Maybe like all fashion trends, the Website Splash page has come around to be popular again and I just didn’t get the memo. But somehow, I just don’t think this horrible concept and affront to all that is quality user experience and usability could ever come back.

Today I noticed a lot of industry Facebook friends “friending” an ad agency’s Facebook page, so I checked it out. I clicked on their Website link and “poof”!… I was greeted by a splash page that took 5 seconds to load, served up a Flash-based 2 second animation, and then took another couple of seconds to redirect me to their main Website.

I just don’t get it… why are companies, particularly my colleagues at ad agencies, so fascinated and obsessed with splash pages. They’re annoying, they’re dated, and worst of all, they force users to have to “consume” some usually uselesss, disjointed animation illustrating how cool they are. If your animation was so cool, or interesting, why not give site visitors the option to view it on their own. Why force them?

Also, why give visitors, who are usually looking to learn about the agency, a reason to leave before they get to the real site?

Again, maybe I’m off here, but does anything see things differently?

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• Richard Koffler says:

  June 22, 2011 at 5:51 am

  I’m with you. Even worse when they force you to click around to discover the links that take you to the inside pages.