Flash or HTML?
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- fifty50
So I'm coming up with ideas for a portfolio site redesign, including layouts, colour schemes, and the type of content I want to display, but I can't decide whether I want to do a Flash site again or just go with HTML.
I found that building and maintaining a Flash site took considerable more work than an HTML site would have, especially since I never learned how to bring in text and pictures via XML.
What I want to know is which method do you guys/gals prefer and why? Flash or HTML/JS?
- fugged0
Depends on how you set up your flash content, but i agree, sometimes it takes longer to build/update a flash site than an html one.
If you go HTML, you might consider an AJAX type framework. Lots of nice js libraries already out there (sorry don't have any links). That's the way I'm leanin' for when I actually get motivated to do a new site.
- mrdobolina0
do you tend to do more html or flash?
- Nairn0
What job you going for?
What technologies would most aptly represent your skillz?If you're a web designer/developer you should probably consider a melange* of dhtml/js/flash/etc, degrading nicely to non-flash browsers.
If you're heavily into flash or whizzy vectorz, then.. well, go the flash route
* my word for the week.
- fifty500
Well i'm not HEAVY into Flash, and I'm no vector whiz, but I sure like the effects that you can do with Flash. Meh I'll figure something out. I'll weigh the pros and cons of both methods and see which one is best suited to the task.
- davi-t0
Depends on what field you are in basically.
Use Flash if ur in the design world. It's looks a ton better than HTML. Depends on how much creativity you want to put into it. A 30-second Splash screen without a skip button always looks great. Or you can be like me, just put a Flash COMING SOON page, you never have to update it!
If ur a coder or a blogger, use HTML. What good would a Flashy site be for someone who isn't in the design world trying to get coding work.
- fifty500
"A 30-second Splash screen without a skip button always looks great. Or you can be like me, just put a Flash COMING SOON page, you never have to update it!"
Oh God please no splash screens. I've already got a "coming soon" up there, and I don't want to leave it there for long.
- nburlington0
Flash/XML
- JOOST0
Think about search engines, I used to be 100% flash based but while other sites were adding pages full of ugly texts and I was making things look pretty: I lost traffic on those... Try to include html for your basic info... for example: the photos and graphics could show up in flash but make sure your client descriptions are in html, otherwise no engine will spider it.
- fifty500
or I could put the most important information in header tags and use CSS to render them invisible when viewing the site. That would keep them trackable with search engines, no?
- unfittoprint0
the more important is the structure of your new site and its content manipulation.
not flash/html
but databased/not databased
fast, form based updating
dynamically xml driven.
flash or html is just a question of 'skin'.
- Rand0
or stick it on your flash sniffer redirect page that nobody sees?
- flavorful0
unfittoprint, nicely said.
And, I've had "Coming Soon." on my site for I believe over 2 years - so if you can't decide do something... otherwise your actual work will eventually overtake your life robbing any free time for portfolio sites.
Which brings me back to unfitto's point.
- fifty500
I guess i'd better start learning dynamic content management.
- unfittoprint0
a small folio db driven folio just needs the following:
[ADMIN]
#1 a table for categories [and an optional for subcategories]
#2 a form with title,category [,sucategory], description... fields
plus another field for image / thumbnail upload#3 a php script to check file uploading, and update your images table
#4 another script to list your current data with and option to edit/delete them
[FOLIO]
#1 a php script to query your db by filtering a desired category [or subcategory ID]
#print or echo the results to flash or html
the first time you manage to have this type of content managment will also be the last time you'll have to do it.
- fifty500
got an example of one of those in use?
- unfittoprint0
Create dynamic sites with
PHP & MySQL
http://codewalkers.com/tutorialp…Storing Images in Database
http://codewalkers.com/tutorialp…and a link to a combo of apache+mysql+php
http://www.wampserver.com/
- fusionpixel0
Well i'm not HEAVY into Flash, and I'm no vector whiz, but I sure like the effects that you can do with Flash. Meh I'll figure something out. I'll weigh the pros and cons of both methods and see which one is best suited to the task.
fifty50
(Nov 3 05, 06:20)
--Well, with those comments I would just go HTML.
- fifty500
here's how my last site turned out using HTML, MySQL and JavaScript. My sister's portfolio:
- mikotondria20
Unfits right on the money there with that system..
I first hacked together a CMS using an old guestbook that I got to feed data to a text file, then my Flash 4 files to read that..
Now, Ive got a pretty templatable CMS thing that we offer our clients as a bonus - once you get the hang of querying a database and spitting out a variable pair echo , and using LoadVars to access it, its really cool..
As for HTML/Flash, I'd say keep the imagery and stylistic elements in Flash, cause thats what its best at - whilst keeping the meat of the content in HTML, so its searchenginable - hate to say it, but a lot of 2A's portfolio has the right combination of Flash/HTML - see:
http://www.christopherlawrence.c… for example -Now, where did I put that 'Sparkle Beta...?