Large gif or flash file on homepage

I have created a large animation which I can either use a 387 KB Gif for or an 89.5 KB Flash type file. I want to put it on the homepage. There are no pictures on the homepage right now. Are either of these animation files too big to put on the homepage or will they be just fine for both dial up and DSL/Broadband users. In my webdesign class, awhile back, I believe the instructor stated that you dont want to go above 1 MB . Anyone have an opinion on this?

Thank You

 

A 387 GIF would be an overkill... you can use the smaller Flash file instead of the GIF. You can put the file outside of the main table (if u r using tables) so that this doesn't have any significant effect on the page load time. The size of the Flash file seems to be fine to me.

 

use flash...but make sure that your flash movie file size is not too heavy

 

I would say flash because its 80kb. Tell your professor to not go over 50kb actualy. Less is more.

 

If I open a 1MB page, even on my high-speed, I will still abandon the site within a few clicks.

My advise is - try to get the animation smaller! If you cannot, go with the flash anyway.

 

I believe it was Nielson that reported a new visitor 50% bail out rate for every ten seconds of download time. Further, 80% of all home users in the U.S. are on dial-up service, meaning a 50KB page will lose half your new visitors before they ever see the page; 100KB, 75%; and 150KB, 87.5%.

Nielson, and I'm sure this time , also reported that unexpected long downloads erode visitor trust in the site. It may not be deserved, but it happens.

The trick is to make your home/index page lean and mean with lots of content provided by text. Link them to the big image or Flash pages with a note telling them it may take a while. It will have been their choice, and they will stay with you should they go to the big page.

So, small entry page yields fewer bail-outs and increased trust. That's a Good Thing®.

cheers,

gary

 

Go for for the flash file, loading times will put off a lot of people if it's not quick

 

For me.... if i have to wait for more than 2-3 seconds for a random page to open up, i am closing it. If i have to wait for a somewhat familiar page to open up for more than 5-6 seconds, i am closing it.