Not so long ago, you would see a large number
of web sites with a Macromedia Flash welcome page. Usually
these are visually dynamic and have a high "wow"
factor. Lately, the percentage of web sites using Flash
in this way has dropped. Why is that? When Flash came into
its own in the late 19990's, there was a desire to use it
to catch users attention when they first arrived at a sites'
home page. The quality of these pages ran the gamut from
boring to cinematic quality. What has become apparent to
site designers recently is that the vast majority of users
are not looking for colorful intros; they are looking for
content to solve their problems. Thankfully, most Flash
items have a "skip intro" link on the screen,
but the overall trend is to do less Flash for Flash sake,
and to redirect that effort toward making a web site more
usable and the content more relevant.
There is still a number of web sites that
use Flash for their entire site. In these cases, the navigation,
content, media and so forth are all built within Flash.
These sites can be very professional and useable. However,
an experienced Flash developer is a necessity if a solution
like this is desired.
What is the lesson here? Always look at what
your users need, first and foremost. Conduct usability tests
on your site and get feedback. If 95% of your test users
are quickly by-passing your intro Flash screen, then consider
dumping it. However, if your business is video production
services and Flash can show users the range of videos you
can produce, then by all means retain it. Just remember,
if you are considering Flash for your welcome page, make
sure it supports your web site's goals and that users will
actually view it.
