Proper Use of Flash Animation on Websites
by Robyn Harton
Flash animation is one of the hottest things around these
days. It adds dimensions of animated motion and sound to the
graphical world. It can be an excellent way to capture the
interest of website visitors or to present information in
a presentation.
Unfortunately, there are also some possible negatives to
using Flash. For one thing, many who create flash animation
aren't aware how to best use Flash to suit the purposes of
the project at hand. You've seen sites like that: Ones that
are entirely in Flash and don't fit on your screen, and similar
things. Secondly, you may not have realized that Flash makes
it difficult for search engines to find and list a page if
the Flash isn't used properly.
When using Flash on a website, a number of things should
be considered and
- Load time
A Flash animation should load quickly on a 56K modem. If
the animation is larger than can comfortably load in 15
to 30 seconds on a 56K connection, a preloader should be
used so that visitors without broadband don't have to sit
and stare at nothing while the animation loads.
- Search engine optimization
Search engine spiders that collect information to list sites
on the web cannot read Flash files. This means that information
that is on a site within Flash is invisible to the search
engine, and cannot be listed. Every page of a website that
uses Flash should use other methods to maximize search engine
visibility.
- Navigational challenges
Navigation with Flash can be a challenge on websites in
several ways. Among them are having to revisit "loading"
pages when going back to a previously visited page, and
inability for site owner or web designer to update pages
easily.
- People who don't use Flash
According to Macromedia, as of April, 2002, over 98% of
web users have the Flash Player. Nonetheless, some people
simply avoid it, believing that it takes too long and is
too much trouble. For these people, particularly if you
are selling a product or service online, it's best to have
an alternative means for people to learn about your product
or service.
Our professional experience has been that Flash works well
for: eye-catching visual appeal, site accents, banner ads
(if allowed by banner host), focusing visitor attention. Similarly,
Flash does not work well in general for navigation, or entire
site content.
Our goal at Robyn A Harton Creative is always to meet the
YOUR goals, whether it be a web design, flash animation, or
graphics project. Thus, we keep all these things in mind when
creating flash animation for a client. Make sure that any
designer you might work with does the same.
===================================
by Robyn Harton, Owner
of Robyn A Harton Creative
Articles & Tips on Making Graphics
and Web Design Work for You
Copyright ©2002 Robyn
A Harton Creative All Rights Reserved
http://rahcreative.com and http://robynaharton.com
You may reprint this article on your website, email, or print
publication with no additional
permission required as long as
this entire copyright statement and links are included.
>> Have a copy sent
to directly to you, just email properflash@rahcreative.com.
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updated 8/11/02
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