1. The most popular screen resolution is 1024×768
2. Most people use PC
3. IE is the most popular browser
4. Preferred color model for online is RGB not CMYK
5. Preferred file formats for images are JPG, PNG and GIF not TIFF
6. Rule of the thumb: images should just be 72 dpi rather than 300 dpi
7. File size for images should not exceed 1 MB
8. Fonts supported in HTML are: Arial, Helvetica, Times New Roman, Courier, Georgia, Verdana, Geneva
9. HTML text cannot be kerned. Flash dynamic text cannot be kerned either
10. Always always always test your layout in different monitors and browsers before going live

Shang :: May.07.2008 :: beginner, best practice, good-to-know :: No Comments »

Before building a preloader, let’s take a look at how SWF files loads.

SWF files are displayed in a streaming manner. Frames in the main timeline are loaded from 1 to the end (from left to right in Flash IDE). The user will be able to see a frame once it is loaded, without loading the whole SWF file. Because of the streaming nature, a SWF file with only one frame in the main timeline will only show up until everything is loaded. A preloader is not needed in such situation. In order to make a preloader visible during the preloading phase, preloader should be placed in the first frame and the contents should be placed in some frames behind it.
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Shang :: Apr.21.2008 :: beginner, best practice :: 1 Comment »

I am guilty of spending too much time on designing and developing websites that I hardly spend much time on making them “search engine optimised”. Search engine is so powerful these days, people are reliant on it for almost all information they are trying to find. They don’t call anymore, they don’t ask, they search - and it is probably the fastest way into getting instant information.

Almost all of my websites are designed entirely in flash, they might be friendly to the eyes, but not exactly very friendly to search engines. This post a very serious problem especially when you’re relying on a website for your business. Clients wants sites to be in HTML and minimal flash so that it is searchable via search engines. Fair enough, moreover HTML can be deployed together with AJAX to minimise refreshes and put some life into the HTML pages by employing slight animation, but if you really love Flash like I do, you might want to SEO your full flash sites with - SWF Object

Benefits of SWF Object

1. It detects whether the flash player plugin is install on the user’s computer
2. If no flash player is detected, the same page that holds your full flash site will display alternative HTML content (note that the page will display “alternative content” and not bringing the user to an “alternative page”
3. The “alternative content” which you’ll design in the main page that holds your full flash site will also get picked up by the search engines making the page search engine friendly

5 Steps on using SWF Object (it’s easy)

1. Click here to go to SWF Object download page at Google Code
2. Download “SWF Object 2.0″ from the above mentioned site (SWF Object 2.0 is the latest available at the time of writing)
3. Copy “swfobject.js” from the folder you’ve downloaded (you need to unzip the folder from the zip file)
4. Paste “swfobject.js” into the same directory as your HTML page holding your full flash site
5. Go to the SWF Object HTML & Javascript generator page to generate a HTML page to embed your flash and include the most important “alternative content” (a.k.a. HTML content in case your audience don’t have flash player installed and at the same time making your site search engine friendly). The SWF Object HTML & Javascript generator page can also be downloaded as a HTML or Adobe AIR application via the same SWF Object download page at Google Code website.

And you’re done! I’ve made my website search engine friendly by using SWF Object, you can try it too and tell me if yours works.

*You might need to uninstall your flash player to test the alternative content without Flash Player Plugin, here’s where you can download the Flash Player Uninstaller. For more information and documentation of SWF Object, go to here.

benhomie :: Apr.06.2008 :: best practice, seo :: No Comments »

…(a preloader) consists of a quickly-loaded smaller movie, image or text with a message that tells the viewer to wait while the rest of the larger object is loaded. - Wikipedia

According to the definition, a preloader should be a small message that indicates a large object is loading. A good preloader follows the definition closely, small, quick load and informative. A simple looping animation works, pure text works and a line in the stage is pretty neat too.

A common mistake is called “preloading the preloader”, which means that the preloader makes up the majority of the file size and it is too big to be loaded quickly. It may sound silly but you do spot it from time to time. Unfortunately, there isn’t an exact figure to measure whether the preloader is too big or not. It’s up to the designer or developer’s judgment.

Fortunately, preloader is getting less and less important nowadays. One reason is because bandwidth is getting bigger so the preloading time is much shorter. But more importantly, people realized more time should be spent in developing the content rather than a stunning preloader.

Shang :: Apr.05.2008 :: beginner, best practice :: 2 Comments »