Sometimes, it is very challenging for a user to ulitize creativity while developing a flash intro for a website just because they don't have the right tool. Now, you can easily develop flash intros for your website with the help of various online tools like FlashBerry Intro Builder.
It is very interesting to develop flash intros but you should always keep some important tips in mind while developing flash based websites. For a step by step guide on how to develop flash intros, read the Pixel Digest tutorial on Creating Flash Intro Effects.
When building a Flash intro for your website, it is important to consider the following to improve usability.
Provide a Skip Button
You must provide a skip button in the Flash intro so that users that are not interested in viewing animation can skip it. Anyone forced to watch it will likely not stick around the website.
Provide HTML Links
You must also provide important static HTML links along with built in navigation menu just below or above the Flash. This way you can ensure that if the flash takes time to load, visitors can easily jump to the static links. It will also help the search engines to index your website in an effecient way.
Provide a Loading Bar
For Flash intros that are big, try providing a loading bar that informs the flash loading progress in percentage. If a user doesn’t notice any activity for a few seconds, they will close the website.
Large Flash Intros
For large size flash intros, try to keep the user busy by providing animated images or other vector based art. You can also ask some questions related to your business or the purpose of your website for which the user might be interested to know the answers in the flash intro.
Provide a Link to Flash Plug-in
Almost all the users have flash plug-ins installed on their system. However, it is a good idea to provide a download link for the flash plug-in.
Music Files
Even though it may be a good idea to embed music in a flash intro, but sometimes it becomes annoying. Therefore, you should provide a mute button or a stop button to make the user happy.
Keywords for Search Engine
Important keywords meant for search engines should always be placed inside Meta tags along with text for the intro of the Flash. Do not spam the search engines with too many keywords; otherwise, you will be penalized for the same.