Flash intro

A Flash intro is a piece of animated content displayed at the beginning of a presentation, such as a website, that is specifically prepared using Adobe Systems Flash. Often, the main content is loading in the background, while the animated content is displayed in the foreground.

The intent is to captivate the user's attention so that he or she does not stray from the site, although it may do the opposite as it slows the user from accessing the actual site and can be tedious for users with slow internet connections. The quality of content is usually marketing-centric. Often a "skip" or "skip intro" button is prepared to allow more immediate access to the site's homepage.

Many elaborate Flash-based introductions appeared in the late 1990s and early 2000s. Today such productions, particularly the lengthier ones, are considered old hat amongst the web design community. From a usability perspective, the intros are regarded as more of a time-consuming distraction toward reaching the more valuable homepage content. Despite this there are several online vendors providing simplified intro builder services for those with no Flash authoring skills.