LFG splash screen
A loading screen has just been added to the RPGist's RPG Looking for Group platform so that the visitors do not need to wait for the application to load staring at a blank screen and wondering if anything is happening at all or if the app might even have crashed.
The RPGist is build with Angular therefore both the application's visual layer and business logic are in Javascript files. Until these files are downloaded and read by the user's browser, nothing can happen.
On desktops with broadband internet, the delay is relatively small and the blank loading screen is barely noticeable. On mobile networks on the other hand this waiting period can be considerably longer.
It is important for the user to know immediately upon accessing our site that the application is loading, otherwise they may think that the app failed to load and close the its tab.
An animated loading icon made in pure CSS, which can be found https://projects.lukehaas.me/css-loaders, has been embedded directly in the main HTML file of the app. Thus the loading icon appears immediately as the HTML file is downloaded into the user's browser, without having to download an external style file and/or a GIF. Finally, when the application's script files finish loading, the load icon is hidden and app becomes available.