I guess one could say that, with the click of a mouse, you always have the option of bypassing information on a Web site. But this is different. This is saying to viewers, “go ahead, you can skip what’s being said here. It’s not that important.”
In his article "Flash: 99% Bad," Dr. Jakob Nielsen wrote, “ . . . we're now seeing the rise of Flash intros that have the same obnoxious effect: They delay users' ability to get what they came for. On the upside, most Flash intros feature a "skip intro" button. However, their very existence encourages design abuse . . .”
WebProNews editor Peter Thiruselvam wrote in his e-newsletter, “While it may be fun to watch the creativity of our world-wide neighbors, the time it takes to download many of these [Flash and Java] pages is far from fun . . . ”
Now, I’m not against Flash. It has its place on Web sites, but not at the entry point. Imagine this scenario (perhaps you have had this experience yourself) . . .
You’re online. You get to a Web site and one of two scenarios may occur:
1) A Flash presentation starts. Images are moving, words are flowing in and out, and more. You notice, in the corner or at the bottom of the screen, it reads “Skip Intro” so you click on it. After all, if you can “Skip Intro,” it must not be critical for viewing. Plus, it saves you time.
2) Nothing happens (or you get a big black box) because Flash isn't installed on your computer. Instead, you see the “Skip Intro” button or a message that says, “You must have Flash to view this site. Click here to download it now.” or “If you don't have Flash or have a slower computer, visit our HTML site.”
After clicking on “Skip Intro” or going to the HTML site, you discover that now you’re where you want to be — the Home page. Here’s where what you’ve been seeking awaits you — INFORMATION — not some flashy bells and whistles presentation.
Elizabeth Graves, president of Colorado-based Visual Science Inc. agrees. She explained that her design firm was “ . . . blessed to have a talented young designer . . . who got stung by the Flash Bug. He convinced us to do an all Flash Web site. . . . After three solid months . . . the site was finished. We got tons of “oooos” and “aahhs” at first, mostly from technical people”.
“We also were immediately criticized by some of our peers because they didn’t get it,” Graves continued. “The site . . . may be fun to go to once. But if our audience is looking for real information about our company, they won’t really find it. Everything moves, but at a snail’s pace on a slower speed connection. . . . I really appreciate all the work our designer put into designing the site, but in retrospect, I think we made a huge mistake.”
Repeatedly, Web professionals cry out "keep it simple . . . content is king . . . don’t use large image files." Then why not give viewers what they want as soon as they get to your site? And, give it to them the way they want it — fast. Why present them with the option to “Skip Intro” or "Download Flash?"
Remember, there are still people who don’t have Flash installed on their computers. Seeing that graphic for “Download Flash Here” may result in disappointed viewers who won’t take the time to download it. You risk losing valuable customers who may have otherwise found your site beneficial.
In a land where “content is king,” Flash presentations have their place. They’re great on entertainment sites, within the infrastructure of information, or on educational sites.
As Dr. Nielsen suggested, “If Flash was cheap to produce and if all content creators could make a Flash object as easily as they write a standard Web page, then perhaps many of these [usability] problems would be alleviated. For now, they remain serious issues. I thus recommend that Web designers interested in enhancing usability and their site's overall business presence use Flash sparingly.”
Don’t risk losing prospective customers by providing your site's visitors with a “Skip Intro” option. Give them a reason to view everything you have to present on your site.
Owner of Kauai-based The Write Direction, Debra Jason offers her services as a copywriter and Web marketing consultant. She writes dynamic marketing materials and helps optimize your Web pages to boost their positioning in the search engines.
©Copyright 2001 Debra Jason dba The Write Direction. All rights reserved. PO Box 608, Hanalei, HI 96714
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