How to Create a Website with Online Flash Hosting
Flash makes websites more dynamic, interesting and aesthetically appealing. To fully develop Flash products, however, requires the purchase of the expensive software from Adobe and going through the steep learning curve to use it properly. In addition, Flash creates a file that often requires website readers to download a plug-in to view it properly. Several online companies allow novice website owners to develop Flash presentations online and host them online as well, so website visitors get a seamless experience and website developers avoid the time and expense of using the native software.
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Instructions
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Determine Capabilities of Web Host
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Examine the services offered by your web host. Many offer Flash-based templates that will require little more than plug and play and adapting content for your particular site. In addition numerous companies sell Flash templates that you can download. To modify them, however, requires having Adobe Flash on your computer. Fortunately, Adobe allows free 30-day trials, which may be enough time to develop the presentation you want if you have some understanding of how the program works. Moreover, W3Schools and Utah State University offer free courses and tutorials on developing with Flash.
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Look to Web-based Flash development sites if you do not have the ability to download Flash and develop your own site. Sites, such as Wix, Sprout,and FX, all allow you to build sites and Flash files online. Wix provides whole-site templates, which you can manipulate. Sprout and FX allow you to create dynamic Flash content and add effects for items like slideshows and videos, text motion and banners, buttons and scrollers. They will host your saved Flash content online and provide the HTML coding to embed the content on your desired web page.
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Test your site in multiple browsers and from many different machines. Dynamic content will present differently to different users. Essentially, you want to be sure the site and Flash content loads, that they load quickly, and there are no browser-dependent issues that affect how the content plays out for users. Be sure to use universal fonts when creating text passages in your Flash content. If you use a niche font, it will be substituted with another, perhaps less preferable font on the end user's machine. It may not look like you want it.
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Tips & Warnings
One downside of using the free Flash services is that they will come with branding for the companies on your site.
References
Resources
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