But what impact, if any, does this kind of special effect have on the value of the user experience or making any sales?

You see a lot of new web site templates that have all sorts of special effects like noise, moving images, and morphing graphics. The gee whiz or cool factor is used to sell the web site design template and entice the buyer. But what impact, if any, does this kind of special effect have on the value of the user experience or making sales?

I know that I’m not very attracted to noisy web sites. If fact if your target user is working in an office environment or other quiet working area, noise is the last thing they need. One of the most common practice jokes I’ve seen is to lure an unsuspecting user to a site that screams or plays some dramatic music as soon as you enter the web site. It is funny but it’s not nice.

Special effects have 3 possible drawbacks. First and foremost is load time. When you add several large files (as all flash or .fta files are) you are making the user wait. That is never a good thing in today’s I want it now mindset. The second slow down can occur based on the user’s screen settings and resolution. And the third is that the user may not have the necessary version of flash so they will be asked to download the latest version.

First impressions do count and if you start off by making the user update and wait for some gee whiz visual that doesn’t add any value, it’s probably not a good thing. Especially if you are doing some type of direct marketing. The emotional state of the potential buyer is important and irritating a user right off the bat doesn’t bode well for generating sales.

It’s a well-known fact that you only have a few seconds to grab the visitor’s attention. If you use up those precious seconds loading some flash routine that’s not a very good use of time. A strong headline or even an illustration would be a better choice.

The one benefit of using templates is that you can change the layout to better fit your subject matter or target audience. The designer of the template (like many chefs I’ve met about being horrified when you pick up a condiment to put on their perfect dish) don’t want you messing with their design. Whenever I use a template I almost always customize the design.

There are two reasons I change something on almost any template. The first is to make sure people don’t see multiple copies of the same design. The other is that rarely will a template fit my concept exactly. Some type of tweaking or changing is necessary to achieve my goal.

Many times I just use the template as a guide on color and layout. Maybe use a graphic or illustration that fits my subject matter. There are no rules, the important issues are to communicate, sell, or influence your visitor. So as long as you can accomplish the given tasks, that’s all that matters.

That’s not to say that you can’t use flash or other special effects. When the subject matter or message lends itself to audio or specific graphics flash can be very effective. I have audio on several of my web sites since it is a good method of communication. But the audio is controlled by the visitor, they can choose to listen or not, it’s their option.

Special effects cover a lot of grounds. If you need to visually demonstrate a process that is difficult to describe, an illustration is perfect. If you want to provide an example of music, or provide a video demo on some process, or the special effect helps create credibility (like testimonials for example).I think the main thing to keep in mind is to use and not abuse any flash routines. Don’t over do it just for the sake of having some flashy (no pun intended) design that slows down the load time and doesn’t add any value. Use any special effects appropriately and keep them as fast loading as possible.

And when you go shopping for templates, don’t go for the singing dogs or flying fish. It’s like the dog food commercials trying to show how much their dog food looks like human food. The dog doesn’t care what it looks like, but the humans do and they are the ones buying the product.

And don’t be afraid to make changes to the templates to suit your particular need. If you like the colors and layout but not the illustrations or graphics, just remove the graphics and illustrations or put in ones you feel better serve the design.

I would also suggest some change is necessary on any template to give it your personal touch. You don’t want 50 other websites with the same design as yours anyway. Add some originality to the layout or add some new graphics that are unique to your web site.

Source: Free Articles from ArticlesFactory.com

 4 Most Common Web Site Template Mistakes
User friendliness and easy navigation should adhere to the two-click rule. This is a simple rule that implies any user should be able to find what they want on any given web site in two clicks. Using a web site template right out of the box is a very common mistake new web designer's make. One of the cool things about the web is that it's so visual. Using a web site design template can save any new web developer a lot of time and effort. But like any tool, you can get into trouble if you don't pay attention. Color....

 Web Templates For The Home and Hobbyist
A lot of individuals, clubs, and organizations would like to share their interests or group mission with others, but to present it on the Internet would mean learning the complicated language that goes with programming, or else hiring a professional designer. Since this isn't something that's in most non-profit or personal budgets, the best alternative, is free web templates. Teams, associations, schools, and just the person with an interesting hobby, can now show the world what they can do, with no more than a web template, and a basic....

 Web Templates for Company or Commercial Use
Businesses that are trying to reach the maximum number of customers possible, can only do it with a site that is “clean”, easy to navigate, and presents the essentials of the company. But if professional designers aren't in your budget, there is an alternative. Get free web templates that cater to the exact set-up you need. Retailers, wholesalers, commercial enterprises of any kind, can present their companies and products or services in the best light possible, through the use of free templates that are simple and quick to use. Whether....

 Basics to Building a Web Page from Soula Design
This article has been prepared to give you a very basic insight into constructing a web page. It is aimed primarily at beginners and while it will not show you everything you know but certainly give you a base understanding so you can go on to read other documents and understand them quickly. If you would rather sit back and let someone else handle your web design why not visit Soula Design. Build a web page is easy, almost anyone can do it and after a bit of reading it will work. Building a good web page is a completely....

