Why we don’t like splash pages!
The splash page is a bit of a phenomenon on the internet. The introduction of this phenomenon seems to coincide with the implementation of the tag in the HTML 2.0 standard (which was released in 1995). Many of our clients seem to have the notion that every site should have a splash page, but this could not be further from the truth.
While it is true that the splash page has been and continues to be widely used, there is rarely ever solid rationale for including such a page on your site.
Generally, a splash page contains little information and adds nothing to the user’s experience. In fact, more times than not, a splash page will annoy your users. 99% of the time a user knows where they are going when they click a link or type a URL into their location bar. You don’t need to remind them of where they ended up once they get there. If you do, you likely have bigger design issues at hand. To get my point across, just imagine going to Google and being presented with an image of their logo that you must click before you were allowed to search. Frustrating? Most users would agree!
The only time a splash page should be considered as an option is when your website meets one or more of the following criteria:
1. Your website is available in multiple languages and you wish for the user to make their selection upon visiting the first page of the website.
2. Your website contains multiple sections that you wish to clearly differentiate. For example, a plumbing company that specialized in both commercial and residential work.
3. The website is for a company that has multiple subsidiaries all under the same brand.
4. You are waiting for your website to be designed or developed and you want to put up a “placeholder” page.