Convaincre un cilent de ne pas utiliser de Splash Page
Following up yesterday's article, How to Convince a Client their Site Doesn't Need Music, I decided to write a similar one about splash pages. Splash pages are the pages that the user sees before they actually get to a website; typically, they're flash and offer some kind of introductory animation. The user clicks "Skip Intro" or "Enter Site" and from there is taken to the site. Splash pages can also exist between pages on the same site. Clients love to request them and these are the arguments I use to shoot them down:Search engines will spider the splash page instead of the real content
Search engines look at the text on a page to determine what the page is all about. If your page is entirely in flash or some other kind of multimedia, chances are the search engines won't be able to spider any text on it. This will result in both you not ranking for the terms you want and the spidered page having a description next to it in the search results that says something like "Click to Enter." Examples include: accuplacer.com johnellis.com reachmediatv.com. A search at Google for "Click to Enter" or "Skip Intro" reveals many sites that have non-descriptive text associated with them due to their use of splash pages. These results aren't likely to get clicks.
Client: "So use a flash intro but stuff text in the meta keywords tag"
Search engines stopped caring about meta keyword tags a long time ago--it's all about what's actually on the page now.
Client: "So use a flash intro but hide keywords in the page"
Search engines can figure this out and you can get banned for it.
From Google's Webmaster Guidelines:
Make pages for users, not for search engines. Don't deceive your users or present different content to search engines than you display to users, which is commonly referred to as "cloaking."
Search engines won't be able to spider beyond the splash page
If your splash page is done entirely in flash or with some other kind of multimedia plugin, the search engines might be unable to spider your content and your content will be absent from the search results.
Straight from the horses mouth
I found a great quote on MarketingSherpa from Jared Spool of User Interface
Engineering at Macromedia. When asked, "Flash intros, good or bad?", this was his response:
When we have clients who are thinking about Flash splash pages, we tell them to go to their local supermarket and bring a mime with them. Have the mime stand in front of the supermarket, and, as each customer tries to enter, do a little show that lasts two minutes, welcoming them to the supermarket and trying to explain the bread is on aisle six and milk is on sale today.
Most users immediately click "skip intro"
Pretty much everyone I've spoken to on the subject of splash pages always admits to immediately clicking "skip intro" before watching the animation they're presented with. Newfangled did some digging into their access logs and had this to say about their findings:
The number one reason for getting rid of our splash page was that it turned away at least 25% of our site visitors, sometimes more. This percentage has actually been researched and it turns out that at least 25% of site visitors will immediately leave a site as soon as they see a message for a Flash splash screen (even if there's a 'skip intro' link). Our access logs confirmed this for us and this over all the other reasons caused us to get rid of it. The opportunity to improve our creativity was not worth the loss of such a high percentage of visitors.
Slower connections will have to wait for the page to load
Dialup users are basically screwed (SCREWED!), especially if the skip button isn't readily available.
"Click to Enter" is redundant
By visiting your site they've already agreed to enter, why do they have to do it again? It'd be like opening the door to a store only to find another door that says, "haha, just kidding. Open this door to enter for reals this time."
Minimizing steps
You want to minimize the number of steps involved in reaching your offerings. Having an extra click from a splash page does not align with this idea.
Content from the splash page can probably work inside the home page
Most of the time the splash page can be trimmed down and worked into the homepage of the site. This is an effective compromise with the client because they get to keep whatever idea they were trying to promote but aren't necessarily forcing it on the user. It also wraps the content from the splash page in a uniform navigation (which is good usability).
A great example of this is Adobe's website.
Uniform navigation - For The Win
Most splash pages don't have the same primary navigation as the rest of the site; some even drastically change the design when you go from the splash page to the real site. This is confusing to users who respond best to navigation that is persistent. Splash pages also enforce the idea that they are visiting two separate sites.
I won't design a splash page for a web site, period. I've been able to easily convince clients they don't need it when I tell them their rankings will suffer. I just can't believe anyone thinks it's still cool to have a splash page. After all, it's not 1995 anymore. :)
Don't remember where, but I read somewhere: the only persons to watch an intro/flash animation are the person who created it and the CEO of the firm that it is created for. :)
That sounds about right
Nice :) I'm in complete agreement.
LOL. You speak truth. :)
Even better... A Welcome or "Enter" page that only leads to a second animated splash page.
Coming soon... How to Convince a Client that placing their primary navigation on a moving, Flash based conveyor belt is a bad idea.
https://www.oldlahainaluau.com/index_main.html... This is the best Luau in Hawaii. The website was cool back in 1998. It's a bit dated now though.
It cracks me up how you always have hawaiian websites on hand.
Speaking of which, I'll be in honolulu right after thanksgiving. Anywhere in particular I should check out while I'm there?
Sweet! I'll send you an email.
