In case you don’t get lucky, you can always take advantage of the ticket discount, which you can get by entering the “fuelyourflash” discount code here. Good luck!

This was the month when we chose to promote Flash components for a “fresh start” – the launch or the redesign of your website. We also made a habit out of featuring some of our best Flash developers that have put a lot of effort and passion into their work.  Congrats to everyone of you!

This is quite a nice sellection, so enjoy! Click on the images to find out more about the author or the file.

Featured Authors

Featured Files

Asked by a reader what the future of FP 10.1 is on all mobile platforms, Mark said:

We are really excited about delivering Flash Player 10.1 to mobile and device platforms. Today we are working with all the major device manufacturers, chipset vendors and content providers to deliver Flash Player 10.1. In all we have announced that Flash Player 10.1 will come to Android, Palm, Blackberry, Symbian, Windows Mobile and LiMo devices. The first devices will get Flash Player support in the first half of 2010.

Read the other interesting Q&A’s in this month’s issue of FFDmag (page 92).

We’d like to know more about your business and see how our components helped you promote your products. Your website might just be included in our future issues of our newsletter. In addition, Steven or I will write a special Flash Catwalk article on our www.flashxml.com blog presenting it. So don’t be shy and drop us a comment with your link. We’re looking forward to seeing your examples.

Cheers!

You bump into them all the time when purchasing online and there are some complicated shopping carts that give you a hard time. A shopping cart should be simple and self-explanatory when it comes to the obvious steps to purchase an item. The  Flash examples I’ve chosen to showcase today are not only extremely creative, but also user friendly.

Converse

In my opinion, this Flash shopping cart does the trick. You can choose the size, color and quantity and then click on the big Add To Cart button to proceed.  That’s everything you need.

Kobalt Shop

You’re shown the price of the product and two essential call-to-action buttons. Either Add to cart and continue shopping or Buy Now. Pretty simple procedure, even if you don’t know the language in which the text is written.

The Affair

This Flash shopping cart is very nice. Aside from the call-to-action button, you can see the details of the item you’re interested in purchasing and also get a clearer view of this item, with the help of a nice vertical gallery.

XML Shop Cart with Proforma Invoice Generator

Simple shopping cart with viewing and short descriptions of the products. On checkout an HTML invoice is generated, for the purchased items.

Loworks Store

This is a very nice example of a shopping cart.  It shows all the information you need and you can clearly see the following step to finalize the purchasing process. I really like this one.

Storyville

The Storyville Flash shopping cart is a bit more organized. You can see the total price you’ll be paying and you also have some contact alternatives in case you need help with your purchase.

Crumpler

The Crumpler shopping cart makes buying seem like a game, which is nice, although, at a first impression, the red buttons seem kind of “danger like”.

Cicatriz

This is one unique Flash shopping cart. Most of the ones I’ve seen have an image gallery or a picture of the product. This one has a short video presentation of the product you’re about to purchase, which is awesome in my book. I also like the “Proceed” button, which I prefer over “Checkout”.

Simple Shopper

Organized and easy to use Flash shopping cart with a Buy Now button and a variety of products to choose from the upper window.

Screenspro

This is also a nice shopping cart you can use if you’ve got a lot of products in store.

All in all, these are some inspiring examples of Flash shopping carts that you can use if you’ve got an ecommerce website and want to offer your potential clients a hassle-free purchasing experience.

Communicating with (potential) customers is a must in every business, even though dealing with them is not always easy. But what you have to keep in mind is that not all are Clients From Hell. After all, they’re the ones putting the bread on your table. Most importantly, you are given the chance to do something you’re passionate about and create a Flash component for a client that is going to enjoy using it.

So here a few suggestions on how to improve your communication skills with regards to (potential) customers.

1. Don’t try to please everyone

“If you try and please everyone, you won’t please anyone.” -37signals.

This one is the golden rule. When developing a component, keep in mind who are the visitors on FlashComponents.net and what they are looking for. Also, if you’re specialized in developing Flash galleries or Flash templates, make an effort to improve your designs and features on that. Focus on what you do best and always bring new features to your files.

2. Encourage feedback

Let customers know that you’d appreciate a comment on your product page with an opinion or a suggestion regarding the file you released. This way you can figure out how much the visitors like/ dislike your file, and what features they would like added. It helps to discover what they like, for future reference.

3. Thank critics

Don’t be afraid of criticism. Be thankful for it and try to get the best of it. Always keep an open mind when it comes to a bad review of your file. Remember we’re all subjective and so are your customers. Some might like it, some might not.

