1. A method of processing web page requests, the method comprising: responsive to detecting, by a web server, a client request for a web page containing a preloadable object, initiating a download of the object to the client; before the download completes, invoking a preloader application to perform operations including: selecting a preloader message from a set of available messages based at least in part on: a size of the object; demographic information associated with the client; subject matter with which the requested web page is concerned; a time of day; and a day of the week; and displaying the preloader message with an indication of a progress of the download wherein at least a part of the preloader message is unrelated to a progress state of the downloading of the object; monitoring for completion of the download; and responsive to detecting completion of the preloader message prior to completion of the download, selecting and displaying an additional message.