Building Flash® Web Sites For Dummies®

Chapter 3. Creating the Interface

<feature><title>In This Chapter</title> <objective>

Creating interface symbols

</objective> <objective>

Working with Flash symbols

</objective> <objective>

Creating colorful symbols

</objective> <objective>

Working with layers

</objective> </feature>

If you build it, they will come. Well, maybe not everyone will come, but you stand a better chance of having those who come stay if you create a user-friendly Flash Web site. Creating an attractive Flash design involves many factors. The biggest factor is creating a drop-dead gorgeous site that loads quickly. Web site visitors are a sophisticated bunch these days. When your site first appears, the design has to grab them by the throat and make them want to see more. On the other hand, the site has to load quickly. Otherwise, your potential visitor is gone in a New York minute. And that’s pretty short. In this chapter, I show you the basics for creating a compelling interface.

Creating a Bandwidth-Friendly Flash Site

Many Flash Web sites throw everything at you, including the kitchen sink. Unfortunately, when you have a lot of material to show — say, for example, image and video galleries for a photographer and videographer’s Web site — you end up with a site that loads sooooooooooo slowly that potential viewers take a quick exit, stage left. The only way to avoid this eventuality is to create a fast-loading interface into which the other content loads.

To begin designing your interface, you create a new document ...