 6 Reasons Why Web Templates Are Today’s Trend
As the Internet blooms at an alarming rate, so as the numberof websites out there. Appearance, layout, presentation andloading times are just a few of the main essentialcharacteristics of a successful website. It would seem thatit is generally manageable if you own a wide level ofknowledge on web / graphics design. But the main question oftoday's online trend, is how you can eliminate the need ofgoing through the traditional web designing processes andtimeframe. Have you ever own the burning desire to have not only onebut a number of websites....

 Subscriber Application Form
As soon as you click on the link in your confirmation email, you will be automatically re-directed to our download page and your free... 68 FAST LOADING WEBSITE TEMPLATES Regards... Jaron....

 Niche Marketing Programs Best of Choice !
Niche marketing website builders are a true turn in profit generating software. They have shown great success in building people a nest egg for a rainy day or begin building a retirement fund and work from home, be your own boss scenario. I know i'm one of those people, that get to set home,and set my own hours, but it does take some work and dedication to your businesses to be a success in your field. There are hundreds of niche website building programs out there, but be careful! Read all the program offers. what there gaurantee is if your dissatisfied....

 Niche Marketing Programs Best of Choice !
Niche marketing website builders are a true turn in profit generating software. They have shown great success in building people a nest egg for a rainy day or begin building a retirement fund and work from home, be your own boss scenario. I know i'm one of those people, that get to set home,and set my own hours, but it does take some work and dedication to your businesses to be a success in your field. There are hundreds of niche website building programs out there, but be careful! Read all the program offers. what there gaurantee is if your dissatisfied....

 Excellent New Website Templates But Hurry They Are Time Sensitive
In order to make money on the internet you need good websites.  This new system provides you with 50 Website templates per month that are expertly designed and bursting with great content which the search engines love.  I am really excited about this time sensitive information on Website templates and wanted to pass it on. Many of us have heard about making money on the internet by creating websites and then allowing....

 To be or not to be Flash
Should your website be in Flash or in HTML? The answer can make a difference to your business. Flash Pros: There are many compelling reasons for getting your website designed in Adobe/Macromedia Flash. Flash presentations are cool, have pizzazz and are great multimedia experiences. Animations: Flash websites are ideal for such businesses as real estate that need to show moving panoramic views, virtual tours of a property, or stages of development from the plans morphing to a finished apartment building. Real estate presentations are often for a short period, the time it's expected to take to sell the....

 I Want A Website, But What Will It Cost? - Part 2
As I promised in last month's article, "I Want A Website. Now What Do I Do?" I'm going to talk about the cost of creating a website. Depending on what you want a website to do, how you want it to look and how complicated it will be, the price can range from free, to hundreds of thousands of dollars. ....

 Fun CSS Tricks You Can Use
CSS Tricks You Can Use by: Dan Grossman CSS or Cascading Style Sheets allow you to implement a few neat effects on your webpages easily. You can implement these CSS effects on your site by simply copying and pasting the code. ROLLOVER COLOR TEXT LINKS Have your text links change color when the mouse passes over them by inserting this code into the HEAD of your document: <style type="text/css"> <!-- A:hover {color:red} --> </style> LINKS WITH NO UNDERLINE Remove the underline from any or all of the links on your page by putting this in the HEAD of your document: <style type="text/css"> <!-- A:link {text-decoration:none} A:visited {text-decoration:none} --> </style> Or, remove the underline form individual links by forming....

 Which Template To Buy
Learn how to buy a template under cost and sell for a profit. I will be covering a few things in this new article. 1. What templates to buy. 2. When to buy the template. 3. Convert that template into profit. 4. Trading, what's a deal and what's not. 5. How much should you pay for coding. 6. Being professional. 7. Conclusion This article will mostly be covering the purchasing of templates, but you can use these tips for buying quite a bit of other things as well. 1. What templates to buy. If you are planning on using the template for....

 Blogs Explained
It seems like Blogs are everywhere these days. You can't seem to surf the Internet without seeing the word Blog somewhere. The intent of this article is to explain the basics what a Blog is and how you can use them to help promote your business and gain valuable information quicker that surfing the Internet. The word Blog is short for web log. Basically a Blog is just an area set aside you to write articles that can easily be accessed with a special program called a RSS reader. In case you're wondering RSS stands for real simple syndication. When you set....

 Profiting With Private Label Rights : Video Tutorials
There are three basic rights you should know about when it comes to resale rights marketing. These are: - Resale rights - Master resale rights - Private label rights Whenever you purchase a product with resale rights, you will only have the license to sell the said product to other people. When you purchase a product with master resale rights, you will have the license to sell the product to other people, and you will also have the option to sell the resale right for the same product as well. This means that the people to whom you sell the resale....

Trackback URL for this post:
http://www.problogtips.com/web-site-templates-%c2%96-are-special-effects-or-flash-necessary/2223/trackback/

Posted by Jaron in the catagory of... General Interest