I want to make a loading/intro page

I was thinking of making a splash page of sorts on my site, where it shows an intro, which i already have (totally vector, really small), but also have a loading bar while i use JS to preload some of the javascript, css, and a few images. Then if possible, have it automatically go the home page when the intro or the preload finishes, whichever happens last. Hopefully that came out right.

I'm pretty good at flash graphics just not the actionscript. So if someone can direct me to some tutorials or have suggestions for alternate ways to do this, i'd really like that.

I have to ask. Is their a point to a "splash page?" A few years ago they were really popular. People created them because, well, they could and make it was a way to hold a site visitors attention if other things were loading in the background but for the most part most people find them annoying and just one more screen to click through to get to the content. They can look neat only if the developer or company is wanting to "show off". As more and more people access site using mobile devices is this the best thing to spend time on?

I'm not saying they are bad for everything. Some things that ask for "cinematic flair" like video games, movies, art studio, etc. might benefit from a splash page but remember, the first "splash screen" for software programs were invented to let user know the program was loading i.e. Netscape in the mid 90's but as you may notice those bits of artistic intro are going away in favor of making something load fast so people can get to the info as quickly as possible.

He raises a good point, but if you're still interested. A preloader is all you need. There's a few on Kirupa.

Http://www.kirupa.com
Check it out.

If I see an intropage, the first button I'm looking for is the "skip intro"-button. Intro's are useually useless..

I doing the intro page again just so it doesn't take as long for the art pages to load and keep them entertained while their waiting. and i always put in a skip intro, at the top so it's even more efficient.

thanks for the link.

but what i'm looking for is something that will give me the progress of certain parts of the site (which is html) that are being preloaded while the intro plays. Not a preloader for a flash movie.

is this even worth doing?

[blunt]no[/blunt]


Pretty pointless & annoying!

That's the wrong solution.

The right solution is to make your art pages load faster.

i more or less have it as condensed as possible without it looking crappy, i'm just talking about preloading the javascript and other external coding thats used by multiple pages.

By all means do that, but don't add another burden by using an "entertain them while they wait" intro page.

fine, but is there a script or something to show what percent of the stuff is loaded into the cache?

Makes me wonder what kind of site you have??

If iStockphoto.com can load a site pretty quickly with all those scripts and images...... what are you doing with yours?!