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How to Flash on the web

Flash animations can be some of the coolest things on the Internet. They can also bog down your visitor's system resources and keep them waiting far too long. A good Flash designer knows how to keep load times down and the drain on the visitor's computer resources to a minimum.

Unless you have a heavily art based website, or have a need to be perceived as being on the bleeding edge of technology, an all Flash website is not a smart move. They make it nearly impossible for search engines to index your website's content, and often prove nearly impossible for anyone other than the original designer to make even the most basic changes. stay away from this obvious pitfall.

The best way to include Flash animations in your website is with a modular approach. Use small discrete Flash movies embedded in a standard HTML site structure to get the effect you are going for. They will load faster, are easier to edit, and allow search engines to do their job.

Not too long ago I was adding a Flash movie I had created for a client's website but when I went to test it, I got this message displayed as I clicked on it: click to activate and use this control. What the heck? It turns out it is a new security feature in IE. Thankfully it is easily fixed with a short bit of JavaScript. I have included a link to the solution for this problem at the end of this article.

Don't use Flash just because you can. If it will actually enhance your sites design and ability to convey information without annoying or distracting your visitor then go for it. Be a minimalist when deciding how much animation to use on your website. Keeping it clean is the key.

Don't use fast motions to attract your visitor's attention. Keep it smooth and well paced. Slower is much better than faster. You don't want to make your visitors wait, but you also don't want to make them wonder what they just missed.

Try and use features that do not require the visitor have the latest Flash Player installed. I typically try to make sure I only use Flash features that have been supported for at least two versions, more if possible. Let someone else's website force their visitors to upgrade their Flash Player. Your goal is to keep your visitors time at your website as productive and easy as possible.

Make sure your Flash movies are worth watching and interacting with. An interesting, visually appealing and highly informative Flash movie will definitely attract the attention and praise of your visitors. Using an experienced professional Flash designer is important. While you might be able to bluff your way through to a decent website and even sprinkle in some JavaScript, Flash programming is exponentially more complicated. Save your self the headache and hire a professional.

Article Source: http://www.uberarticles.com/articles

Get the author's other stuff on good Flash design and get the JavaScript code and installation instructions for that annoying IE pop up message: click to activate and use this control Click here to get your own unique version of this article.

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