Flash Intros - Good or Bad?
Blogged into internet marketing & web_design on 08/05/2005 | comment
Disclaimer: This article does not necessarily try to bash or ban flash intros from the web, it merely questions their value in terms of marketing, accessibility and usability.
Plug: If you need a Flash intro Vibe9 Design would be happy to consider developing one for you.
Now…
I know what your’re thinking, Flash intros are so 2000. And I would not disagree. But sometimes the past has a way of becoming part of the future.
It is my personal feeling, however, that Flash intros are not going to be part of the future of the web. They generally take too long to load, and add an extra step in the path toward the information that web surfers really want. In some instances they are just down right annoying and intrusive, especially when your browser window automatically resizes to fit the screen and there is no “skip intro” button provided.
As a good friend of mine, an experienced day trader and business person, recently said:
You sure as hell don’t see Flash of any sort going on over at E-Bay, one of the web’s truly most successful businesses.
On the other hand, I have a number of clients who would not have a website go without a flash intro. Perhaps its the industry they are in, or maybe that’s just their version of what a website should be about. In either case, they are the client so what they say goes. Of course, some would argue otherwise. Indeed, it is our job as web designers and internet professionals to educate and make recommendations. To do so, however, often requires good solid data if we are to win the argument.
This is where you come in. What I want is some hard evidence to prove where/when Flash intros are successful and where/when they are not.
The basic criteria for success – or lack therof, is keeping visitors on a website, as well as influencing their decisions to return, browse around and, ultimately, buy and/or contact the company.
For example…
- What percentage of sites with flash intros actually get people past the the intro and staying on the site?
- What percentage of users use the “skip intro” button, and what percentage actually sit and watch the whole thing?
- What percentage of key corporate decision makers/buyers consider Flash intros a positive influence on their decision to buy?
- What is the general consensus among web consumers?
These are all useful questions that, with the data to backup, one could use to strongly argue either for or against Flash intros (depending on the data), or at least when to, and when not to use Flash intros.
http://www.marketingsherpa.com/sample.cfm?contentID=2524
— Graham 08/05/2005 #
I’m also interested to know of some articles and stats that talk about FLASH intros from a B2B perspective. Anyone?
— Terry Evans 08/05/2005 #
I have a whole schpeel of things that irritate me in web design, for more on that, read on…
SonSpring Design – Don’t Break the Menu
— Nathan Smith 08/05/2005 #
Though I’m not looking for support of the fact that Flash intros are annoying (which they indeed are), what I’m hoping for is some arsenal to present the case that they are just plain useless, as well as situations where they have merit.
— Terry Evans 08/05/2005 #
Flash intros were always a bad idea…
— John Blaze 08/05/2005 #
I am a novie web designer designing a site for the first time and I haven’t used flash intros.The site is about a tourism service company and most others in this domain have either flash or flash intro.
Does flash intros mean a standard for tourism sites?
I have seen alaska.com which has not flash at all and still very big.
— Joseph 08/05/2005 #
— Mr.Khmerang 08/05/2005 #
I totally agree flash intros are annoying but flash as a marketing tool can be very powerful. We mainly create small flash sites for video games and flash is giving us animation, sound and interactivity. I only use flash when it makes sense and this is always depending on the content and subject of the site. Many older flash sites always did this mistake not being suitable for the content. The acceptation would be the Roadrunner flash site which uses the multimedia strength of flash in context I would never dreamed of implementing.
http://www.rr.com/flash/
— Olaf 08/06/2005 #
On the other hand, IMHO, it’s perfectly acceptable to use Flash components within the HTML to add spice and interactivity to a site.
I think that intros are just a relic from thinking the web is a bit like TV.
– Mr.Khmeran, well said.
I believe that most Flash intros could be converted into large flash banners somewhere around the masthead.
– Mr. K, I certainly agree. As clients often argue, the only issue is you don’t get the “full punch”.
@Olaf – I agree with you that Flash can be a good marketing tool. But show me the data to prove it!
— Terry Evans 08/06/2005 #
I think it’s misleading trying to define things as generic “Flash Intros”—Certainly, many designers use the (evil) music/flashing words animations that they plop in front of their site (mostly portfolio sites) but nearly anything can be worked in succesfully as long as it is set within the right context.
