Should you never ever use this on a website? Steve Krug recommends not to use “small talk” in his book. I wasn’t really sure if he meant to eliminate it entirely or just the “section fronts” that he refers to.
In which book? Don’t Make Me Think?
“Welcome to” as a splash page is usually a waste of everyone’s time… the exception might be if the main page is only a portal to various separate things (like a web site for a large manufacturer who makes stuff in very different areas, like X-Rite for example and one would expect users are only interested in products in a certain field).
“Welcome to” on the home page can maybe be a little redundant, but it depends on the purpose of that page and what it needs to say. It’s nicer to have on a site where the purpose of that main page is to bring a welcoming feel to the site and start gently showing users what they can do there (like a kids’ site). Most of the time, people know they’re at the front door already and they may skip any block of text that starts with “Welcome”. Jakob Nielsen has some research data indicating people read the first word or maybe two of a sentence before moving on, unless they’re really reading the content (which many people don’t).
Usually it’s companies/clients/bosses who want “welcome to”, not a feature request from users.
Hi Stomme. Yes, Don’t Make Me Think. I should’ve been more clear on that. I keep forgetting that Steve Krug has more than one book now. Before he wrote Rocket Surgery, he was a one-book wonder like Harper Lee (To Kill A Mockingbird). So it is okay to use ‘Welcome to’ some times… Is it okay in this instance? Shouldn’t he be saying “About Us” instead?
Hey, I’m going to PM you with a link to look at. I hope you don’t mind.
Never? This thread is in Accessibilty and Usability so I’m probably missing the point of the question.
I don’t see why it would be needed. But I don’t see where it could cause any issues. Kind of one of those things that’s there but doesn’t register as having been seen. eg.
Dear eLePHANT,
Blah, blah, whatever
You don’t actually stop and ponder why “Dear” is being used do you?
Our letters often start with
“Geachte…”
and on a form letter spit out by a computer (who doesn’t even know if I’m male or female), along with ending it with “sincerely” or “met vriendelijke groeten” (with friendly greetings), it seems fake and fades into the background. But, again, fading into the background and getting ignored in and of itself is no disaster… it does not interfere with comprehension.