Someone posted this in the digg comments, funny stuff:
https://www.homestarrunner.com/sbemail51.html
https://www.homestarrunner.com/systemisdown.html
The Digg Effect!
I almost wet myself...priceless!
At a meeting with a potential client last Thursday, I demonstrated why his splash page really had no content at all for the SE's to index by doing View > Source. Then I did View > Source on a page with HTML content, and although the code can be overwhelming, he was able to see the difference and understood.
As a compromise, I'll put Flash on a page surrounded by HTML.
I'd show 'em Google's text cache of the page. A blank page or a page with just footer links and a copyright is usually pretty convincing... :P
Tell the client to consider this scenario. If their web site / app was a physical property, would they construct a giant barrier in front of the primary entrance? That's effectively what a Splash page does, it's an impediment to the user getting the results they are seeking.
you should do an article on how to convince your clients that their computer isn't the only one viewing their website. screen resolutions have been the biggest battle when working with a client. they always want what looks best on THEIR screen. help.
Sean, not just client but top brass in the organizations who keep asking why we cannot do something that makes good on his/her 1600 x xxx monitor.
Why not tell your client the truth? Splash pages are rude. They put the client's wishes ahead of their customers'. If the client's customer came to take a specific action (almost always the case) I'm betting watching some animation wasn't it. And if it was, you can provide a link to a virtual tour or company presentation on the landing page.
Companies claim to have an interest in serving the needs of their customers. Tell them that getting in the way of that need is bad business and bad manners.
New Design School Graduate: “I can make you a great Flash website that will look way more cool than anything out there!”
Design School Graduate Six Months Later: “I can make you a great Flash Intro page that will make your website stand out like a great book cover does at the book store!”
Design School Graduate 1 Year Later: “We can put great Flash content on your website and surround it with all sorts of keyword rich HTML tags!”
Design School Graduate Who Just Lost His First Job: “You should read Don’t Make Me Think !”
Thank you Oatmeal. I'm doing a sales pitch for a website currently opening with a splash screen.
The description in the SERPS even reads: "Hello screen reader guests, and welcome to westjet.com. If you are using · Cher invité lecteur d'écran, Bienvenue à westjet.com. Si vous utilisez."
Is it cloaking to show a layer with a black background that suggests the user to go to another page? this layer can be closed by the user. What the spider sees is the layer under the content, whereas the user sees just the layer, not the content, unless he closes that layer. That is done with javascript. Is that cloaking?
Thanks
Every person are looking for info for web .. Well great info... I daily learn 1 new thing from here thanks :)
Flash intros are deadly. combine them with Mystery Meat navigation and you have a real winner: https://www.leoburnett.ca/FLASH/index.htm -- A 2 billion $ agency...
Splash pages. Utterly useless. Who invented them, anyway?
Any website designer knows that a website needs only the basic pages to build the structure of a site. This with seo intergrated into it, should encourage the website to rank highly. A splash page however is simply unneccessary and can take a long time to load, especially with dial up connections. Most companies that use this method are forgetting that seo needs to be incorporated into their website and therefore will be lost within a splash page. A splash page is usually used to display flash animation or as a warning page before entering a site. i.e age restrictions. I agree with this article completely. The customer should be made aware of all pro's and con's of a website before any work commences. In conclusion, splash pages are just a waste of time and money.
What about adult content pages where they are required by law to include a disclaimer for under 18 years? usually they don't include more than the header, a disclaimer message and an "I Am 18 or older" enter button. Any way to improve the SEO on these ones without falling into cluttered info or cloacking tactics?
VERY FUNNY https://www.homestarrunner.com/sbemail51.html
ALL FLASH AND NO CASH I hate those damn splash with flash pages and repeated refer to them as "all flash and cash."
SPLASH WITH CASH On the other hand, I commonly utilize splash pages for standard HTML pages that make use of a well-organized site map in addition to a graphic or two and some leading news to liven it up a bit. Really, the leading news (or products) is the latest or hottest news that requires immediate search engine attention. This formula, for me, works very well. Though, I have not heard seen this mentioned upon the pages.
PART TIME WEB DUDES Part time web dudes really do a number on some client expectations and knowledge of the web, including a client's idea of how the web works and what the web should be, which is why you see some goofy stuff on sites. I liken some Part Time Web Dude functionality operations to that of a client looking at the Grand Canyon while laying their eyeball to the ground while 20 feet from the rim. Under such circumstances, it's tough to see the beauty of the web and even tougher to see the pitfalls of their investment.
Yes, I thought the whole "Skip Intro" is dead. Ironically, skip into is back with a different face. Read my article on this at https://www.brajeshwar.com/archives/2005/12/sk...
I'm amazed that people still need convincing about Flash splash pages. They made no sence in 1997 and they still don't. Apart from the SEO issue, they are generally the equivalent of w**king on the screen. Fash can be a real aid when it's thought through and demonstrates something useful for the visitor.