Do your best to discover the reason why some don’t like it and take it into consideration when adding a new feature to your file or when developing a different component. Not all criticism is unfounded. You might even get some great ideas from these reviews.

4. Listen

A very important rule when dealing with clients is listening to what they have to say. Read carefully the information they are providing to you and the things they’d like done, for instance, customizations.

Never say “No”! Instead, if what the client is asking for seems crazy or impossible, try to provide alternatives and advices. They will appreciate you wanting to work it out. That’s in fact what you do: you provide solutions. Also, if you have questions you want to ask to clarify what the client needs, don’t hesitate. He will appreciate your interest to help him out.

5. Answer questions

Make sure you check your client messages everyday, whether they’re in your FC account, personal e-mail or social networks, such as Twitter or Facebook. Most of the clients have questions regarding how the file works, what they should do to change a button, a color, a background. Don’t take too long answering client messages and providing support because they also have deadlines and need fast assistance. Provide punctual and quality support and they’ll definitely appreciate it and return to you.

6. Put yourself into his shoes

Most of our customers are beginners, so you should do your best to understand their point of view. They might not know much and that’s, in fact, why they’re buying your file and paying you for it. When communicating with clients, speak his language. Avoid using jargon or technical language because you risk confusing the client after the first lines. Not only will you be wasting time, but he also won’t understand anything. If you are keen on using them, explain to the client what it means.

7. Mistakes are only human

If you’ve developed a file and it turns out it doesn’t work, it has bugs or other issues, don’t act innocent. Politely admit your screw up and fix it as soon as possible. Also, let your potential customers know that you’re working on that and when it will be fixed, so they can purchase it.

8. Prove you are a professional

Keep in mind at all times that customers are paying you for a service and you are expected to deliver it in a professional manner. That’s why you should:
- offer support in time;
- provide documentation for your files;
- respond politely to criticism;
- thank them for their feedback and suggestions;
- use proper English when communicating with a customer. If your English is not very good, use whatever translating tool you have.

All things considered, you will be a pleasure to work with. Now tell me, how well do you communicate with your (potential) customers?

This way you can give your visitors a heads up regarding the launching date of the website, while working on it. The following is a showcase of the coming soon Flash templates that you can use specifically for this purpose.

Coming Soon Countdown Website

3D Tilt Coming Soon with Countdown Timer

Under Construction Template with Countdown

3D XML Coming Soon Template

The Rotunda is an elegant banquet facility in south eastern Wisconsin. Eric chose Jjletho’s Flash template to present this historic place using the cool features of the template while taking advantage of the attractive price.

I purchased the Great White Template and I have to say this is a fantastic template. I’ve tried many others for much  more $$$, and this by far is the best I’ve seen.

How did Jjiletho’s template work for Eric?

The Great White Template is the ultimate solution for creating, editing and launching your website in Adobe Flash, even if you do not know anything about the ActionScript language or don’t have Flash. Through a simple modification of the XML file, you will be able to setup your main menu and footer, to use up to 9 predefined modules and, above all, to update your website on your own.

• For the Rentals page, Eric was able to enter HTML formatted text with his own stylesheet and a presentation image.  If he would’ve had more text and images, his visitors would’ve been able to view this page in a draggable window and use the scrollbar to see the whole description.

• For the Picture Gallery page, Eric used the photo gallery module, which is resizable so it automatically fits browser windows. The visitor can even click on the image to zoom in, so he can get a cleared view. By clicking on the play button, the image gallery will act as a slideshow.

Thanks to the guide Jjletho provided, Eric was able to use the template immediately. This template has definitely worked for him, but how about you? Give us an example of how you used a file you purchased from FlashComponents.net and we’ll feature it in an article on this blog.

Click here to see Jjletho’s portfolio and his other amazing Flash templates and components you can use in your website.

One of the files that got my attention is Slider Accordion Menu /Media Viewer. We’ve got other accordion menus on the website, but what makes this one special is the fact that you can use modules with enhanced content.

This modules include the complete set of: text, video, slideshows, photo blocks, photo scroller and a world map.

I recommend you also take a look at his Vertical Slider Menu/Info Viewer, which I bet you’re going to like. For other creative files from Kcreation, check out his portfolio here.

Here are some of the amazing websites he presented:

ELSE

The Bio Agency

Lasse Pedersen — Hair and Make-up

You can read the whole article here, although I recommend you go through all the articles from this issue of the Adobe Edge newsletter to find out more about the insights revealed by Adobe on Flash® Player 10.1 and other exciting news. Enjoy!