pet Peeve
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Flash is "development?"
Seeing as there's still a vast majority of people out there using win98 machines (even though microsoft has stopped security updates for it, so next worm will kill all 98 users), or the equivilant of a poor performer, having an option to skip flash is a must. I'd even recommend a text only version, if you're site deals with a lot of specs or info. Streamlining the content straight to the consumer as fast as possible is better than making it appealing to the eye. They want information about the services you offer, and don't want to waste a lot of time searching for it.
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Re: Re: Flash costs you my money
Every time I work with a client I try to help educate them about the Internet and what does and doesn't work - just because it's Flash doesn't mean it's doing it job, which, in the end, is to sell your company's product or service.
I hope your wife ended up firing those losers and found a designer/developer that actually created a site that worked for them.
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Re: Normally one to hate the use of flash...
Fortunately for 2Advanced they seem to be pretty competant when it comes to their client sites - their portfolio displays sites that actually work.
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Universities
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Flash does have its uses...
My favorite is all of the movie sites that use Flash extensively (XMen 3 comes to mind). I think it's a perfect marriage. The sites are more advertising than informational and you feel like you're being told a story not just served a bunch of information.
So yeah, flash intros aren't great for all applications, but let's not condemn the entire app. I still remember a time when everyone was clamoring to have Flash based sites.
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Re: Flash costs you my money
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Sorry, but data is incorrect
How many times do you click the "back" button per day?
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Re: Sorry, but data is incorrect
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Thankfully...
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Re: So true... You want usability studies?
Check out his very usable - very easy to use - very ugly - very important site at:
http://www.useit.com/
Then search for flash
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Mute Sounds
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My Co. is the WORST
I about died. They asked me my opinion 1) it lasts longer than a friggin' TV commercial 2) NO ONE is gonna sit through a lame-ass flash intro let alone one lasting that long.
Reply, "Yeah, but there's a skip intro link."
My retort, "So why have it last 36 seconds then? Flash intro's were like parachute pants in the 80's. At first people liked'em cause they were different, then they realized those pants were really stupid, came to their senses and stopped wearing them."
Basically they didn't approve of my comments because they personally liked the flash intro. UGH.
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You only use flash when needed because it's just a tool. For example, the best way to showcase artwork is in flash due the loading feature. Many designers are so into the bling stuff that they completely forget that web navigation is more about psychology than shiny stuff.
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You Know those VW commercials
need i say more....
just another way to rack up the design time bill...
I never understood why these companies have all this junk that slows you down from getting the info you want.
But thats what happen when you live in gated communities watching Bloomberg all day...
I tend to get lazy and forget to see what the people want...
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Re: Normally one to hate the use of flash...
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Re: Time Better Spent
Cause that's harder and you can more or less reuse the same intro with many customers.
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Re: Re: Time Better Spent
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Re: Time Better Spent
Maybe because the people being asked to do this are not Flash developers. They are web designers who had to learn Flash because people keep asking for it.
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Design with what you have
If you are reading this. you are preaching to the choir. We all hate flash intros.
Not one of you has responded as a business user.
Yes, I am a web designer. And I agree, good designs don't need splash pages - unless you are in an industry that demands them, ie.. Movies, Television etc...
Nielsen and other usability experts are the bane of designers and branding managers everywhere. Just when we have the bandwidth to support graphically dynamic websites, Jacob wants to put us back into the text browser era.
Not install/Turn off flash? WTF. Just because you don't like commercials you unplug your television? (Let's not complicate the analogy with DVR references for the sake of simplicity).
IF you design anything design it to be the best. IF your client demands a splash page;
Explain to them without sounding condescending why it may not be a good idea. Back up your recommendation with competing sites. Clients think in real world terms, not designer trends.
Compromise. I've successfully convinced clients to only use the concept and visual aspects of the intro instead of the whole flash intro. Clients are usually bedazzled by the intro concept because it is so different from anything they have on their site.
Ask them why they think it a good idea. Seriously. Designers need to know their target audience, and no matter how great we think we are, the business users are the ones maintaining that relationship. If they have a valid reason, or you just can't convince them otherwise, design the best friggin intro possible. Maybe it will be so good that people won't want to skip it.
Turning down clients? I don't care how good you think you are. That's business suicide. If a designer turns down business just because of a splash page, then be prepared to not only lose that business but a lot of other potential clients.They will surely tell everyone about their crap web experience.
As to all the flash can't be indexed, crap. There are ways around this. If you are serious about web development then you already know this. Otherwise you are just perpetuating a common misconception. Talk to someone who does SOE. You might learn something.
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Are you serious
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Comical
Complaining you have to view the intro each time you visit the site lmao .. look up on how to use bookmark and bookmark the site not the inro ... clowns
The only ones griping are about it are cavemen ... its so funny to read you retards.
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Hail Mary! Fire and Brimstone!
PS
Parachute pants will be in vogue by 2007.
Loves and Kisses,
Miss Vicious Vixen (Flash? Flash what? Flash-me-you-titties!) Mission Stardust
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Re: wnna see the most annoying falsh site on the w
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stoopid
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Re: Design with what you have
If you can't convince your client not to design something a certain way and think you will be blamed for negative performance, make sure your contract documents the expected outcomes.
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flash
However, clients want it for god knows what reason, possibly they just think it is the modern thing to do, people need to think about why their website is there in the first place - dsign around the visitors needs not your own ego!
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