Posts In Web Design & Development

Building Flash Websites With Layers!

Hi,

Building Flash websites is not an easy business. Even though search engine crawlers may be able to parse through them well, you need to exercise caution during the planning stages in order to make sure everything is right.

First and foremost, you need to have an effective plan for the website structure so that you can speed up the load time and thus improve your website usability. Avoid using scenes when building Flash websites. Instead use layers. Here are some tips how to go about it...

Adobe Flash allows users to add layers to their projects. Adding layers makes not only makes it easier to build websites but also helps eases the editing process later on.

Frame by Frame

Layers shouldn't be more that 4 frames long. Here are some things that needs to be contained in each frame.

Frame 1 – You'll need to set all the global variables here in order to make sure that it loads right when the Flash movie starts playing. Don't set the playhead to return to frame one. You can also include Preloaders.

Frame 2 - This is where you need to include all the external files used to create the website, using XML. This will load the navigation buttons.

Frame 3 - This frame is from where the Flash website will start. The playhead will stay at this place for the length of the website visit, because the previous three frames built and contained everything that is needed to load the website.

Make sure your website designer knows all these nuances before you hire someone to design your Flash website.

Maneet Puri
Indian Web Developers

3 Hot Facts About Web Images!

Hi,

Images on the web are not a disciplined lot. Just when you think everything is settled and the images are fine tuned, there will be some hiccups. Before launching your website formally or even declaring it as ready to be launched... you need to make sure that its really prepared. Here are some interesting facts about images on the web that'll help you will the design process...

Save for Web Option
The 'Save for Web' option in both Photoshop and Illustrator does not optimize the images fully. In spite of their tall claims you cannot be ensured of a complete optimization. They do a pretty decent job yeah... But then, when it comes to optimizing for your website, you really shouldn't settle for anything less. Try running your images through Yahoo 'Smush It'. It;s definitely better!

PNG-??
PNG-24 is the best bet. Period. However, for certain web elements like icons and buttons, you don't really need multitude color variations of a 24 bit color palette. In such cases, PNG-8 works well enough. Though it has a limited color palette and lacks the high transparency of PNG-24, it is definitely better than GIF and even compresses your file sizes.

CSS Sprites
CSS Sprites can lighten the size of your images and thus decrease your page load time. CSS sprites involve grouping of the images into one single file and then split into separate files through CSS. Not only do you get smaller image sizes but also lesser HTTP requests.

So there you go! Hope these tips help you manage your images on the web in a better way!

Maneet Puri
Indian Web Developer

Using Facebook For Your Business!

Hi,

Are you on Facebook?

If yes... You already have taken the first step! Congratulations!
If no... Its high time you get out of stone age and keep pace with the times.

Facebook recently crossed 250 million mark. That means a heavy chunk of people from across the world are there on Facebook and that includes a sizable population of your target audiences as well! If your business does not have presence on Facebook, then you are missing out on about 250 million people who have theirs.

Facebook is not a community website for college kids to chit-chat. Rather it has manifested itself into a powerful business tool that helps companies to establish their presence and connect closely with their clients and customers. Here are some tips to use Facebook for your business.

Update Your Status Regularly
The idea is to remain fresh in the memories of people. So make sure you make regular status updates on your profile informing people about any events, sharing tips with them and thus boosting sales. You can share links to your articles and anything on the web that mentions your company and business. If people like your links, they will share it further and thus popularize it on the web.

Join Groups & Discussion Forums
Browse through the various groups on Facebook and join a bunch that concerns your niche industry. Go through the questions posted there and be a part of the discussions. Giving your expert suggestions there would give you and opportunity to exhibit your expertise. People would not forget that! When they need something that you have to offer, they will definitely come to you.

Create Fan Pages for your Business
Facebook gives you the option to create Fan Pages for your business. You can add links to your websites, add events and do much more. They also have a discussion board where you can discuss various topics concerning your industry. You can invite people to become a fan of your business and join in.

So, get-set-go! Embrace Facebook and let it help you enhance your business!

Maneet Puri
Indian Web Developer
Lexolution IT Services on Facebook