Novell say, has little Flash marketing animations that work well. You can access the navigation at all times and they are usually quite attractive, quick and silent. Not really a “Flash intro” but a good compromise.
The Donnie Darko site kept making you wait and sit through non-interactive segments but ended up being highly succesfull at getting people to want to see the movie.
Nobody wants a Flash intro in front of a corporate site if they want to find a phone number or the price of something, especially if it feels like sitting through an ad. Basically, I don’t know if the “Flash intro good or bad” argument is valid and I always steer clients away from it because the real question is “what is required?”—Nearly every case is different and there are different levels of Flash integration into a website. Our job is to find what’s “just enough” and this goes for the “Flash or HTML” discussion as well.
But hey, if you want the best argument against the generic Flash intros these are mine: “people don’t like sitting through ads, Flash intros are like ads” and (as its been said before) “search engines don’t really like them”.
— Alexoid 08/07/2005 #
I agree designing a Flash intro to tastefully fit the context, from a design perspective, can work. That’s what I’m constatnly trying to do. What I want to know is are there stats to prove the effectiveness of such an excercise. I ask this because I have lots of clients asking for “flash intros”.
Nobody wants a Flash intro in front of a corporate site if they want to find a phone number or the price of something, especially if it feels like sitting through an ad.
Agreed. Try telling that to corp executives sometimes! Some feel it makes a positive imprint on people’s first impressions, making flash introductions worth the effort. That’s why I need some good hard ammo to state otherwise; like what’s the ROI on a Flash intro?
— Terry Evans 08/08/2005 #
Jakob Nielsen has a few things to say (about Flash in general but dig into it and you’ll find some good bits)—He’s pretty respected and could be quoted.
http://www.useit.com/alertbox/20001029.html
More stuff here:
http://www.ftponline.com/conferences/thunderlizard/flashtips.asp
Looking a bit deeper into it I did find a number. Apparently there was research and in the end 80% hated flash intros (surprise, surprise)—this could be the ticket.
“80% of respondents voted for the site without a Flash intro.”
http://www.marketingsherpa.com/sample.cfm?contentID=2524
OK, it’s a bit melodramatic in an “everybody hates flash” kind of way. At the end of the day, everybody hates crap that wastes their time whether Flash, HTML, Java or whatever.
Hope this helps.
— Alexoid 08/09/2005 #
— Terry 08/10/2005 #
— Rob Mientjes 08/11/2005 #
I thoroughly appreciate your efforts to get some hard data on the flash/no-flash intro debate. As it turns out, I’m looking for the same information. It seems that many are quick to criticize flash for it’s intrusive nature, and the time in which it takes to run. I can see their point – often, you only want to get to the pertinent information quickly, and really couldn’t care less about the design effects. However, I think we are forgetting about a couple of critical variables.
1) The last (and only study I can find) about consumer perception of flash was conducted in November of 2003. (http://www.marketingsherpa.com/sample.cfm?contentID=2524 – cited a couple of times on this blog) Surely the speed of the animation has increased since 2003 – especially with the recent release of Flash 8. Is it really such an intrusion if the intro is quick, and the designer has been sensible with the page-refresh programming …
2) I think that we may be giving too much credit to the average web-browser. Those that spend much of their day on the internet (myself included) are a little more sensitive when it comes to the functionality of the websites they visit. But are consumers who get on the web only every once and a while as bothered by the speed of information delivery, or are they enticed by “sophisticated” websites that use flash? ...
I’m not sure, but, like you, am looking for some answers.
— Andrew 09/22/2005 #
Thank you for your thoughtful reply. You are not the only one to reference this article about why consumers hate flash, and for all I know, it’s the only one of its kind.
As for number two, perhaps you’re right: we’re all assuming that our own experience of the Internet is similar to many others. The only thing I would say against your contention is that when people use the Internet they do so in search of information. When they go to the movies they do so in search of entertainment. When the lines are blurred it can become annoying, unless done very tastefully.
May the search for hard evidence continue!
— Terry Evans 09/22/2005 #