Adding moving images to your website [BT broadband office]

Adding moving images to your website

Posted 16 August 2006 at 9:33AM by David Morgan in Website development

Maureen at Bo Baggage contacted us asking how she can put moving objects on her website.

There are two main ways of adding moving images to a website - using an animated GIF or Flash.

An animated GIF can be created using standard graphics packages (such as Corel Paint Shop or Adobe Photoshop) along with a GIF construction set (there are loads - just type 'gif construction' into Google). GIF animation is essentially a series of individual frames linked together - just like traditional animation. There are a number of websites with advice to create animated GIFs - two I found quickly were at Wesleyan University and HTML Tutorials.

The second way is using Flash which is a more sophisticated, and therefore more complex, solution and the software costs around £500. There are a lot of tutorials on the web, including a starter's guide at About.com.

Used well, animation can enhance your site. However, it doesn't always add to a site's appeal or increase conversion rates of customers.

What can be an interesting or amusing animation the first time you see it can become incredibly annoying if you use the site frequently. Especially if the animation file slows down the page loading.

I've also heard examples where an unanimated promo has beaten an animated version hands down on click-thru rates. Customers didn't wait long enough on the page to see the full animation, so missed the reason to click thru.

Before adding animation to your site I suggest looking at sites you like to see whether and how they have used animation.

You can buy Corel Paint Shop, Adobe Photoshop, Adobe Flash and more at DABS.com.

Tags: adobe, animation, corel, dabs, flash, gif, image, paint shop, photo shop

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Comments

1. At August 16, 2006 10:13 AM, Sam Judson wrote:

Do you think that maybe you should disclose the fact that Dabs.com is now owned by BT and that this post comes across as a simple advert...

2. At August 16, 2006 10:44 AM, David Morgan wrote:

Hi Sam,

We try and stick to a clear policy.

If the article is about a BT product we'll make that clear from the outset.

If an article is about a non-BT story we limit how much we mention our products and often only add links to relevant BT products at the end.

In this case, we'd had a comment from Maureen on another post where it was off topic but it warranted a separate article.

I didn't link to any BT products in the main body but did add the links to DABS at the bottom.

Fair point about saying DABS is a BT company. I nearly added that at the end but felt there had been plenty of publicity about us buying them and we refer to them across the site already.

3. At August 16, 2006 2:37 PM, Sam Judson wrote:

Fair enough. Thanks for the reply.

4. At August 17, 2006 1:56 PM, John wrote:

You could also use javascript to manipulate an image or images on a page to create moving images. Once such example might be a slideshow where images fade from one to another.

While Flash is an Adobe product there are other programs that can create flash animations. Some of these are much cheaper than Flash and there are even some that are free. I'm sure a quick search online will point you in the right direction.

5. At August 21, 2006 5:48 PM, Adam Cooper wrote:

As a graphic designer, my advice is not to use animations unless what you want to communicate cannot be done equally well statically.

Putting large animations on your site "because you can" is a surefire way to downgrade the perceived quality of your website. Lots of animated graphics are a clear signal that your site is "home made".

If you're thinking of going as far as having flash animations on your site then please remember that your site will only look as professional as the person who created it...

If you want to acheive a professional look then the only sensible way forward for anyone serious about presenting their business effectively is to employ a professional.

Try the BDI (British Design Initiative) or CSD (Chartered Society of Designers) websites for a local designer or look on BT's own site - they appear to have various packages available for businesses looking to develop a well-designed internet presence.

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