When I first started in this industry, part of my training was web design. I can’t remember how many times my supervisor then stressed the importance of checking out works of the professionals. He got me hooked on this one particular site – CoolHomePages.com. Check out their Sites of the Week section.
Common characteristics I find amongst a lot of the showcased sites include clean navigation, simple layout, no-clutter, great graphics and images, fun attitude, and phenomenal flash work.
Whether it’s a flash intro, a web presentation or Flash multimedia, flash adds dynamics to your website, making it more aesthetic, with a ‘cool’ attitude.
So, you might be wondering…
How do I create Flash?
You need a Flash program to create your own Flash work. The more popular program is theAdobe Flash. Yes, I am aware of the price tag. But they do have a 30-day free trial you can download. The Adobe Flash is a no-nosense software, designed for advanced, professional, impressive flash work.
For those of us who are interested in something that is more affordable and less-advanced:
- If you are not looking for a full-on flash website, but simply flash banners, intro pages and text/image effects, check out CoffeeCup Firestarter and Anim-Fx.
- If you are looking for something similar to Adobe Flash to create a full-on website in Flash, then check out Swish.
- Flash To Go is an online flash site builder.
How do I add Flash to my website?
Once you have created your flash banner/intro/effects, save it in .swf format. W3Schools has an awesome tutorial on how to embed flash into your HTML files.
If you are using Adobe or Swish, there is an export function you can use to export your flash files in SWF and HTML formats. Simple upload these files to your web server.
Note: Flash is supported on all Doteasy web hosting packages, including $0 Hosting.
Can I buy already-made Flash templates?
Of course. There are a lot of companies selling Flash templates, all you need to do is simple/minor customizations to make it yours.
Most of these templates require Adobe Flash to customize, but there are also templates designed for SwishMax, too. Make sure you check the required programs before you make any purchases.
To purchase templates, check out: