Why splash pages don’t work
April 26, 2013
Splash pages, also known as the “enter website” landing page, is an old trend that many websites still adopt. Is displaying a little animation or image before loading the actual website a little treat to your audience?
“Before you come to my website, check out this flash animation of my belly-dancing logo!”
There are still reasons in today’s age where splash pages could be necessary, but they should be avoided if possible.
5 second rule:
If your visitors don’t get any value from your website right away, you will lose them before they even enter your website. People who use the internet are rushed, so you have only 5 seconds to give them what they want.
An extra click:
Even though we want our visitors to click around our website, the process should be as simple for them as possible. Limit the amount of clicks! Why force your visitors to click on an “enter website” link instead of taking them directly to your website?
Search Engine Optimization:
You want your potential clients to find you on Google, so Google needs to grab a lot of information from your website. If you have a splash page, the only information you are giving Google is your splash image or animation. Google loves text, so make sure you feed Google as much text as possible.
Screen Variations:
Your visitors probably don’t see your website the same way you do. You might have a high definition monitor that will display your entire website on its massive screen, but your visitors might still be on an older CRT monitor with a very small screen resolution. Your visitors might not know to scroll down to the bottom of your splash page to find the “enter website” link.
“Coolness” factor:
Displaying a fun flash animation on your splash page might seem cool, but your visitors aren’t necessarily coming to your website to watch a cool animation. Leave the animation on your Youtube page.