Great post!
Anytime I have had a client who is adamant they want a splash page for their website I have explained to them they're pretty much pointless from both a user and SE.
If they have persisted in wanting a splash page and ignored my constructive comments I've walked away from doing the project. Thats happened twice so far.
Easy, let the other guy who is happy to add splash pages stuffed with hidden keywords, comments and over abused tags take the fall.
Daz
In all fairness to our less-technical brothers and sisters, I understand why a splash page is so appealing for many. They they want to give the impression of high-production values, sophistication and cinematic granduer.
It takes a bit of a trained-eye to appreciate an ultra-accessible CSS design with plain text and a mere 10kb of subtle graphics on the whole page.
When the whole web 2.0 rounded corners and bubbles look first came out, I was critical and thought it looked kind of "dumb" and lacking. It took a while to grow on me.
I so agree that having a splash page is a bad idea, in 99% of cases.
I work for a integrated marketing agency that has three divisions under their belt: marketing communications, branding & interactive.
I always end up in "fight" with the creatives about splash pages and the use of flash, and so when we re-designed our company website, I was all geared up for a fight..
I lost...as I'm the only SEM in the company and convincing a web designer not to use flash is like asking Gordon Ramsay not to swear. But in this case it actully helped our search engine visibility. The first month after our launch we had a few thousand visitors, the second month we had 8 times as much. Why? Because the design of the splash page got some serious repution amongst some very reputable design showcasing web sites. The big bump in traffic and links to the site really helped us achieve search engine visibility.
God forbid our webdesigner ever comes across this comment, as his head will explode and I will never win a "flash" or no "flash" argument ever again =)
Pretty much everyone looking for information on the web (even the most leisurely senior citizens and lazy a$% webcam girls) clicks around in a tremendous hurry. Very rarely does anyone dim the lights, pop up bag of Orville Redenbacher's , and sit back to enjoy an impressive splash page.
Personally, I click away unless I am familiar with the company and particularly fascinated by their brand and content.
This article has some solid arguments to throw at the legions of execs who still get excited about those flashy Hammer pants:
"Splash pages? can't touch this!"
Hmm, now that we have our Hammer bases covered, we should really think about incorporating a Vanilla Ice reference sometime in the future...
Rebecca,
Vanilla Ice was a real headache, as far as my celebrity clients go. ;) After hustling me to work on his site for a tiny cut of the royalties off his upcoming album, he was to the extreme with his splash page idea.
I tried to explain to him about keywords, page titles and text, but he didn't care: image was everything (literally). The best I could do was to sneak a couple of meta tags under the hood.
hahaha, genius
OK since we are showing really cool but outdated splash pages.
https://www.whiteroseproductions.com/bootleg/ ...
This site isn't even active any more but it was way too fun to let it die.
Ah the 90s weren't they great?
Oh lord! I shouldn't have been wearing headphones for this one. My ears hurt.
Wow! Look at you, Matt. Digg front page two days in a row! This little "How to..." series of yours is becoming quite the meme-o-matic.
Good work champ!
Man, as the "other developer" at SEOmoz, I really need to get on the ball. That, or not write about boring stuff like Citizendium...
These are great. Just the other day I was hoping for exactly this sort of thing. Then after seeing yesterday's post about music, I silently prayed that there would be a series. Thanks.
Next, if I may be so presumptious as to make a suggestion, you could do injudicious use of frames and PDF's. Those are two more annoyances that I see in a lot of websites for organizations that aren't particularly web saavy.
Yes, please! How about "How to convince a client to trust your judgment about what should go in the domain and URL name, headers and important text areas?"
This afternoon I had a difficult conversation with a client who was insisting on a total turkey of a domain name. It took showing him several dozen good & bad examples, and a little bit of SE show-and-tell before he *finally* gave it up. I almost lost my temper in the process. (Yikes!)
Why does there always seem to be some authority figure with a penchant for mucking up our designs, sites, and marketing strategies?
Some cool techniques, i love the quotes :)
What would it take to convince the client that they don't need to have a reflection effect on their navigation menu text?
Pay no mind, our nav is sitting on a super shiny table
Well, 99% surfers are in a hurry. Mostly, they don't even read what they’re looking for on the webpage; only *SCAN* it.
Now what will they most probably be doing? Waiting for a 1 MB flash animation to load OR instantly clicking *SKIP INTRO* button to find what they are looking for? :P
Exactly. The disconnect between clients and the deigners they hire is an understanding of what the web, more specifically the client's site, is going to be used for. According to the client people will go to the site and get wrapped up in all the hoopla surrounding the company and read every word on the site because, well, the company is awesome and how could they not? They treat a website like a trade show booth. Designers live in the real world where we know that web surfers have the attention span of a pot holder and use the web because it gets them to their information as fast as possible.