Flash Development for Beginners

Submitted by: genwright

If you are a beginner trying to create a Flash website, you probably need to start with some serious planning. Creating a Flash website is not the same as creating a static HTML site. The type of site you create depends on your own level of skill. Here are some tips on how to create a Flash site from the ground up.

Tip 1: Plan the hierarchy of the site.

The most important thing is to know how the visitor navigates the site upon arriving at the site. The information must be easily accessible, and your navigation should not frustrate the visitor in any way. Otherwise, the visitor will just leave and never come back again.

In other words, always try to create a positive experience. A good way to start is by browsing Flash sites on the Internet. From there, you get a good idea of what works and what doesn't really work. Don't try to attempt to be too fancy and come up with a complicated navigation system. Just keep things simple. A golden rule to follow is to make sure that the visitor can find what he is looking for as quickly as possible. No jumping through hoops to get to the main content. If your website is a huge site, include a site map in your Flash site to help your visitors find the right information.

Tip 2: Keep design simple and functional.

As a Flash developer, you must always strike a balance between design and functionality. Branding is important, but it doesn't help your Company if the visitor can't see the small little "help" button that's camouflaged in an isolated corner.

When you are just starting out, use simple scripts to instruct the sprites and movies in the Flash source files. Avoiding complicated scripts will help prevent unnecessary bugs.

Tip 3: Test, test and test some more!

Before launching a site, remember to test the site as many times as you can. You will realize that every time you test the site, you come up with new ideas for improvements. Get your colleagues, friends, and family members to help you with the testing as well. Just be sure that they are giving you genuine feedback and not polite comments. Sometimes, the harshest criticism may just be what you are looking for.

Tip 4: If it's too complicated, just buy it!

You may have a navigation system in mind but you just don't have the skills (yet) to create the menu. In that case, you may choose to purchase a professionally created Flash file. These files are properly scripted and comes with instructions on how you can import the files into your own source files. When you purchase such a file, you not only save time but you also avoid introducing unwanted errors.