DON'T BE RASH WITH FLASH --By Jim Rapoza (from eLabs_Report@eletters1.ziffdavis.com, March 5, 2001):
As Web operators work to differentiate their sites by using
engaging and interactive content, Macromedia Inc.'s Flash
animation format has become one of the most popular tools
for creating attractive and dynamic sites.
Flash can indeed be a very useful tool for building a Web
site, but it can easily be misused. Excessive animation,
crowded interfaces and overindulgent intro animations are
common at many sites that have plunged too deeply into
Flash.
To their credit, Macromedia officials are aware of the
possible abuses of Flash, and they have put together a list
of usability tips for developers building Flash sites. The
entire list can be found at:
http://eletters1.ziffdavis.com/cgi-bin10/flo?y=eG7I0Bf5ip0DSm0B7D0AX.
I'd like to elaborate on Macromedia's tips. The first two
are to remember both your users' goals and your site's
goals. They might well differ from one another. You might
want to provide glitzy ads and control a user's click path,
but the user might prefer to find what they're looking for
with the least amount of hassle.
Tip No. 3: Avoid unnecessary intros. If you have an
elaborate intro, display a "skip" option prominently--at
least if you want people to return to your site.
Tips 4 and 5: Provide logical navigation and interactivity,
and design for consistency. These tips apply no matter what
type of Web page you're building. No one likes a site with a
bad interface.
Tips 6 and 7 cover the overuse of animation and sound. These
are big problems in many Flash sites. Remember, just because
you can do something doesn't mean you should.
Being accessible to those with disabilities and with slow
connections are the next two tips. Accessibility, in
particular, can be a big problem for Flash sites, which
often lack alternate text tags.
The penultimate tip is to test for usability, which sounds
like a no-brainer but is something a lot of Flash sites I've
seen must have missed somehow.
Lastly, don't build your site completely in Flash. As nice
as Flash is, there are still many users who won't download
it. You wouldn't open a business and only let people with
certain types of shoes in. Why would you do the same for
your online business? It's worth noting that even
www.flash.com can be accessed and navigated without Flash.
The best of sites, the worst of sites
Composing Good HTML
Customers as Designers
How Usable Is Your Web Site?
Northwestern University Library Web Publishing Handbook
Sharper Staples
Simplicity, usability best in Web page design
Ten Good Deeds in Web Design, by Jakob Nielsen
Top Ten Mistakes in Web Design from Sun Computing
The User Remains Paramount In Web Design
Use-It.Com
W3C Style Guide for online hypertext
Web Design Group Style guide for online hypertext
Web Design Made Easy
Yale Style guide
HTML help is available if you need it
for your assignment. If you have not developed a web page before, you might start with the HTML Primer.