Jennifer Gregory - Standout Web Design Blog

On a regular basis, someone will ask me about using a flash page as an introduction to a website and my only answer is, "No, you don't want to do that."!  This is often not the answer that the person wants to hear.  A flash page is the page you find that shows a movie or animation that then provides a 'click here' or 'enter site' button for the user to get to the actual website they want.  There are quite a few reasons for not having a flash introduction page and of course, each set of website users is different so the reasons not to use a flash page will differ.  Here are a few:

• A good percentage of users will immediately leave a website when they see a flash page
• It is difficult to optimise a flash page for search engines
• Most users immediately click on 'skip intro' or 'enter site' without hangning around to even see the flash animation / movie / picture / sound / etc.
• Users with slow internet connections will find a flash page takes a long time to load creating frustration and a high rate of impatience and ultimately leaving before they even got there...!

I read of a web design agency recently creating this simple, single-page website giving readers 13 reasons why they should embrace the web.  Its hard to pick out which of those 13 would sit in a top 5 or even 10 and ultimately the areas importance be unique to each and every business. From my limited experience so far I have found that these are my top 5:

• The web adapts and grows with you
• The web is measurable
• The web is improved communication
• The web builds brand awareness
• Your competition is already here

I recently came across this headline and was compelled to follow the link to find out why someone wanted to 'eliminate small business'.  Thankfully when I arrived at the website I found that this was not the case at all.  The suggestion is that instead of referring to a "Small Business", we use the term "Private Growth Business".  I thought this was a great exercise in thinking about how one views their buisness, whether that be small, medium, or large, and how others might view your business too.