This is definitely a sweet site, but it’s a shame it’s all flash. I hate flash sites. Sometimes they can pull it off but in this case, the site is cool but it takes way too long to load. A lot of people would just navigate away because they wouldn’t feel like waiting. Once it’s loaded it’s pretty nice though.
I would just like to make a comment on those complaining about Flash sites loading…
It would take roughly 3-10x longer if a site with this amount of graphics was done in HTML. Flash has one of the best compression algorithms available, which is why it lends itself very well to streaming media and graphic-heavy content.
If a Flash site loads and there is nothing in it, THEN feel free to complain. But when it has this much stuff in it – always remember that it would’ve taken far longer if it wasn’t in Flash.
It’s a beautiful site, clearly, but if I’m visiting a website for a restaurant I want to know when they are open, what they have to eat, and where they are. Generally I’m in a hurry too. Too many restaurants have overdone sites that forget the basics of why their visitors are there in the first place.
@ DDD Yea but there are better ways to go around it. You can break it up into to sections or something at least instead of having the entire site in one flash file. The problem isn’t that it’s done in flash, it’s that it takes so long to load. Most people wouldn’t feel like waiting. So they just need to fix it so it loads quicker, whether that be making it less interactive in flash or converting it to html with hardly any interactivity at all. It doesn’t matter how nice or how much content is in the site if people wouldn’t even be willing to wait for it to load.
True, but you’re bringing up a management decision. Did the client wish to create a marketing site (which this is) or an information one? If this was an information site, then it would be nothing short of ridiculous to have to make people wait – as you said, people want to see only certain information and then go.
It’s a bit like discussing whether or not cars should have marketing sites – some people simply want to see the specs, prices, credit terms, insurance costs, and then where it is available. But advertising data supports the argument that having a marketing site helps boost walk-in sales at the dealerships, and traffic to the information website.
Flash has its place on the web – just as long as it is not used for a site intended for people who want information over entertainment. That’s what we have HTML for. =)
@DDD This is true, but the whole point of any sort of marketing is getting a point across before you lose the audiences attention. Sure the site does a good job of that once it’s loaded but if half the people visiting the site leave before it’s even loaded because it’s taking so long, well then the site is failing to successfully market the product. Not to mention all the people that don’t even have flash installed on their machines. Don’t get me wrong though, I love flash. But, when it comes to using flash on the web, I think it’s better in moderation.
We’re essentially saying the same thing, and in that light, I will make critique regarding the flash approach: it shouldn’t be the first page they see on the main site. It’s fine if the flash was, say, http://www.smokeybones.com/smokin/, or an alternate uri, but if say I enter mcdonalds.com on the browser, I wouldn’t want to be greeted by a Flash loader.
However, if there was a banner that said “check out the new bits”, and it opened a flash mini site, then it would be fine.
(I do think that’s what you were talking about, and I do agree.)
@DDD Yea exactly. All the reading up I’ve done on SEO says that a flash landing page is no no. So yes, I agree with that, if anything the landing page needs to be html. Or even taking the route of giving the viewer the option of entering the html site or the flash site would be just as good in my opinion. Either way, with a completely flash based site, I believe you will drive away traffic taking that route. So now, yes, I agree.
Feels very open and clean with the white background. Nice use of neutrals and split compliments. Everything is beautifully organized, especially the top page in the gallery section. Makes me want to buy shelves
17 Comments
A nice site, such a shame that it takes a while to load!
I love this site. It was constructed by PUSH out of Orlando, they knock out some incredible work.
A pretty cool feature is the regional feature, if you select different area codes the background silhouette changes to something in your area.
DOPE.
If ever a site called for a preloader…
This is definitely a sweet site, but it’s a shame it’s all flash. I hate flash sites. Sometimes they can pull it off but in this case, the site is cool but it takes way too long to load. A lot of people would just navigate away because they wouldn’t feel like waiting. Once it’s loaded it’s pretty nice though.
That place is seriously delicious–too bad they had a major downsizing a year ago and closed lots of stores… now I can no longer eat there
Cool intro animation. Other then that the sites pretty worthless as far as usability goes.
Fun site! clicking the cheerleader to make her fall off the roof is a nice little touch.
I would just like to make a comment on those complaining about Flash sites loading…
It would take roughly 3-10x longer if a site with this amount of graphics was done in HTML. Flash has one of the best compression algorithms available, which is why it lends itself very well to streaming media and graphic-heavy content.
If a Flash site loads and there is nothing in it, THEN feel free to complain. But when it has this much stuff in it – always remember that it would’ve taken far longer if it wasn’t in Flash.
It’s a beautiful site, clearly, but if I’m visiting a website for a restaurant I want to know when they are open, what they have to eat, and where they are. Generally I’m in a hurry too. Too many restaurants have overdone sites that forget the basics of why their visitors are there in the first place.
@ DDD Yea but there are better ways to go around it. You can break it up into to sections or something at least instead of having the entire site in one flash file. The problem isn’t that it’s done in flash, it’s that it takes so long to load. Most people wouldn’t feel like waiting. So they just need to fix it so it loads quicker, whether that be making it less interactive in flash or converting it to html with hardly any interactivity at all. It doesn’t matter how nice or how much content is in the site if people wouldn’t even be willing to wait for it to load.
The site is big, but I didn’t have any issues with load time on my economy broadband package. Are you guys using dial up to surf the web?
@Zach
True, but you’re bringing up a management decision. Did the client wish to create a marketing site (which this is) or an information one? If this was an information site, then it would be nothing short of ridiculous to have to make people wait – as you said, people want to see only certain information and then go.
It’s a bit like discussing whether or not cars should have marketing sites – some people simply want to see the specs, prices, credit terms, insurance costs, and then where it is available. But advertising data supports the argument that having a marketing site helps boost walk-in sales at the dealerships, and traffic to the information website.
Flash has its place on the web – just as long as it is not used for a site intended for people who want information over entertainment. That’s what we have HTML for. =)
@DDD This is true, but the whole point of any sort of marketing is getting a point across before you lose the audiences attention. Sure the site does a good job of that once it’s loaded but if half the people visiting the site leave before it’s even loaded because it’s taking so long, well then the site is failing to successfully market the product. Not to mention all the people that don’t even have flash installed on their machines. Don’t get me wrong though, I love flash. But, when it comes to using flash on the web, I think it’s better in moderation.
@Zach
We’re essentially saying the same thing, and in that light, I will make critique regarding the flash approach: it shouldn’t be the first page they see on the main site. It’s fine if the flash was, say, http://www.smokeybones.com/smokin/, or an alternate uri, but if say I enter mcdonalds.com on the browser, I wouldn’t want to be greeted by a Flash loader.
However, if there was a banner that said “check out the new bits”, and it opened a flash mini site, then it would be fine.
(I do think that’s what you were talking about, and I do agree.)
@DDD Yea exactly. All the reading up I’ve done on SEO says that a flash landing page is no no. So yes, I agree with that, if anything the landing page needs to be html. Or even taking the route of giving the viewer the option of entering the html site or the flash site would be just as good in my opinion. Either way, with a completely flash based site, I believe you will drive away traffic taking that route. So now, yes, I agree.
Wow, so active site. The visual effect is great.
Feels very open and clean with the white background. Nice use of neutrals and split compliments. Everything is beautifully organized, especially the top page in the gallery section. Makes me want to buy shelves