I learned to meditate many years ago. Over time, and with practice, it becomes easier to maintain focus on specific thoughts and ideas. It helps to gain clarity and understanding, allowing better control over where mental and physical energy is applied. There is however, even in those quietest, most relaxing moments, behind gently closed lids, something else going on in the supposed darkness; underlying awareness, thoughts of memories, anticipation, and manifestation of other senses, intent on projecting themselves onto the mind’s eye. They hang in the background like a kaleidoscope of defining context.

The result of this phenomenon is the same as that of a Splash page, that first layer of a website that defines the expectation, the character, and the spirit of a website. Like the first waking moment of the day, maybe a sunrise through a picture window that illuminates a stained glass collection, reminding you of an upcoming art exhibit. Or, maybe you see a dark, dingy, basement apartment where the hard, grey, concrete floor and unpainted cinder walls remind you that it’s time to pay the rent this week. In either case, it is that first view that brings your mind to a particular place.

Website designers have the ultimate control in leading the mind of the e-traveler, and that is why many sites choose to have a Splash page to capture, maintain, and entertain the interest of guests, while confirming the loading of desired content. Splash pages set the stage with a look and feel using the visual appeal of animation, graphics, and sound, by displaying an image centered on the screen and then disappearing when the first program window opens.

However, like intruding thoughts to a meditating novice, Splash screens are especially inconvenient for users with slow internet connections because the first page may take longer to load, or if the user has turned off rich content (such as images, Flash or Shockwave), the splash page may not load at all. Furthermore, Splash pages created in Flash (and the associated main pages) often can’t be accessed by search engines or handled by text readers for the blind.

So keep this in mind, and remember to focus on your target audience when you are designing your website, and in particular, your homepage.

Perfectory Web Design Services, we’re making a Splash.