The Intro Sequence

Three words fade in and scroll by during the initial opening of this website - Money, Trust, and Security. It's simple and quick, imprinting the user some of the key philosophies that Super-MegaBank uses in their business practices.

This intro sequence could be more elaborate. Instead of words, there could be a series of "feel good" images of customers interacting with friendly bank tellers. But for this example I kept it simple. I wanted to demonstrate the intro sequence for this fake bank company as an example of how an intro sequence can make the first-time visitor's experience stand out in their mind.

The Sidebar

After Super-MegaBank's statement fades in and slides up into place among the clouds, the Sidebar is the first interface element to appear. A reason that this element would appear first before the navigation bar could be because Super-MegaBank wants the user to take notice of their corporate reputation first.

Making a good first impression on a new user would be Super-MegaBank's goal in making this Sidebar appear first. Showing the new user what other big clients they serve, as well as information on how Super-MegaBank goes about conducting its business would show the user how important and efficient they are. Any major news headlines and the company's self description round off this informative element rather nicely.

The Nav Bar

The user has been bedazzled with the attention-grabbing intro sequence. Super-MegaBank's corporate slogan presents itself among the clouds, and then the user sees the Side Bar with links that reveals the bank's powerful reputation. Finally, the Nav Bar (short for Navigation Bar) fades in and slides down into place at the top of the web page. The web site is now done introducing itself, and is ready for the user to log in and inquire about their personal or business account.

The Nav Bar is revealed last after the website has made its impression on the user. The idea is to entice the new user to research into Super-MegaBank's reputation so that he/she feels confident that they can trust Super-MegaBank in handling their money.

Of course, for the repeat visitor it's absolutely essential that this intro sequence be skippable. A regular user of this website would quickly grow weary of this intro if they were forced to sit through it every time they visited. A good idea would be to install a cookie on the regular user's computer that would tell the website to skip the intro sequence every time they visit. Now that's spiffy!