Why You Should Avoid Using Splash Pages

There are a number of reasons why using a splash page for your website could be a bad idea. The search engine will scan the text on a page to find out the topic, and if the page is completely composed with a multimedia app such as flash, the search engine may not be able to spider the text. Webmasters who do this may find that they are not ranking for important keywords and terms. As you can see, this will reduce the amount of traffic you will get to your site. Many webmasters try to get around this problem by utilizing a flash introduction while placing a large amount of text in the meta tags.

However, this technique is heavily outdated. Search engines no longer care for meta tags, and they are much more concerned with what you actually have on your page. If the search engines can't see anything on your page, the page is essentially worthless. If you attempt to use a flash introduction while concealing the keywords on your page, you are setting yourself up to be banned by the search engines. My advice to you is to avoid this at all costs. It simply isn't worth it, and getting your website banned could be a waste of time and money.

A number of studies done on flash pages show that many people will simply click past them when entering a website. On a personal level, I do this all the time. When I'am looking for a specific piece of information, the last thing I want to do is wait for an animation to play. For people with slower computer, splash pages can actually slow down their computers, and this will annoy them to the point where they will simply leave your site. It is best to keep things simple. Most people visit websites because they are looking for information, and fancy splash pages will actually slow them down.

Even if you are building a website with a large amount of animation, you will want to avoid using splash pages. While broadband may be common in places such as the United States and Western Europe, it is not so common in other parts of the world. Millions of people are still using dial up connections, and webmaster who do not compensate for them will sacrifice a great deal of their traffic. Sacrificing your traffic will lead to a loss in revenue. Splash pages are the primary thing that can cause this. You should also avoid using "Click to Enter" buttons.

I find them to be annoying, because the visitor has basically made the intention of visiting your site when they come to the page. Unless you are operating an adult website, refrain from using the Click to Enter button. It is not necessary. When it comes to site design, simplicity is a recipe for success. While this doesn't mean you shouldn't use a nice design for your site, you should avoid using anything that would slow down the site for your visitors, especially those who do not have fast connections.