The program itself is an amalgamation of a vector drawing program with a timeline-based animation creation utility. Scripts may be written to provide content interactivity. It is an extremely valuable tool to help move your site from okay to outstanding. Links to sites which incorporate Flash may be found at Macromedia web site or by using your favorite search engines. http://www.visia.com is a good example of what Flash can do, as is excellent “cybermercial” available at http://www.mmiusa.com/home.html.

And now Shockwave Flash (swf) file format is obtaining a much wider acceptance. Adobe, Ulead and Corel are some of major players whose products have (or will have) swf export or viewing capability. http://openswf.org/ provides an information center for both programming arcana of swf and lists of third party developers – companies like Blue Pacific (http://www.blue-pac.com/), creators of software called Flash Turbine, which allows you to create dynamic Flash content based upon changing data in (for example) text or databases.

Having always been a stubborn code by hand type, I was slow to pay attention to Flash files. To flash or not to flash (paraphrasing again) was not a question I ever thought I’d be asking myself. But reality of situation is that in this day of 56k and cable modems and competition from a gazillion other web sites, coupled with explosive and ever growing acceptance of Flash technology (no special plugin is necessary in latest versions of most popular browsers) that in order to compete in market, you almost have to be a flasher too, however perverse that may sound at first blush. I knew I needed to learn about Flashing, and started at Macromedia web site (http://www.macromedia.com). They have a Flash site of day and a lot of helpful basic information about Flash4. The program is available for downloading and a 30-day trial, but beware of its learning curve and rather high intimidation factor. Flash is a powerful product indeed, and to harness that power, you have to put time and effort into it. Assuming you take plunge and buy product, you might be interested in many books written about Flash. To flesh out flashing, so to speak.

Site design being what it is today, wouldn’t you like to be a flasher too?

Gif crunching is answer!(www.gifcruncher.com) A gif image has a series of overlaying colors built into it, far deeper than average human eye can see. What a gif cruncher does is minimize unnecessary colors making your picture load faster. There is a sacrifice of some quality in most cases, but isn't it better to sacrifice a little than to whine about one that "got away"?

In real estate, key to success is three L’s: Location, location, location! That same formula applies to your website. Do you want your readers to find their information quickly, or to roam around endlessly like S.S.Minnow on a three-hour tour? Organization and clear, concise links to your information is key to success. Your reader should always have an idea of what they are getting into. Avoid at all costs undefined links, such as “click here for a surprise”! If I wanted a surprise, I’d go buy a box of Cracker Jacks.

Bigger IS better! Make your font size BIG enough for people to read. I’d like to still think I’m twenty-four, but in reality I’m forty something. Although still sexy, my eyes just aren't what they used to be! If you make me squint and feel old, I’ll go away. While incredibly small fonts can seem stylish and room saving, they tend to annoy readers. Pick a safe font as well, like arial or courier. Sure, your snazzy, unique EuroTrash#45 is a beautiful flowing font. But what good is it if only 10% of your readers actually see it, while other 90% see a generically ugly default font?

In summary, quick loading, ease in navigation and viewing, organized links and of course, excellent content will get readers who do happen to hit your page to stay there, and bookmark page and return. Return visitors will make your site a success. Once you develop an audience that comes back for more, you have makings of hit Broadway show.