Flash is a product developed by Macromedia as a tool to web developers. Flash allows you to create animated content and integrate it into your web site. Flash is extremely common today, used by over 400 million people. A big advantage of Flash is that it takes up very little bandwidth on your network connection.

Flash allows you to create animation, build interactivity, and add sound to your pages. And you can create some dazzling graphics and interfaces for your Web pages. Also, Flash is browser independent although it does require you to download a plug-in.

However, Flash is relatively difficult to learn. Its both an animation editor and a drawing tool. Having some experience in these types of tools and graphic design, in particular, will give you an edge during the learning process, assuming you are interested in integrating flash content into your web site.

Quite often Flash is overused. The web is primarily an information tool, or a problem solver. Generally people are not impressed by lengthy Flash introductions because they add no value. Visitors may just leave rather than wait for the Flash movie to finish. Used well Flash can add to the overall professionalism of a site. The key is you must use it sparingly and in a way that adds to the visitors experience.

Flash can be very tastefully used for your website logo.

• Flash Tutorials