7 Ways How a Flash Design Expert Can Compress Flash Banners
With the improvement of web technologies, businesses are keener on including Flash banners than GIF banners. This is because banners in Flash have high quality graphics, enticing animations and are more interactive. Such banners are more preferred in ecommerce websites. However, ensure that you get your banner designed by a Flash website design professional.
Flash banners should be smaller in size so that they load faster and have enhanced streaming capacities. This will benefit end users. Say for instance, a banner of shorter duration can easily play in the forefront while the primary banner keeps loading in the background.
While designing banners, a Flash design expert should compress the size of the Flash files for generating better user experience. Here are some useful tips to reduce the file size of banners designed in Flash.
1. Limited Use of Gradients
Gradients should be used in moderation while designing banners. This is because each segment of a gradient consumes more data than a solid fill. It is also important that designers use horizontal gradients instead of vertical ones since browsers scan horizontal gradients easily and quickly.
2. Use Limited Colors on Banners
To reduce the file size, it is imperative that you use limited colors on banners. It is better to use web-safe palettes since the colors in your banner will appear the same across all modern browsers.
3. Font Usage
You should also limit the use of fonts and their styles in your banner. Choose only the characters required instead of the whole typeface for font options that are embedded.
4. Use of Lines
When designing a banner, you should limit the use of special line types such as dotted or dashed. Always use solid lines as they consume less space. Similarly, the lines that are designed using the ‚¬pencil tool' need less memory than lines created using brush strokes.
The use of special line effects should be reduced as that will keep the file size of your banners low. Remember that commands such as ‚¬Expand Shape', ‚¬Convert Lines to Fills' and ‚¬Soften Edge' increase the vector components in the file.
5. Use of Sound
In order to compress sound, make use of lowest sampling rate. 16 Kbps is ideal for most of the situations. Do not use long sound files. Instead take a portion of the file, and let it loop so that it repeats itself.
Also choose ‚¬fast' in the quality button that is found under Sound Settings. Choosing the fast option provides better compression outcomes than ‚¬best' or ‚¬medium'.
6. Use of Bitmap Images
Use of bitmap images in your banner consumes more file size than using Flash vector graphics. Therefore, you should limit the use of bitmap images.
You should also alter the size of bitmap images before including them into your Flash files. This also implies that you have to reduce the quality of the images to the extent possible. Therefore it is best to convert bitmap images into vector graphics for reducing file size.
7. Use of Animation
Since file size increases with the number of frames, it is essential that you limit the number of frames. Make use of ‚¬tweening' and ‚¬keyframes' to cut down on frames. This will help to keep the file size to minimum. However, avoid using excessive tweening as that will make the playback slower.
Also remember to use animation in a particular segment of the banner, and not all over.
The above tips will help you in designing a banner that loads faster, thus delighting your visitors.
This article offers some tips how Flash designers can compress banners so that they load faster. This is important for generating betters user experience. Limited use of gradients, less use of colors, use of solid lines, converting bitmap images to vector graphics and cutting down on animation frames are some of the ways to reduce file size.
Flash banners should be smaller in size so that they load faster and have enhanced streaming capacities. This will benefit end users. Say for instance, a banner of shorter duration can easily play in the forefront while the primary banner keeps loading in the background.
While designing banners, a Flash design expert should compress the size of the Flash files for generating better user experience. Here are some useful tips to reduce the file size of banners designed in Flash.
1. Limited Use of Gradients
Gradients should be used in moderation while designing banners. This is because each segment of a gradient consumes more data than a solid fill. It is also important that designers use horizontal gradients instead of vertical ones since browsers scan horizontal gradients easily and quickly.
2. Use Limited Colors on Banners
To reduce the file size, it is imperative that you use limited colors on banners. It is better to use web-safe palettes since the colors in your banner will appear the same across all modern browsers.
3. Font Usage
You should also limit the use of fonts and their styles in your banner. Choose only the characters required instead of the whole typeface for font options that are embedded.
4. Use of Lines
When designing a banner, you should limit the use of special line types such as dotted or dashed. Always use solid lines as they consume less space. Similarly, the lines that are designed using the ‚¬pencil tool' need less memory than lines created using brush strokes.
The use of special line effects should be reduced as that will keep the file size of your banners low. Remember that commands such as ‚¬Expand Shape', ‚¬Convert Lines to Fills' and ‚¬Soften Edge' increase the vector components in the file.
5. Use of Sound
In order to compress sound, make use of lowest sampling rate. 16 Kbps is ideal for most of the situations. Do not use long sound files. Instead take a portion of the file, and let it loop so that it repeats itself.
Also choose ‚¬fast' in the quality button that is found under Sound Settings. Choosing the fast option provides better compression outcomes than ‚¬best' or ‚¬medium'.
6. Use of Bitmap Images
Use of bitmap images in your banner consumes more file size than using Flash vector graphics. Therefore, you should limit the use of bitmap images.
You should also alter the size of bitmap images before including them into your Flash files. This also implies that you have to reduce the quality of the images to the extent possible. Therefore it is best to convert bitmap images into vector graphics for reducing file size.
7. Use of Animation
Since file size increases with the number of frames, it is essential that you limit the number of frames. Make use of ‚¬tweening' and ‚¬keyframes' to cut down on frames. This will help to keep the file size to minimum. However, avoid using excessive tweening as that will make the playback slower.
Also remember to use animation in a particular segment of the banner, and not all over.
The above tips will help you in designing a banner that loads faster, thus delighting your visitors.
This article offers some tips how Flash designers can compress banners so that they load faster. This is important for generating betters user experience. Limited use of gradients, less use of colors, use of solid lines, converting bitmap images to vector graphics and cutting down on animation frames are some of the ways to reduce file size.