At Webreality one of our most unfavourite requests from clients when specifying their new website is the so-called "splash page". You know the sort of thing - a 15 second example of the web designer gratuitously showing off his or her Flash animation expertise... while you wait... to get... to the... home... page... where you can finally perform the task you need to perform. Most splash page designers thoughtfully provide a "skip" option... which begs the question why have it in the first place? By the time it's finished, the user could have hit the back button, gone to Amazon, found their product there and be checking out!
I'd love to point you to some examples, but we've all seen them and they don't need the extra traffic!
Splash pages are all about image and brand, but increasingly, the web is a place where people come to get things done. Our best advice is always to avoid putting things in the way of allowing your site user to get the job done. That means simple navigation, limited use of imagery, concise and well-formatted text, and no splash pages! We've not always succeeded in dissuading our clients from having splash pages, so you will see them on a few of our sites, but not very many. Jakob Nielsen takes the view that a splash page "always says to me that this is a site that cares more about image than usability."
If you're really thinking about what matters to your site user, rather than about your own priorities, don't splash!
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