To make your website unique and distinguish it from others you need to add some spice! Animated effects will do the trick and attract your user’s aye to the content you want them to see. There many ways to add animated effects to a site. One is with flash software another is with java script jQuery library and another is a very new and innovative with CSS3 animations. Most popular and efficient way to add that extra zest to your site is via slideshow, video or an animated effect, all of which can be created by these technologies.
The java script jQuery library is a great tool. It allows you to write a very simple code and get the same results as if you were writing a longer and much more complicated code. It is specifically designed to simplify the client side scripting of HTML. It is very common as it is used by 65% of 10.000 most visited websites.
The JQuery ui project provides abstractions for low-level interaction and animation, advanced effects and high-level, theme able widgets. Basically it allows a variety of cool animated effects and a more user friendly interaction with the user, for example, interaction by “mouse over” action, “drag and drop” action and many more.
The flash software is a multimedia platform, used to create graphics, animation, games and rich internet applications. The “adobe flash player” is a “must have” if you want to display flash content. The main problem is that your users will have to download it before they can view your content and another major issue is with all apple devices and most of other smart phones and tablets that do not support this technology. There are many useful things to do with the flash software, but as it concerns the internet, if possible it is better to avoid it.
The CSS3 animations make it possible to animate transitions from one CSS style configuration to another. These animations are very easy to create, developers can do them without even knowing java script, also the animations run well, even under moderate system load and finally by allowing the browsers control the animation sequence we let the browser itself optimize the performance and efficiency of the animation. CSS3 animation is supported by all major browsers.
When trying to decide which animated component to add to your site, you should consider your needs. If what you need is a slideshow, form validation, dropdown menus, tabbed panels, pop-ups and tooltips or expandable elements then a combo between jQuery and CSS3 is the best way to go. If your website requires a more complex animation or multimedia, 3D or a video player then flash is more suitable for you.
Most important is to understand just how necessary all these complex animations are to your site. Sure it makes the site look cool and professional but is it worth having them even if it means that you lose a lot of potential customers. Consider, most apple users, users who don’t have the “adobe flash player” installed in their devise and a long list of browsers that do not support the flash player.
So it is safe to say that in most cases it is better to try and get as much animation and special effects from the jQuery , jQuery ui libraries and the CSS3 in order to spice up your site.
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