Web Style Guide third edition

by Patrick J. Lynch
and Sarah Horton

12 Multimedia

If you want a golden rule that will fit everybody, this is it: Have nothing in your houses that you do not know to be useful, or believe to be beautiful.
William Morris

A powerful aspect of computing technology is the ability to combine text, graphics, sounds, and moving images in meaningful ways. The promise of multimedia has been slow to reach the web, primarily because of bandwidth limitations. But in today’s web environment, multi- media is firmly established as a viable means for delivering content.

Although there are many methods for delivering web multimedia, we recommend using stable technology that works for the great majority of client machines. You risk losing your audience if they have to jump through hoops to access your content.

Chapter opening decorative illustration.