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Flash - To Use Or No To UseOleg Lazarenko Out there in the WWW there are thousands sites using flash for their needs. But the majority sites are not in this list. Lets summaries some facts about flash using on YOUR web site and after that its you who will have to decide: to use or not to use. There are some facts about Macromedia Flash Technology: The First Fact: Sites are look much prettier and professional with the flash animation on their pages. Users sometimes visit sites only to see flash intros if its done in some original manner. The Second Fact: Flash Source Scripts cannot be stolen unlike Java Scripts or HTML code. Flash files come in "two" pieces: files with .fla extension are the actual source and .swf files are compiled version of these files. In browsers you can see only .swf files. The Third Fact: Flash animation files are slow to download and require flash player plug-in . Regular static graphic requires less time to download. In a couple of years when the problem of dial-up connection may be solved and fast DSL lines will be cheap and available for anyone this problem may seem not so serious, but so far we must consider this aspect, as not all users are eager to wait for a minute or two to see your flash intro. Thats one of the main reason flash is not popular on the big corporate sites but Yahoo for example displays flash advertisements on their pages The Fourth Fact: Not all browser compatible with flash players. The old versions of MS Explorer and Netscape Navigator cannot display flash movies. There is a solution however: to use Java Script to check the compatibility of browser and display the static image if the player is not available for that browser. Well there is some issuer still left with browsers who cannot understand Java Scripts but there are few people who use those browsers today…but there are some…and you must keep that in mind. The Fifth Fact: As you may notice we used on our web page http://www.metamorphozis.com flash header. Why The reason was simple and that is the fact number five: flash movies are cashed in special browser folder and second time you access it you dont need to wait. Flash movie will be displayed from the cache folder. Image files are also stored in browsercache and may be reused if you keep the file names and path to images the same. But we selected flash due to several technical reasons related to our needs. So we did it to reduce our page loading time. See how contradictorily it sounds with the third fact:- The problem is that it requires a lot of time to download but only for the first time! If you could make visitors wait that time then you will benefit from having flash header as it always there and does not need to be loaded each time you go to the other page. The Sixth Fact: Search engines do not like flash pages, as it makes almost impossible to crawl them. They can not crawl links on your web page and can not index your website content if it is in flash. In html you can insert flash only as object. As you may see flash has number of advantages and disadvantages. No matter what you think about flash but it is the future of the Internet. If you cannot admit this and stay away tomorrow you will regret you did it. Just consider the flash usage on your web site. Remember! Be reasonable in design and flash usage and youll be o.k.
| | | | RELATED ARTICLES Website Theft - Part 1 of 3 ~ What exactly is Copyright Please note that some of the information included in this article has been quoted from various locations while other information is simply my personal opinion and you will probably feel my passion in my words. The Meta Tag Myth The more the better right Wrong. At least when it comes to meta tags. The history of the meta tag started off as a nice tool that web sites could use to show the search engines what the site was about without the words showing up on the actual page. It seemed like a great idea until people started to abuse the meta tag. They would add highly searched for keywords that were unrelated to their site in their meta tags in hopes of attracting additional traffic. The search engines caught on and lowered the importance of meta tags - they figured out that if they put more emphasis on the visible content of a site, people would have a much more difficult time “cheating”. Turns out that they were right. Web Site Content Ideas for Webmasters Many years ago I began creating web sites that began as photo albums for friends and family and then turned into travel guides for trips I took to Jamaica , Napa Valley and the Black Hills of South Dakota.Soon I created web sites related to cars, dogs, and motorcycles.Later I was turned on to Googles Adsense program which allowed me to generate enough income from my hobby web sites that I could pay for the overhead costs.I found it challenging to come up with additional content and perform search engine optimization on my existing pages.Occasionally I would hit mental blocks and would have no new content I could add.Whenever this happens I try for the following to help me generate new and useful web site content and hopefully drive my Google Adsense revenue. The Benefits Of Outsourcing The year 2005 is expected to be the year of "outsourcing". How Does Your Website Make Me Feel When people think about the Internet, they think about technology. When people hear that I am a Website strategy expert, they see me as a "techy type". Is Your Web Site Too Hard Take the “Easy Test” to see if your website is as visitor friendly as it should be! Websites often fail to produce the desired results. This can be because visitors find them too hard to understand or navigate. Here are some potential usability problems to avoid. Give Your Website A Chance I often wonder how serious people are when it comes to their websites. I thought that most everyone knew that the phrase "Build it andthey will come" no longer applies on the internet but Im not sure how many people really believe it. Forums – Should you have them on your website Forums have become a common feature in many websites. With good free scripts available, and paid scripts being relatively cheap, it seems that every new website has its own forums. But is it wise to add forums to your website How To Get A Site Online And Have It Making Money When building and getting a site online you have to think of a number of things. Some of these include the following: Domain Names Security : How safe is yours The security of domain name registrations is an increasing concern for domain name registrants and registrars. However, there are steps you can take to increase the security of your domain name registrations. Autoresponder Tips An autoresponder is useful for, well, responding to people who send you inquiries through email. They are actually more than just merely useful - they are an essential tool in any webmasters toolbox. Used properly, they can enhance your visitors experience and virtually guarantee that they will come back time after time. Used improperly, they annoy people and push them away from ever coming back. Building Your First Web Site Creating your own site can be a satisfying experience. Here are some tips to help get you up and running. 50 Surefire Web Design Tips Tips to brand your websiteInclude your logo in all pages. Position it at the top left or each page.Complement your logo with a tagline or catchy sentence that summarizes your business purpose. For example "Always low prices" is the tagline for Wal-Mart.Create a favicon. A favicon is that small graphic that appears next to the URL in the address bar.Have a consistent look and feel in all your pages. Use a color scheme and layout that are clearly recognized across your site.Have an About Us section, that includes all relevant information about you and your business.Include a copyright statement at the bottom of each page. Boost your Application Development “Reduce Time Intensive Phases during Software Development with TierDeveloper” Designing your Web Site for ALL Browsers Lets face it. Building a web site that browses consistently on multiple platforms and multiple browsers is not always as easy as we would like. Web Design Tips To Grow Your Online Sales The way you design your web site affects your visitors’ online experience. As each visitor to your site is a potential customer, the easier they find your web site to use and the more they enjoy being on it, the higher the chance that they will make a purchase. 7 Steps to Web Sites that Sell There is a hierarchy of information and elements you need to present to prospects to make it easy for them to become customers and clients. This is not what most small business owners provide on their web sites. Most sites lead with a boring description of services and credentials. This tends to push prospects away. The 5 Biggest Mistakes Almost All Web Designers Make -- And Why These Mistakes Could Cost YOU A Fortune! Huge Mistake #1: Creating a Website with Flash -- Did you know in a recent study, top internet marketers discovered that having a website created with Flash, actually DECREASED the response from prospects and customers by as much as three-hundred-and-seventy percent Why Stock Photography is a Great Resource for Web Business A picture is worth a thousand words. Difference between Shared and Dedicated Web Hosting This article will explain the key differences between 2 web hosting services available today: shared and dedicated web hosting. |
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