"When we honestly ask ourselves which person in our lives means the most to us, we often find that it is those who, instead of giving advice, solutions, or cures, have chosen rather to share our pain and touch our wounds with a warm and tender hand."
Making Sense of Web Colors In 1994, Netscape defined 216 colors that have priority in browsers based on the 256 colors displayed by an 8-bit system. 40 colors display differently between PCs and MACs and are therefore eliminated. These 216 fixed colors, known as web safe colors ... Pointers For Building A Quality Website Websites are found aplenty on the Internet, but it is the quality websites that are limited in number. Quality websites are made available by its interaction. The website should have the capacity of grabbing the attention of the visitor. Using bright ... The Three Principles Of HTML Code Optimization Just like spring cleaning a house, the html code of your web pages should get periodic cleaning as well. Over time, as changes and updates are made to a web page, the code can become littered with unnecessary clutter, slowing down page load times and ...
Flash Design: Is it all it's cracked up to be?
INTRODUCTION
When Flash was first introduced by FutureWave Inc. in August 1996, it was known as "FutureSplash Animator." Macromedia acquired FutureWave in December and renamed the application to "Flash." What made FutureSplash unique was the fact that FutureSplash's images were created in "vector format."
As you may know, most images you see on the Web (such as the logo that appears on http://www.worlddesignservices.com/), are drawn by thousands, sometimes even millions, of colored square dots known as "pixels." Any image that displays shapes using pixels (called a "raster image") can have a significantly large file size since the color and location of each dot must be recorded inside the image file.
The vector graphic, on the other hand, is an image type that uses mathematical equations to define lines and shapes. For example, a drawing of a circle uses only a single curved line, rather than relying on hundreds (or even thousands) of pixels to create an image. This not only results in a drastic decrease in file size, but also an increase in image quality. Vector graphics can be scaled up or down and never lose their sharp lines, whereas raster images end up looking "chunky." For a side-by-side comparison of vector and raster images, have a look at the following page: http://www.worlddesignservices.com/designtips/flash/
Because Flash relies mostly on vector graphics to display text and images, it delivers excellent image quality and exceptionally small file sizes. On the Internet, where no two users are ever connected at exactly the same speed at the same time, this reduced download is always appreciated.
THE GOOD
In the unlikely event that you've never seen a Flash animation before, have a look at the banner on the top of http://www.internetcashplanet.com/. Not only does it look great, but it MOVES; Flash, when created properly, will deliver any message you want and keep your audience interested.
Gone are the days of slow downloads and endless reading! As you've seen from the previous comparisons, Flash banners deliver sharp, great-looking graphics which load quickly and get your message to your viewer fast. Flash banners also get read more often than your basic static HTML page because they have the ability to move smoothly, whereas traditional animated web graphics are clunky at best. Everybody knows the 30-second rule, which dictates that you MUST make an impression on your viewer within 30 seconds of them hitting your site if you want them to respond to your offers. Since this rule is ALWAYS in effect, a Flash banner's ability to transmit a message quickly, smoothly, and effectively is always worth the investment.
The application of Flash reaches far beyond the simple animated banner. Worldprofit's new "Ultimate Home Business Promo," when it was first released, generated so many responses, they were difficult for us to keep up with! Once you have a look at http://www.worldprofit.com/uhbp/, you'll probably understand why. Flash, when created properly, not only has the power to captivate your site viewers, it also has the power to strike emotional chords and make your viewers feel whatever you want them to: excitement, hope, enthusiasm.
THE BAD
Up until last year, Flash banners could only be made using the "Macromedia Flash" utility. For many, it was a difficult program to master, and creating even the simplest of banners could be a week-long project. However, the recent introduction of third-party applications such as Swish (http://www.swishzone.com) and SwFX (http://www.wildform.com/) have made it much easier to create animated banners that use the same file format as Flash.
To the experienced Flash designer, these powerful tools have been both a blessing and a curse. On the upside, they drastically reduce the time it takes to create Flash pieces. On the downside, the low price of these applications makes them available to the "Average Joe," and as a result, everybody and their dog is beginning to call themselves "Flash Designers." Their pieces, created without the necessary technical know-how of what it takes to make a Flash piece accessible to lower-bandwidth viewers, are beginning to give Flash a bad reputation as being bloated and boring.
To you, the prospective consumer, this overabundance of so-called "Flash Designers" presents an element of confusion. Should you get the kid down the block to design your Flash site for $300? Probably not. If you're paying a "design firm" in another city $10,000 for a site, are you getting the best Flash site money can buy?
Unfortunately, my friends, the answer is no.
We were recently contacted by a man who was unhappy with the state of his site; after paying over $10,000 to a "Flash Design Firm," he had one look at what he got for his money and was shocked.
We were, too.
His site, at http://www.faustco.com/, breaks just about every rule there is. There are too many colors, too many fonts, and, as you know, Flash is intended to display images in "vector" format. Whoever designed Mr. Faust's site clearly had no understanding of this fact, and imported as many raster images as they could. This resulted in a site that not only has the "chunky" appearance mentioned earlier, but also presents incredibly long download times to viewers trying to visit the site with a standard 56k (or lower) connection. While Mr. Faust's business has been around for a long time, no doubt because they've been producing excellent, dependable products since the day they began business, the poor quality of his site's design will no doubt harm the reputation of his company.
FLASH - WHY DO YOU WANT IT?
Like I said before, folks: Flash, "when created properly," can be the best thing that ever happened to your site. Having personally experienced the benefits of effective Flash design, I can honestly say that there is NO medium out there that gets people going to your site and subscribing to your newsletter list better than a well-done Flash piece. However, when looking for a Flash designer, beware: if a "company" doesn't have a Flash portfolio that impresses you in the least, don't hesitate to delete their e-mail and forget they existed, no matter how low their prices may be.
If you're looking for a Flash designer, I'm naturally going to recommend you contact us now. Not only are we in our seventh year of putting people's businesses online, and not only have we been applying proven marketing concepts time and time again, helping thousands of people maximize responses to their offers (regardless of the type of business they run), we've also got the technical know-how of exactly what it takes to make a Flash piece that WORKS. When you order from us, you won't just be getting a site that LOOKS pretty and applies our years of marketing experience, you'll be getting one that loads quickly and gets your point across effectively.
And hey, if you've received a quote from another company and aren't sure if you'll be getting your money's worth, send the quote to me. I'm not offering to beat their price, I'm offering something much more valuable: to relieve any confusion you might be experiencing and help you to become more informed of what good Flash design is. I'm standing by to help you now! mailto:customerservice@worldprofit.com
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