Optimise Flash movies

In this miraculous 21st century with super-duper whizz-bang broadband connections, it may seem rather silly to worry about having to optimise Flash movies. But by not doing it you risk losing visitors to your site. There are some amazingly bloated Flash websites out there that stutter and start as they load, even on the fastest connections. The worst offenders are often film sites, and it seems common for developers to put huge, unoptimised images in Flash files, slap on a preloader and think they’re done. It goes without saying that by doing this they aren’t enhancing the user experience. If you optimise that Flash movie then the preloader won’t drag for so long, the movie will load quicker and your visitors will discover your content sooner.

Consider those visitors to your site who may be perfectly happy with their 56k dial-up modem. It’s a mistake to believe that everyone is as tech-savvy as you are. Many people have older equipment and much slower connections. Widen the appeal of your message by optimising your site as much as you can. Even 20kb trimmed from a movie is 20kb of Flash fat, which, when removed, delivers your site that bit quicker to your audience.

Thank you for reading 5 articles this month* Join now for unlimited access

Enjoy your first month for just £1 / $1 / €1

*Read 5 free articles per month without a subscription

Join now for unlimited access

Try first month for just £1 / $1 / €1

The Creative Bloq team is made up of a group of design fans, and has changed and evolved since Creative Bloq began back in 2012. The current website team consists of eight full-time members of staff: Editor Georgia Coggan, Deputy Editor Rosie Hilder, Ecommerce Editor Beren Neale, Senior News Editor Daniel Piper, Editor, Digital Art and 3D Ian Dean, Tech Reviews Editor Erlingur Einarsson and Ecommerce Writer Beth Nicholls and Staff Writer Natalie Fear, as well as a roster of freelancers from around the world. The 3D World and ImagineFX magazine teams also pitch in, ensuring that content from 3D World and ImagineFX is represented on Creative Bloq.