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Is it Worth it to Flash Your Customers?
Flash is the king of bells and whistles. Some problems with Flash is that it can be distracting and stop your visitors from converting. Don’t forget that it can cause errors and alienate people, too. Don’t get me wrong; I’m sure Flash can be executed in a way that can increase conversion. This post isn’t about all the problems that Flash can cause–just how we can test it.
MattressLiquidators.ca had a large, rotating Flash image in the Active Window (i.e., the top-center, prime real estate) of their homepage, displaying four different images of their store. We decided to test it in relation to a static image that has links. Whereas many would be testing Conversion Rate by seeing how may visitors clicked the links, we decided to test something different: homepage abandonment.
From just switching the two images, homepage abandonment decreased by 28.57%. The new image was static, displayed more information and was easier to read. Nothing was animated or rotating in Flash.
Is it time to reevaluate when and where you Flash your customers?
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April 5th, 2007
8:40 am
Looks like the images and subsequent linkage is broken … and its not even Flash : )
April 5th, 2007
8:45 am
David,
They disappeared in a Flash. I am wondering if it is a conspiracy. We are working to get them back up asap.
April 7th, 2007
2:05 am
I’m not surprised this is the case, but based on your original image, you have nothing to click on in the Flash banner. Have you tried the exact same content for both, except the Flash banner just changing to another background image?
April 8th, 2007
8:38 pm
As a file format Flash seems to rule right now -over QuickTime and Windows Media Viewer. I think in your example it wasn’t that the Flash animation format was a problem, rather its size and position. On the other hand I wonder what percentage of people do not have the appropriate Flash player and abandon due to plug-in errors?
April 11th, 2007
8:44 pm
[...] Is it Worth it to Flash Your Customers? “From just switching the two images, homepage abandonment decreased by 28.57%. The new image was static, displayed more information and was easier to read. Nothing was animated or rotating in Flash.” [...]
April 23rd, 2007
12:09 pm
[...] erin zorgde er voor dat het aantal mensen dat gelijk de homepage verliet met 28% daalde, volgens grokdotcom. Ik heb het rapport niet onder ogen gehad, maar de resultaten zijn wel [...]
May 22nd, 2009
1:53 pm
[...] forget to evaluate and test the wording in your images, flash, video and audio content. One client changed the words on the Flash banner on his homepage and reduced abandonment by more than [...]
May 27th, 2009
10:42 am
[...] pas d’évaluer et de tester le texte dans vos images, flash, contenus vidéo et audio. Un client a changé les termes d’une bannière flash et a réduit la perdition de visite de [...]
October 12th, 2009
4:27 am
Thanks for any Moody’s good.
October 15th, 2009
12:21 am
Nice tip!
It’s very useful for me.