Site Loading? Skip Intro? You’re Kidding? I’m Outta Here.

Site zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz loading

I have very little time to indulge website publishers with their theoretical coolness.  So when I visit your website do not ask me to wait while your site loads so you can show me how cool you think you are.  Because what I am thinking, as those seconds tick by and you keep me informed to the nearest one hundredth-of-something with a snazzy loading time line, is how much you are all about you. But wait, there’s more.

In return for my permission-not-given patience, you now reward me by loading a useless page that has no information.  And I know that you know it has no information because the one and only option you give me is to “skip intro” and leave the page. Are you listening?

Yes, I see that the page you've loaded for me is entirely vacuous. Thank you for the option to leave - your site.

So if you are a web developer that likes to build cool sites that insult the site visitor with pages that take so much time to load you have to provide a reassuring graphic, find another line of work because you’re giving the rest of us a bad name.  And if you are a website owner that requests these kinds of features, you are barred from using the words “client focused” Because you’re not.

9 Responses to “Site Loading? Skip Intro? You’re Kidding? I’m Outta Here.”

1. Diane Wieland says:

   March 5, 2009 at 8:34 am

   I love this! I can hear the frustration in your voice, and I empathize. I see this a lot with ad agencies. Yes, we know you are cool, but my time is billable too,and you are wasting lots of it with all this flashity-flash.

   Watch for my upcoming post on web sites that play music AT you.
2. Michael Nix says:

   March 17, 2009 at 3:45 am

   This is an extremist theory on loading pages. I guarantee the developers and designers at Duo find some value in a loading screen or graphic when a massive database being loaded either by Javascript, AJAX, or Flash is able to keep the users attention better than a blank slate, even if it is for 0.5 seconds. I understand your frustration when a 3-megabyte design firm site loads only to show you some rendition of Pac Man turning into their company logo, but there truly is still a lot of value in fully driven Flash sites; these honestly do require a loading graphic not because of fanciness but because of current ISP limitations. And while I’m a usability and accessibility nut, Flash IS sometimes the better solution.

   Point in case: “One Vote Under God” which provided tens-of-thousands of international audience members an interactive way to view the comparison of the 2008 US Presidential election candidates and their views on an array of topics. http://newsinitiative.org/medill/candidates/

   Now “Skip Intro” is a different thing. That I agree with. It’s like the opening menu of a DVD that shows you 5 key scenes of the movie when you’re simply trying to hit “Play.”
3. msaat says:

   March 20, 2009 at 2:04 pm

   stumbled on this and found it to be a great read! i am a Freelance Developer/Animator from Iowa and have this conversation with every single client i have worked with in the last 5 years!
4. Thomas says:

   March 23, 2009 at 1:04 pm

   Amen. Also sites that make noise at me and refuse to let me turn it off.

   Another point I read somewhere else… how will I use your site on my mobile device?
5. TL says:

   March 27, 2009 at 7:26 am

   I’ll be getting a lot of use from the link to this page. Well done!

   Re: Michael Nix’s comment — I think it’s all about permission.
   There are great applications for Flash and, of course, there could be loading issues for large databases — but not on the home page! At least give me the chance to decide whether it’s going to be worth the wait.
6. Norman says:

   March 27, 2009 at 8:07 am

   There should be a contest for the most annoying intro page. I would submit this (www.2kno.com) that I designed to be the equivalent of fingernails on a chalkboard.
7. Thomas Kohn says:

   March 27, 2009 at 8:29 am

   I agree greatly with the posting. But what is not said is this: “If you must use up time in loading some spiffy intro, at least pop up some verbiage for us to digest while the loading happens.” (This is possible, nicht wahr?) “Then at least the reader-waiter doesn’t get too terribly annoyed at a slow load speed. Instead, the reader may congratulate herself/himself on being such a quick reader…”
8. Flash pages, skip intros, and other annoying content | Intentional Design Inc. says:

   November 29, 2009 at 10:52 pm

   [...] DUO Consulting newsletter hit my inbox today, and I read Sonny Cohen’s post entitled “Site Loading? Skip Intro? You’re Kidding? I’m Outta Here,” I found myself nodding my head in sad agreement. However, a couple of the comments on the [...]
9. Chris says:

   December 16, 2009 at 2:50 pm

   Great rant. I was just explaining this to several clients of mine and found this to be absolutely funny.