A site’s flash intro may be appealing the first time you see it. The second, third, and four hundredth times, not so much. So what appears to be a new “skip intro” button from Google is an interesting gift.
After a few minutes of trying to imagine test searches, it became apparent that it isn’t a vital feature – absolutely nothing came to mind. Flash intros just aren’t as common as they once were, and what few still exist should have their own highly visible “skip intro” buttons. If you’re desperate to see Google innovation, Philipp Lenssen suggests the term “yuasa france.”
Google Introduces “Skip Intro” Option
Anyway, aside from the intended user-friendliness of the “skip intro” button, its introduction speaks to a certain willingness on Google’s part to annoy sites’ owners. Kyle Wegner writes, “I would be one unhappy web designer if people searching my site skipped over my pretty little intro. . . . This is terrible for usability, but I’m sure the flash intro (as horrible as I personally think they are) was created for a reason.”
It’ll be interesting to see if there’s any backlash. Since virtually no one seems to offer flash intros anymore, it seems not, but if designers start to fear for other parts of their sites, there’s at least a small possibility.
Meanwhile, one of the top Google results for “site with flash intro” is an eight-year-old Jakob Nielsen article titled “Flash: 99% Bad.”
