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For a project a site is needed where when first loaded an animation appears that fades away and reveals the content of the site. I am fine with creating the animation and all. What I am not sure about is where to place it.

From a site ia point of view I see it like this. Either have the animation on the index page and once done remove that element with js or $ and reveal the index page. This means a reload will always show the animation again. This also means a click on the main logo that leads to the index page will also play the animation again. Something not really wanted or needed.

The only other option I see is having the animation on the index page and once done redirect to the home page where the site content is located. Like this a click on the logo can be set to either the home page or the index page. The info on the home page is also visible without watching the animation again since the home page has a separate nav link in the menu. Only if desired can the animation be watched again by clicking on the main logo.

From my perspective it will be the later. Though I ask you is this good practise? Is it OK to just have an animation on the index page and everything else on the home page?

I was thinking to either post this in https://ux.stackexchange.com/ or https://graphicdesign.stackexchange.com/ but I think this more concerns code architecture rather than design or ux because as mentioned the animation could also be loaded dynamically on the index page and once gone the content is shown on the index page. So you see I am not asking for opinion but rather for the right logic to tackle this task.

What method is best applied for this scenario? Would you consider having the animation on the index page and then redirect to the home page?

Linked
https://stackoverflow.com/questions/22090313/show-an-animation-before-show-my-index-html
https://stackoverflow.com/questions/503093/how-can-i-make-a-redirect-page-using-jquery
http://www.submittoday.com/splash_pages_and_search_engine_optimization.html
http://stackoverflow.com/a/22090389/1010918
https://stackoverflow.com/questions/30573395/page-loading-animation-method
https://stackoverflow.com/questions/1964839/jquery-please-wait-loading-animation
lowtechsun
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  • My suggestion: don't do it. Loading animations have been proven to annoy people away time and time again. Instead, build a minimal framework of HTML and CSS that loads instantly before the majority of your assets, and then load those assets and markup in place in a graceful way. For a good example of this, look at how Facebook loads on a slow connection. They load the main layout with only a few k of HTML and CSS, and have nifty placeholders for content before it loads. – Steven Moseley Oct 03 '15 at 14:52
  • http://www.kollektiv.ag/ what do you think about it the way it is done there? Annoying or intriguing? From IA point of view, yes great TIP! See what you mean with pre-loading bare site and then bigger content. Though not sure how to tackle that "graceful way" just now. Is there a stat somewhere for ux of loading animations related to site stats? So showing bare content fast really is better? Not even a little tiny animation like a short site fade into opacity from 0? Is that too much to ask from the general user/viewer these days? Thanks for your suggestion. Much appreciated! – lowtechsun Oct 03 '15 at 15:01
  • I think that loader is pretty much the worst I've ever seen. It looks like the site is broken, even to a trained eye. – Steven Moseley Oct 04 '15 at 05:34
  • PS - I don't have stats on the loader, but I've definitely read more than one study on them. They're advised against. Prevailing knowledge is that your homepage load time should be < 4s, both to reduce bounce rate and increase Google-friendliness. If you can load quickly and progressively, no need for a spinner. – Steven Moseley Oct 04 '15 at 05:42
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    Dear Steven I will take your advice and refrain from it. I think you and years of research and experience cannot be wrong. You got me convinced. Thank you for your comments! – lowtechsun Oct 04 '15 at 12:31
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    Steven, if you like to answer this question with what you said in comments I will happily accept it. It would be great if in your reply you could link (and possibly quote if/when the links go down) to studies or research confirming what you say. No I do believe you, full stop. It is just that other people might find it very handy to see such info as well. If I don't see an answer in the coming days/week I will answer it myself with whatever I can find on the topic. Since you know about it, would b great to read an Answer from you. As you like. Thank you. – lowtechsun Oct 10 '15 at 11:41

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