I updated my website (actually I made a new one…) with lots of new work. In 3d viz section and extra/3d experiments section there is a lot of vray work I never posted here before.
Link: http://www.aversis.be/
Note the video files are not yet online. The hdri’s are uploading right now.
Feel free to comment on any image you like (and on my site too)
There’s a flash version of the site here: http://www.aversis.be/web/aversis\_flash/index.htm
But I stopped developing this one because there were to many disadvantages in using flash for this site. Original idea however for the layout was created with this flash site in mind (jumping spheres etc).
Well, the most important reasons were:
- updates take more time with flash version (edit in flash, export swf, etc…)
- direct linking is impossible (for example if I want to show you this image: http://www.aversis.be/3d/02.htm , in flash version I have to say go to 3d viz and click button X etc…)
- Flash and search engines are a bad combination
- There are still people who don’t like to donwload flash, plus you need the latest player for this site.
- small easy things are lot’s of work in flash compared to html
- mass editing is easy with dreamwaever (search and replace function)
I spent weeks building the flash site, and converted it to html in less than two days. I don’t think the extra bit flash gives to the site is worth 10 times the development time. I wanted to keep both flash and html but that’s too much work for me to keep it up to date.
I’m working on another big website project, where I also had to cut back the use of flash drastically for the same reasons…
- updates take more time with flash version (edit in flash, export swf, etc…)
You can link flash to external files (jpegs or whatnot) and use XML files to define the content, so changing content is as easy as uploading new files and modifying some XML
- direct linking is impossible (for example if I want to show you this image: http://www.aversis.be/3d/02.htm , in flash version I have to say go to 3d viz and click button X etc…)
You can pass flash variables just like PHP or ASP, you can have a URL that looks just like the one above for this forum, but with flash.swf?variable=string instead of viewtopic.php?variable=string
- Flash and search engines are a bad combination
True, but again, ways around it
- There are still people who don’t like to donwload flash, plus you need the latest player for this site.
You can pick what version of Flash is required when you build your flash file. Over 85% of web users have flash installed - it is the most common plugin, even moreso than Acrobat.
- small easy things are lot's of work in flash compared to html
And there are a lot of easy things in flash that are a lot of work in HTML
- mass editing is easy with dreamwaever(search and replace function)
Again, if your content is all stored in XML, its a piece of cake and you can still use Dreamweaver to search/replace.
I feel your pain, I’ve had to do a lot of sites that would have looked great in flash, but had to be HTML. But there are work-arounds. I’m starting a site that has to be flash, but at the same time has to be as easy to update and change (if not easier) than if it was HTML.
All my content are linked jpgs etc, but still, the way my site is made makes it pretty difficult to set it up with xml or stuff like that. I’m new to dynamic content, and I’m not planning on specializing in it (at least for now), so meanwhile I think I have to stick to html
When you click a navi button, a certain amount of balls should jump up, when you click one, it should jump again, turn blue, load an swf, do the wipe effect, disable the clicked ball etc… Then inside the loaded swf you should be able to select additional images and so on. Then when another navi button is clicked, all balls should dissapear (in the right color!) and new ones should pop up… I struggled real hard to do this, and I guess it would be even more difficult if everthing should be linked to xml files. That’s why I felt that the difference between flash/html version doesn’t justify the huge difference in time that it takes to build the two versions.
About the url thing, you say it can look like viewtopic.php?variable=string or something, but would typing that url directly give me the page I want? Can you point me to a website constructed in this way?
Maybe when I need to build a website for a client that needs dynamic flash content, I will start learning it. That’s how I started to learn flash too and after that wanted to implement my new knowledge into my own website. So the xml thing probably is the next version of my site, but not in the near future.
I’ve put the flash version in my webdesign gallery just to show what a flash site can look like, so it’s not completely lost
For now I’m using flash more for small intro’s or navigation part, like in this site http://www.aversis.be/klanten/anyway (click the NL button and choose “fotogalerij” for example). These are html pages with some flash content, but not full flash site. But I’m getting a bit off topic I think
Nice, I would rethink having the navigation on the bottom though. I see this as problematic especially with clients running smaller resolutions, I had to scroll down as the browser is not forced to a size to navigate, perhaps add some code to define the browser window size if you wish to keep the nav on the bottom. Navigation on the top/left hand side is fairly standard, unless you have a really good reason why you can’t have your navigation there I would not change that. Remember your audience, not everyone runs in 1600x1200 and is tech savvy, if your website is your first point of call and your prospective client is already frustrated by the interface…
I would also think about directing the content a little bit more, direct users to your main product, also remove the line about being a one man team, generally it’s not seen as a plus, except by people who want to rip you off
Looks good though. I wouldn’t go the flash, go for compatibility or the option, flash and html.
p.s. my website is not a good example of what you should do! hehe
At first the whole site was built for 800*600 and it did fit in. But I added the top logo afterwards, outside that main rectangle. You have a good point about the navi at the bottom.
Actually the layout is fixed size because I intended to work in flash and that made things a bit easier. I think the layout now is a bit too much in one direction and people might think I only make websites like that (opinions about it vary from extra clean to I don’t like small fixed sized websites…).
Building the whole flash thing was a great lesson for me, and the outcome is a html site that looks like a flash layout because of the fixed size. I’ll probably change the site again when I do a next big update Problem is I am never satisfied about work for myself, like my website or business cards etc… When I’m done with my site I usually already don’t like it as much as I did when I started to build it.
nicer way to navigate with the top bar, maybe replace the littel circles for the video with a reel icon, I think they are a little small and dont immediatly prompt the vier to click on them (maybe its just me )
TOm
I completely agree. My second website was completely Flash and it was always painful to update. It’s a good lesson to learn to but I’ll never do it again. Truth be told, I think flash should be strictly left to animations and cartoons. I’ve seen one too many sites with bad Flash intros which make you wait an eternity.
Your site looks great- great images, very fast, informative, and easy to navigate. Simple. All the things which make up a perfect website. I like the updated HDRIs too.
(and on my site too)
)