diff --git a/public/initialization.html b/public/initialization.html
index b0e14ac1f3..15e4756aec 100644
--- a/public/initialization.html
+++ b/public/initialization.html
@@ -50,6 +50,14 @@ <h2 id="status-text">Initializing</h2>
 
   <p class="time-note" id="note">This may take a minute or two</p>
 
+  <div class="why-am-i-seeing-this">
+    <h3>Why are you seeing this screen?</h3>
+    <p>
+      The app's built files aren't yet present in the /dist directory,
+      so this page is displayed while we compile the source.
+    </p>
+  </div>
+
   <style lang="css">
     /* Page Layout Styles */
     body,
@@ -194,6 +202,25 @@ <h2 id="status-text">Initializing</h2>
     }
 
     .hide { display: none; }
+
+    .why-am-i-seeing-this {
+      color: #808080a6;
+      font-family: Tahoma, 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;
+      max-width: 25rem;
+      border: 2px solid #808080a6;
+      border-radius: 6px;
+      padding: 0.5rem;
+      position: absolute;
+      bottom: 1rem;
+      background: #8080800d;
+      font-size: 0.9rem;
+    }
+    .why-am-i-seeing-this h3 {
+      margin: 0 0 0.5rem 0;
+    }
+    .why-am-i-seeing-this p {
+      margin: 0;
+    }
   </style>
 
   <script>