It’s pretty common for a client to ask about having a Flash intro on their website. My immediate reaction is to suck air through my teeth like a plumber who’s been quizzed about the cost of fixing a boiler – not because I know it will be expensive, but because I know that it is a bad idea.

1. Most users find them annoying: A survey in 2003 found that 80% of users hate Flash intros. They achieve the same amount as other non-Flash “splash pages”. All they do is introduce another step in the interaction that has no value to the user. As with other types of empty landing pages, they also damage your SEO.
2. Most users don’t watch them: Not only will the majority of users click “skip intro” immediately, but a study by www.newfangled.com concerning their users’ reactions to their Flash splash page indicated that 25% immediately left the site.
3. It’s so web 1.0: Okay, maybe this reason is due to the fact that I use the web quite a lot and I work in the industry. My first reaction when I encounter a Flash intro is to think “this site is old”. My expectations for the site are immediately set very low, even if there’s a big juicy ‘skip intro’ button (that actually works). In fact, I often leave if I’m in a hurry as there’ll always be a more modern, usable, and trustworthy site listed in the search engine results page.

Bearing all of the above in mind, you’d be forgiven for wondering what the folks over at Fabergé had been smoking when they created their new web site.

The first thing you’ll encounter when visiting the site is a warning notice, which was probably shoe-horned in after they realised how poorly optimised their site was. It states that the web site is optimised for a screen resolution of at least 1400×1050, and that with a smaller screen resolution you will have to use horizontal scrolling. If you’ve experienced horizontal scrolling before, you’ll know it’s pretty frustrating. Don’t worry though, if you’re one of the massive 16.5% of internet users worldwide who is using a horizontal screen resolution of at least 1400 pixels, then you don’t have to worry.

My display is resolution 1280×1024, so I reluctantly clicked the “ENTER” button and, for some unknown reason, the site opened in a new browser window. The first thing I noticed about the flash intro that greeted me was that it is actually only about 1080 pixels wide, I only had to horizontal scroll to centralise it because of the width of the frame.

At this point I must say that the animation shown in the flash intro is actually superb. It contains zero information and is completely unsuitable for a landing page, but it would look nice on a TV ad.

I noticed as the animation started that a navigation menu was present above it, and a skip intro button beneath it. However, after watching for about 10 seconds, I wanted to click on the navigation, but it had disappeared. I moved my mouse over the area where it had once been and the cursor turned to a hand icon, but nothing appeared. I clicked, and nothing happened. Perhaps, like a priceless Fabergé egg, the menu had been swiped from under my nose by a crafty cat burglar. After furiously moving my mouse around the screen it came back, then disappeared again before I could select anything.

My experience of using this web site thus far was fuelling only frustration. I looked in a few more places, and then at one point a registration form was unexpectedly thrust into my face. I had no idea what the form was for, but I did notice an amusing paragraph next to it:

“The Fabergé Website is highly interactive and personal, with very innovative navigation and features. A brief phone conversation will help you to understand how it functions and make your visit more pleasant.”

A phone conversation? Maybe a 90 page .pdf manual available for download would be better.