Website optimization help

[thejnaitor]

Hey all,

I am currently working on a site for my mother in law. Here's my question: Are flash intros for sites a good thing or a bad thing? I'm mainly wondering if there is any way to track how many users actually get past the flash intro on the site, or whether they get there, see the flash intro and just leave.

Any ideas?

The site is www.pianomorning.com
btw

 

[jpeyton]

I fvcking hate flash intros. Or any intros.

 

[Crono]

Originally posted by: thejnaitor
Hey all,

I am currently working on a site for my mother in law. Here's my question: Are flash intros for sites a good thing or a bad thing? I'm mainly wondering if there is any way to track how many users actually get past the flash intro on the site, or whether they get there, see the flash intro and just leave.

Any ideas?

The site is www.pianomorning.com
btw

Flash has its uses, but I rarely see any used in intros that are appealing. I would rather get to the content of the website than see a flash splash.

 

[GagHalfrunt]

Originally posted by: thejnaitor
Hey all,

I am currently working on a site for my mother in law. Here's my question: Are flash intros for sites a good thing or a bad thing?

Bad. Bad bad bad. Bad bad bad bad bad.

BAD

They suck. Even the very best of them are moderately amusing ONCE and then a waste of time forever after and very few rise to that level. Most start as a waste of time and then get truly annoying.

 

[CrazyLazy]

Flash intros are bad, for both search engines and users.

 

[Atheus]

Looks like a site where the information is key, not the entertainment value of the site itself, and certainly not the visuals. From what I see on the main page you want people to visit the site regularly for new updates - which they are paying for - and they aren't going to want to skip the intro every time. I'd go for a simple visual style with the music presented clearly. I'd get rid of most of the images for a start.

/edit: that'll be £500

 

[orakle]

Flash intros are really, really annoying. Don't use one.

 

[theprodigalrebel]

CasioTech loved them - so there's your answer.

 

[AVAFREAK182]

Originally posted by: orakle
Flash intros are really, really annoying. Don't use one.

 

[SarcasticDwarf]

Only in rare circumstances, and that is not one of them.

 

[Cattlegod]

Originally posted by: theprodigalrebel
CasioTech loved them - so there's your answer.

haha :thumbsup:

 

[GaryJohnson]

they aren't going to want to skip the intro every time

You could give the users a cookie once they've seen the intro once that blocks the intro on subsequent visits. But I agree with most of the people here, you shouldn't use "intro" pages.

 

[Q]

Bad

 

[Aluvus]

Originally posted by: thejnaitor
Are flash intros for sites a good thing or a bad thing?

Extremely bad.

I'm mainly wondering if there is any way to track how many users actually get past the flash intro on the site, or whether they get there, see the flash intro and just leave.

Look at server logs for the intro page vs. wherever it dumps visitors. Many, many people will just leave.

 

[thejnaitor]

Thanks for the information and tips guys. I really appreciate it. Now if I can just convince the mother in law that we shouldn't use the intro anymore... hehe.

 

[TruePaige]

Horrible, tell her how it will tank SE rankings (unless you present a different non-flash page to search engines).

 

[MagnusTheBrewer]

Have her put the flash intro into the "about" tab and then everyone's happy.

 

[thejnaitor]

I know I should know this, but how do I find out in Google Analytics what the bounce rate is for the main page with the flash intro compared to the page it dumps them to?

 

[alkemyst]

Depends on site....

however, for every 100 flash implementations for intro....95+ should have made them a non-intro page and allow the user to click to watch it.

If you do put one up load a prominent "Skip Intro" button first.

 

[Snapster]

Flash should only be used to enhance areas of the website and not be the doorway into it and there should also be an alternative if the user chooses not to display flash content.

The only exception is game or movie websites where the whole microsite is in flash due to an abundance of graphical and media content.

 

[Mr Pickles]

Originally posted by: thejnaitor
I know I should know this, but how do I find out in Google Analytics what the bounce rate is for the main page with the flash intro compared to the page it dumps them to?

The bounce rates of each of your pages should be listed as long as you have the google code at the bottom of each page source. They should be right there.

As far as your OP goes:

SEO and Flash do not play well with each other. Think of it this way. If the title of your website is a big image and it says "MY COOL WEBSITE" in the image, can google read that and know that the title is "MY COOL WEBSITE"... nope.

Same for flash. Search engine bots can't read the text associated with Flash. It takes a lot of work to make a Flash file search engine friendly. So much work that it's just not worth it. So keep that in mind when you are trying to actually "optimize" your website.

Now as far as what you called optimization, I guess you are just trying to get as many people to head to your site and stay there looking at your content for as long as possible. That's probably not going to happen with a Flash intro if you are displaying content that is updated weekly or if you want the same viewers to head back to the page more than just a few times. No one wants to head to a website on a daily basis just to click a skip button after the page finally loads.

There is no final answer that you can apply to every website on the internet.

Take a look at your target audience.
Try and focus on a group of individual that you know would consider your content most appealing.
Determine the visit frequency of each guest and ask yourself if you are catering to new viewers or re-visiting viewers.
Pray to teh googles.
Profit

 

[ViviTheMage]

NO INTRO PERIOD. NONE, ZERO, ZILCH!

I used caps to reiterate the NO-NESS!!