"Enter Site".... Ummm, Okay, Don't Mind if I Do

Every now and then I come across a web site that has an "intro" page. These pages can be found on sites old and new. Here's an example.

These types of intros make for nifty openings, but are mostly considered outdated nowadays because people just want to get to the meat of the site, not sit through an elaborate show. This rings true especially if you've been to the site many times or if you're operating on a crawling connection. Or if you're working at a B2B company and you're looking for a site while on the job. Who has time to wait?

But to add insult to injury, on this intro page, after the Flash intro (or other similar concoction), sites will often plop a link on the page that says something to the effect of: "Enter Site".

Ummm, okay, well thanks, I think I would like to enter this site, don't mind if I do.

Let's be realistic here: when I typed in your site's home page address or found your site on a search engine... doesn't that, by default, mean I already have entered the site?

Time to trim the fat, folks. No need to have a doorman to welcome you and ask if you'd like to enter the house when you're dealing with web marketing.

Everybody should be welcomed in as quickly and easily as possible.

(Thanks to onemansblog.com for the photo!)