Sitepal

Talking animation, good or not good!

[bartainer]

Hello,

Okay, I have a client that wants the talking animation person! This animated cartoon will explain more about his site and what is offered! Is this part of a good design? Can someone give me an example of a pro and a con?

Thanks.

Ron

[ControlEngineer]

There may be some uses for it. However, most people using the web would just as well read, and can probably read faster than the cartoon figure can talk.

Also residents of the typical "cubical city" in large offices do not like web pages that talk or make any noise, and would get really annoyed. I know of one large office where almost everybody has their speaker unplugged, and may put on earphones when listening to music over the web or stored on the computer.

It could turn out to be more annoying than flash video introductions.

Unless there is a really good reason, I would discourage it. If used, there should be a link from a page to the page with the talking person, clearly showing that it is an audio link.

[bartainer]

Thanks, I agree! It all makes sense.

[BarryGood]

Pro: An interesting way to explain or describe things.
Con: Could be annoying if it is not set up well.

If your Sitepal person is not just reading text on the site that a visitor could read anyway I think it would be a good addition. Make sure it adds value to your site and doesn't distract.

Also, I agree with ControlEngineer about the "cubical city" people. If it were my site, I would have it set up to only play when something is clicked, especially if the intention is to describe something, and be sure to have a way to keep it quiet without closing the browser window.