Entry page to website

Freeway
1

Hi
I’m doing a web page for a client for their holiday home.
They would like a front page leading into the home page.
This page would have the welcome to, logo one or two pictures and a strap line.
What I would like the site to do is once this page has loaded and given the viewer and appropriate time to view is that it then loads automatically to the home page proper.
Any tips please.
Mike

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2

Hi Make,

Personally, I would consider not using a “splash page”

When a user comes to a website, the marketing is usually done. The need for the service is already there, hence finding the site in the first place. By forcing them to watch some marketing prior to going into the site just might annoy them enough to go away. By their second and third visit your marketing splash page really annoys them.

Its said you potentially lose 50% of your visitors with every click.

If you make the home page rich with suitable gateways to the content they seek, your user will be happy and more likely to listen to your proposition and come back.

Also consider if there is no content of the home page, Google could probably direct them to another page within the site, in which case the splash page is wasted anyway.

If you do want to use a splash page use the timed re-direct action.

David Owen { Freeway Friendly Web hosting and Domains }

http://www.ineedwebhosting.co.uk | http://www.PrintlineAdvertising.co.uk

On 20 Aug 2010, at 17:33, Mike Thornley wrote:

Hi
I’m doing a web page for a client for their holiday home.
They would like a front page leading into the home page.
This page would have the welcome to, logo one or two pictures and a strap line.
What I would like the site to do is once this page has loaded and given the viewer and appropriate time to view is that it then loads automatically to the home page proper.
Any tips please.
Mike

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3

Hi David

Thanks for the considered comments, you are probably right.

I have been waiting since April for client to supply content, after we agreed a plan, shes keep firing different stuff at me

Regards
Mike

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4

Also, comments on a Fasthost customer about using ineed web hosting etc.

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5

Hi Mike

Welcome to the world of web design, keeping clients and projects on track is a far bigger task than actually building the site in Freeway.

David

On 20 Aug 2010, at 18:49, “Mike Thornley” email@hidden wrote:

I have been waiting since April for client to supply content, after we agreed a plan, shes keep firing different stuff at me

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6

Hi Mike

Just open an account for yourself and have a look round.

David

On 20 Aug 2010, at 19:01, “Mike Thornley” email@hidden wrote:

Also, comments on a Fasthost customer about using ineed web hosting etc.

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7

Hi David

Are you part of the company? I was going to call them for a chat.
May place the site I am doing now there.

Not bought the domain name yet.

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8

Very much so. I’m in the office tomorrow a.m. If you need a chat about hosting. Or use the sales form on the site to email a question.

David

On 20 Aug 2010, at 20:56, “Mike Thornley” email@hidden wrote:

Are you part of the company?

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9

I will, if weather is good out doing some photography in the morning.
So if I don’t call tomorrow, I will catch you on Monday.
Mike

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10

Mike,
I have a love/hate relationship with “entry” pages. David is correct,
they can be annoying. IMHO. they do, however, give you the opportunity
for more organized control over the web server directory structure.
When you go to ,e.g. MyWebSite.com, most servers will look for a file
named index.html in the top level directory. When you create a FW
project, freeway names your first page you construct index.html. Now
if you just make more pages, when you do an “upload” the other pages
all also end up in the top level directory with the index.html file,
really cluttering it up. What I like to do is create my first page in
FW, then “make a folder” in FW and put all the new pages in this
folder. For example, lets name the new folder Version1, now when you
upload to your server, you will only have the index.html file in the
main directory and a Version1 folder. By the way, this index.html page
is your “entry” page. If at some time in the future you want to redo
the entire site, you go into FW name the first file index1.html and
the folder Version2. Now you can have two web sites on your server,
neatly separated. The main level has only the two files index.html and
index1.html and two folders, Version1 and Version2. When you are ready
to go live with the new site, in FW you rename the page from
index1.html to index.html, upload and you are live with the new site.
If you leave the Version1 folder there, all old bookmarks people may
have into the Version1 folder will still work for the old site, or
just delete the Version1 folder using an FTP program like Fetch, and
your old site is erased with one delete.

see my very simple “informative” site http://rutherfordquiltguild.org
Note the URL path change after you click the “enter” button.

LLE

P.S. I don’t know what the current status is, but in the past, Google
really hated auto redirect commands in your index.html page. People
used to use this as a trick to get people to some other site, not just
to other pages in your real site.

On Aug 20, 2010, at 12:33 PM, Mike Thornley wrote:

Hi
I’m doing a web page for a client for their holiday home.
They would like a front page leading into the home page.
This page would have the welcome to, logo one or two pictures and a
strap line.
What I would like the site to do is once this page has loaded and
given the viewer and appropriate time to view is that it then loads
automatically to the home page proper.
Any tips please.
Mike

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11

Mike

Be careful you are not burying content needlessly in folders that are not names suitably. Having a home page just to say click to enter is not entirely considered good usability. Any page juggling Freeway can do easily at any time.

Google and the server can easily cope with a whole site in the main directory. Segment files into folders when the content deserves to be split into subjects to help the user understand, rather than split for your benefit

David

On 21 Aug 2010, at 16:53, LLE Freeway email@hidden wrote:

Mike,
I have a love/hate relationship with “entry” pages. David is correct, they can be annoying. IMHO. they do, however, give you the opportunity for more organized control over the web server directory structure. When you go to ,e.g. MyWebSite.com, most servers will look for a file named index.html in the top level directory. When you create a FW project, freeway names your first page you construct index.html. Now if you just make more pages, when you do an “upload” the other pages all also end up in the top level directory with the index.html file, really cluttering it up. What I like to do is create my first page in FW, then “make a folder” in FW and put all the new pages in this folder. For example, lets name the new folder Version1, now when you upload to your server, you will only have the index.html file in the main directory and a Version1 folder. By the way, this index.html page is your “entry” page. If at some time in the future you want to redo the entire site, you go into FW name the first file index1.html and the folder Version2. Now you can have two web sites on your server, neatly separated. The main level has only the two files index.html and index1.html and two folders, Version1 and Version2. When you are ready to go live with the new site, in FW you rename the page from index1.html to index.html, upload and you are live with the new site. If you leave the Version1 folder there, all old bookmarks people may have into the Version1 folder will still work for the old site, or just delete the Version1 folder using an FTP program like Fetch, and your old site is erased with one delete.

see my very simple “informative” site http://rutherfordquiltguild.org
Note the URL path change after you click the “enter” button.

LLE

P.S. I don’t know what the current status is, but in the past, Google really hated auto redirect commands in your index.html page. People used to use this as a trick to get people to some other site, not just to other pages in your real site.

On Aug 20, 2010, at 12:33 PM, Mike Thornley wrote:

Hi
I’m doing a web page for a client for their holiday home.
They would like a front page leading into the home page.
This page would have the welcome to, logo one or two pictures and a strap line.
What I would like the site to do is once this page has loaded and given the viewer and appropriate time to view is that it then loads automatically to the home page proper.
Any tips please.
Mike

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