Preloader/progress bar issue

[simonejones]

Hi all,
I'm trying to make this preloader script work but without success..could someone have a look at the script to see what might be wrong - in IE it doesnt show the bar images or jump to page when loaded - in safari and firefox it jumps but doesnt show the bar...

http://silkthreads.co.uk/index.htm

many thanks for having a look.

[BigAlReturns]

The Safari/FF issue is simple - there is no image called blue.gif. I don't know if this will help the IE issue as well.
Slightly off topic, this method of preloading is appalling for SEO - bots hitting your index page can't read javascript so won't get any of the content.

[simonejones]

thanks for your reply....
so what would be a better option do you think?

[simonejones]

I've renamed the gifs and that has done the trick for safari and firefox...thanks!
but as you predicted the IE problem still remains that the page doesnt jump to desired page when loaded...you have to just click on 'skip preload' to get there.

http://silkthreads.co.uk/index.htm

[BigAlReturns]

Hmm I'm not certain if this will work, but you could try replacing the line in index.htm

		location.replace(locationAfterPreload)

with:

document.location=locationAfterPreload

As for a better option, there are several things you could do. Firstly, I would make your homepage use less images - CSS can be used to do a lot of image type effects. Even if you keep the current number of images, I expect, as a user, to wait some time for images to load. Having a preloader doesn't stop me having to wait, so I don't really see the need!
Another problem with the code is the total lack of accessibility - if users land on index.htm with javascript turned off, there is no way they can get to your homepage. The very least you should do is include a plain HTML link to the homepage.

For SEs, one possible solution might be to check if the visitor is a bot, using IP address or user agent, and if they are then use a 301 redirect to send them straight to your homepage. This way, at least all your incoming links will appear to be pointing at the right place.

Bottom line though, I think having a preloader in this way creates more problems than it solves.

[simonejones]

Thanks BigAlReturns...
I gave what you suggested a go, but no change unfortunately but thanks so much for your time. I understand your point about the javascript on the index page too and now I'm looking to try a dreamweaver extension which uses a mask with a loading wheel instead
http://www.topdreamweaverextensions.com/loading-page

I'll post the page again when it's done for you to have a quick look.
cheers

[ryanhellyer]

You need to use the CSS method that BigAl mentioned above. Dreamweaver outputs some appalling code and the most noticeable of these is the preloaded images.

You have some very large images in there which add up to a 312 kB download size which is way too big for a site that simple. If you combine some of your images into a single image and use CSS to display different parts of the image in different places on your page, you can shrink your download size quite considerably. In particular, it would be common to do this with all of your header images, and you would typically use a PNG or maybe a GIF file for that so you don't have JPEG compression errors in your menu text.

[BigAlReturns]

It's difficult to tell from the product page, but the "mask" option is a far better one. I'm probably not great at explaining the problems, but the basic concept to check out is called "progressive enhancement". It basically means starting off with a basic page that can be read by any browser, and using JS to add functionality - this means any browser without JS will still see the basic page fine.

[simonejones]

Thanks for that...working on the mask/loader option will post result when complete.
Big thanks

[simonejones]

Hello all...finally....
Ive now opted for a simple mask page with ajax loading flower that hides the index page until its loaded....for some reason when the site is supposedly loaded and you click through it, whenever you land on the home/index page again it shows the loading page yet again....how do I stop that happening?

And in the light of recent comments in this thread is this now an ok option do you think?

eternally glad of your comments

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