Obviously, since the Web didn't interest people until Mosaic
came along, with its <IMG> tag, people feel images are worth the wait. If speed is so gawl-dang important, why aren't we all merrily clicking around
in Lynx? Because, as any sex-site proprietor knows, people like pictures! This is particularly true with e-commerce
sites, where "image compels, text sells." Search engines that automatically return
product thumbnails offer a far richer understanding of the product and provide visual cues that are used throughout
the shopper's browse. Sure, text-only results appear faster, but users are often forced to
sift laboriously through the text to figure out the nature of each result.
How do you get people to wait for imagery? Make sure they know what they're up against. With porn sites, people know - either immediately with the URL or once the page loads. Following that cue, other sites without such obvious
foreshadowers can utilize a simple but effective splash screen to quickly orient visitors and prepare them for what's
ahead.
Good God. Am I actually promoting the use of splash screens? Yes, yes I am. In the jillion-channel-click-click-click
nature of the Web, a good splash screen sets your site apart from the clutter and focuses attention on what you
have to offer. Sure, the splash might turn off many users, but, when designed effectively, it retains the audience
you actually seek.
Clever designers have developed numerous tricks for keeping people busy during image-heavy downloads. For example, here
you'll find a "loading ..." progress bar comprised of the actual pictures set at a 2-pixel height and
width. A Webmonkey article shows
the benefit of stacking tables. And my friend Deborah utilizes a small
popup window to serve as an introductory distraction. Where there's a will, there's a way.
I'm not suggesting you run off and paste a massive background JPEG on
your site. Only a fool dismisses the importance of download times. But it's crucial to understand that when you design
solely for speed, you'll compromise the user's experience. And don't tell me, "But Yahoo and Amazon are
great and useful and fast." Yes, for their users they are, but your users' needs and desires will likely be
quite different, perhaps even at odds with, theirs.
So you need to create a site that your users deem wait-worthy.
