Don’t Splash Them With A Welcome Page
You’re intentions are good – you want visitors to your Web site to feel welcome – but you don’t necessarily have to spell it out for them on your Web site. Avoiding a Welcome page, or splash page, can actually help you in your quest to attract and retain viewers of your Web site.
Splash pages are certainly eye-catching and appealing, but they are not helpful when trying to place your site with search engines (http://www.northstudio.com/searchengines/factors_that_can_hurt.htm). Because splash pages are heavy with graphics and light on content, they are difficult for search engines to “spider.” Search engine spiders crawl out on the Web looking for links and content to evaluate.
So, if your homepage is entangled in a splash page with no content, these spiders will give your site the spin. You are essentially telling search engines that there is nothing of value on your site.
Keep in mind that your Web site is a valuable, yet unique marketing tool for your company. People seek you out, rather than you seeking them (http://www.newfangled.com/splash_page_usage). You don’t have to work as hard as you may think to get people to stay on your site.
The intention of a Welcome page generally is to explain how your server works … information that usually isn’t helpful to your primary visitors. Welcome them once they walk through your doors after you’ve captured their attention with a Web site that is clean and easy to navigate (http://www.w3.org/Provider/Style/Etiquette.html).