Thread: flash intros on websites ? bypass intro?

I've seen some really well done websites with a flash intro but I don't want to necessarily see the flash intro each time I visit the website..is it possible to create an intro page that has flash on it but have a button or option to bypass it?

I don't want to use audio just a slideshow of images and mild flash like water rippling on the side ..

yes, most have a "skip intro" function but honestly for retail a flash splash page is a bad idea. It increases the steps for customers to get to the "buy" goal. Is not always mobile friendly, uses more band width, costs you more build expenses and really doesn't add much to your bottom line. Many people are annoyed by waiting for fancy flash pages to load.

I really caution against flash splash pages for retail. For other things, it may serve a good purpose, like showing a performer, etc.

If you want something flash-y, have your web designer put a flash header on your cart. It will keep your clients shopping, not watching graphics ;)

look at the big retailers. Their sites drive you to product search and purchase right off the main page. There are documented market research reasons for this. Each additional step to the buy, makes it more likely the visitor will bail out of the site before the retail purchase goal is met.

good advice (how ya been Sabrina :)

what about simple effects like rippling water?

Creation of realistic Flash water ripples with AS3 - Emanuele Feronato

it's always been an idea to have the landing page change through-out the day..different images would appear depending on the time of day (sunrise, noon, sunset, twilight)..my brother once explained to be this could be achieved by rollers? no clue what he was talking about..is that considered a flash thing? I need to go back to school and learn more ..right now will just pay someone to do it :)

Unless you hire a designer who is able to make an HTML-mirror site or mobile-enabled version of your site, you're potentially losing business by putting up a Flash-based intro as your main page. For anyone accessing your site from a mobile device that can't read Flash (ie, any Apple device and some other smartphones), the main page will appear blank, and they may not be able to enter the main site (or think that it's even active).

The ripple effect is very cool :) (I've been good, just working. Miss you . Thanks for asking)
I think the bottom line with all this stuff is, how is it going to enhance your customers' experience and drive them to the goal of BUY.

You want fast load time, low bandwidth usage and only want to pay for coding functionality that are truly valuable to you (I assume)

So how would the ripple effect be used to enhance the user experience?

Watch out for things that seem cool the first few times, but become a time waster for repeat customers.

Look at ebay, Amazon, Target, etc. They pay the biggest $ for their retail sites. Poke around and learn from them...

Thumbs down on the flash splash page. There has been many a site I've decided wasn't worth my time when a flash intro met my not-so-fast internet connection. Make it clean and simple for customers who may have slow connection speeds!

Unless you want your web presence to be about the elegance and unattainability of your brand, and not about displaying and selling your work to customers, I agree to stay away from Flash. It's slow and distracting to a customer focused on the task of buying something. Even under the best of circumstances, Flash is not meant for business transactions. It's about making the web site a destination to spend time at. There definitely are couture designer who use a lot of Flash animation, but we're talking people behind million-dollar ateliers, so their web sites are for the dreamers who aren't invited to the runway shows and would be turned away at the door of the salon, even if they could afford to buy something. Those sites are designed to showcase their work as part of a multimedia artistic experience--which is great if you need a web presence for your Spring 2012 prêt-à-porter collection, but not if you're planning a commerce site.

very true what you are all saying..I have a favorite bikini designer I found in Bali but her website is so overdone that I can't figure out how to shop on it.

Learned a few things..I noticed there are a lot of templates for wordpress that offer sliders for gallery photos and won't slow down loading time ..so they say..

thanks for the feedback!!

To add to what others have said, Adobe is actually discontinuing support of Flash on mobile devices altogether in favor of HTML5, which is a more advanced technology. Many people in the industry believe this is the beginning of the end for Flash. So, in addition to the reasons already listed, I'd recommend staying away from Flash in order to avoid the need to switch to something else when new browser versions stop supporting it. I work for a university, and we just made this decision on a project that was in development--our designer started it in Flash, but there is just too much mounting evidence that Flash is headed for the obsolete heap.

AS a consumer, I say thumbs down on flash intro. It's a pain in the backside!

NNNNOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!

Flash is so totally evil.

The only thing that will drive me away from a site faster than flash is auto-play music!

Haha, what Zorba said.

I don't like sites that are entirely designed in flash, either, because I like to be able to open up different links in tabs. If tabs don't work, I get tired of navigating the site pretty quickly because it takes too long (click on item/link I'm interested in. Wait for it to load. Hit "back" to get back to main page when done and wait for main page to load again, etc.).

Whether I'm shopping or looking for information, I want it to be easy to find and view. I don't need anything fancy (i wish eBay sellers would understand this. Yes, the six billion pages of cutesy graphics, and pictures of your grandkids, and buying info, and info about you, on your page are very cute and informative. When I have to wait for all that to load, and then scroll past it just to get to pictures and/or description of the item, I want to reach through the computer and punch you.) I don't need a site to be entirely plain-Jane or ugly, but really, being able to find things easily and quickly has waaaay more value to me than nifty effects or graphics. If, for some reason, whatever you're presenting needs pictures or animation, that's appreciated, but just for aesthetics, I'd rather have a faster load time and ease of use than have the page resemble something you would've found on Geocities in 1995. I guess I take a Joe Friday attitude on webpages, if you can change "just the facts" to "just the necessary stuff."

Originally Posted by Kat144

....i wish eBay sellers would understand this.

I'd be happy if eBay themselves understood it.

Am I the only one who is tired of mouse-over pop ups EVERYWHERE? I have to be extra careful where I put my mouse pointer, or some picture or something will pop up and overlay what I'm trying to read! Websites and software both have suddenly started this crap over the last year or so...

On a slow work week I agreed to some internet research for one of my clients who was willing to pay big bucks for someone who could supply X. I was amazed at how many "professional" internet sites look like they were teenage wet dreams - all show no substance. Lots of Flash and cool graphics but no information. In one case I couldn't even find out how to contact the supplier! And that was after waiting forever for it to load on the clients superfast broadband. Obviously too cool to engage in messy commerce.

I hate flash intros, I always skip them as soon as if im given the chance, and if im not given the chance soon enough I usually skip the site altogether