Introductory Animations

Do introductory animations enhance your website?

Here are a few golden rules to follow.

- Make sure that the theme of your animation fits your website.

- The length of the animation is also important. Many animations give you the option to "skip intro." This is usually because the animations are so long that the website viewers may lose interest and leave the site before the animation is over.

- So, short, (5-10 seconds) animations will make everyone happy: the website has an interesting introduction, and it is not too long to lose readers.

- Make the website animation part of the logo and overall look of the website. That way, there is a continuity between the introductory page and the rest of the website.

- Add sound if it is necessary. Animations work well with or without sound.

- But, many readers may not want any sound, since they would have to adjust the volume of their speakers to hear your animation (or turn it down).

- There is nothing wrong with a little bit of creativity and motion. It is after all the bells and whistles that sometimes add the finishing touches. So work hard to produce a creative animation - put some work into it - rather than just doing one for the sake of it.

- Finally, such details in design - color, composition, layout, and also animations - are the extra elements that enhance your website to keep your visitors coming back.

Here are a couple of introduction animation samples that follow (most) of the rules outlined above:

- A rotating globe as an introduction to a website whose theme is "nation to nation"

- An animation of a book opening for a library website