Is the splash page a lazy design solution?

Posted on October 14, 2007 by Melissa Worden

Splash sample Ever been tempted to put an intro on your multimedia presentation?

I confess I’ve done it many, many times myself. Mostly either to set a tone, as in this package about the five-year 9/11 anniversary and this package about Bantu refugees in Roanoke.

Another time I used it to show off a cool feature, as in this package about the new Herald-Tribune building.

But here’s some food for thought when you’re creating your next large or medium-scale multimedia project: Smashing Magazine questions whether we really need the “splash page.”

Designers use splash pages in their portfolios to impress potential clients with eye-candy. Companies tend to make use of them to draw users’ attention to their latest products. And users literally can’t stand them, because splash pages usually take a long time to load and provide (almost) no navigation options — except of “entering the site”.

They go on to show “How to lose your visitor” case studies and samples of splash pages used for advertising, disclaimers, to showcase designer talent, to choose a language/site and to tell what the site is about.

Splash sample Even done well, are they necessary? Perhaps five or even two years ago they were essential in educating the user on how to navigate Web sites.

But today as more people of all ages are using the Internet, have splash pages become beautiful designs (as seen in the samples in the Smashing Magazine story) but lazy solutions?

One reader comments: “Interestingly, I think sites that usually have an “enter here” splash are usually created by designers originally from the print media who are maybe more used to slapping a front cover on things.”

Here’s what another one says: “… if your site has a splash page specifying a resolution, you need to redesign your site. If it has instructions on how to use the site, you need to redesign the site. If the splash screen is telling the visitor they MUST download Flash to continue…you need to redesign the site. The only place I want to see a Splash screen? On a porn site.”

Comments

4 Responses to “Is the splash page a lazy design solution?”

Mindy McAdams on October 14th, 2007 3:59 pm

Nice post, Melissa. I feel frustrated as a user when the splash page does not allow me to do anything except “enter.” On the other hand, a splash page that is very inviting and helps me understand very quickly what the package is about — priceless!

But maybe I am using the phrase “splash page” to refer to a useful intro. Maybe I should not call an intro that!
Patrick Beeson on October 14th, 2007 5:31 pm

I think we can take Mindy’s comment one step further, and call a well-written headline the new “splash page,” at least on media sites.

That’s how I decide on whether a certain story deserves my click.
Melissa Worden on October 15th, 2007 12:06 am

Mindy, I also was thinking of intro as a splash page. Guidelines can be broken, so perhaps if setting the tone is important enough to the overall project, it’s a good “splash page”? On the other hand, if the overall project is designed well enough, should it need an intro? Even if it IS priceless? That’s what I wonder …

And Patrick, great point about extending the concept outside of multimedia elements. In your case, that splash page and its effectiveness is essential.
Mindy McAdams on October 15th, 2007 1:50 am

When I start looking at a package — having arrived in or on the package itself — I want to have an almost instant sense of what it has to offer me. A pointless animation won’t do that. But an animation that highlights the different segments contained in the package? That can be good, like a movie trailer.

One of my biggest gripes is a package with sections that are mysterious — especially sections labeled Part 1, Part 2, Part 3. I’m not going to click just to find out what’s in there!