A good splash page?

March 30, 2007 by Brian Donohue

Usually homepage splash screens are a usability no-no. (See my unforgiving rant about the Garda website for an example.) But this week I came across a happy exception.

FAI's homepage with a full screen image of the new stadium

I went to the FAI site to check the time for Wednesday’s match against Slovakia, and was confronted with the above image of the new stadium. I’d say I actually spent a minute looking at that image. (The new stadium looks fab!) When was the last time you did more on a splash screen then figure out how to get past it as quickly as possible?

The FAI’s image was good enough to make me change course and try to find more pics of the the new stadium. Unfortunately the FAI tells you nothing more about the stadium — they just try to sell you 10-year (gulp) tickets. Oh well.

Still, it goes to show there are almost no hard-and-fast rules in the world of the web usability. Or do you reckon I’ve got this one all wrong?

5 Comments

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  1. Bohsnews
    March 30, 2007 at 7:16 pm

    All well and good. But what do you think of a football association that forgets, or, worse, deliberately omits, to put a toolbar link to its own domestic league on its home page?

  2. mahalie
    March 31, 2007 at 12:50 am

    I’d have to say wrong this time…there are some hard and fast rules of web usability and one is to, at the very least, use alt text on your images, especially navigation.

    This is a cool image, that doesn’t make it a good page. The old school image slice table design could have easily been done table-less, the rollovers aren’t so hot and could have been done in text, and there’s no reason they couldn’t offer a subtle set of navigation links underneath the image.

  3. Derek Organ
    March 31, 2007 at 9:56 pm

    The average user doesn’t give a crap about alt text, table-less design etc..

    the concept works really well for the association. Highlights the new stadium which looks great and give you a simple navigation decision which really makes you look at what there are promoting currently. If you don’t then just head on to the normal website. Normally a big SEO no no but in the case of the FAI I’d say this really isn’t a issue.

    I agree, an exception to the rule.

  4. Colman
    April 11, 2007 at 10:16 am

    It just heightens the disappointment when you get to the actual FAI site itself. It’s a nice picture but I’d be loath to admit that the FAI have done anything right…

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