One of the great things about the web is the ability to use audio and video on your website. Whether you're an aspiring singer, movie maker, or you just want to share your home videos with friends and family, the web is a great place to do it.

In the past, audio and video had to be downloaded completely before play could begin. This could take a very long time, especially on a dial-up connection. Now that we have streaming technology, this problem is solved. Instead of an audio or video file being completely downloaded before play, streaming allows a certain amount of the file to download and begin to play as the rest of the file "streams" in. This works very well, even for people on dial-up.

There are a couple of rules that should be followed when featuring audio/video on your site:

Make the playing of media files optional. In most cases you don't want to have media files play automatically when someone enters your website. It's better to supply a description of the file content, the type of file, the size of the file, and whether any special software is required to play the file.

Stick to file formats that are widely supported. People are wary of downloading new programs that they aren't familiar with. I recommend using media files that will play in Microsoft's Media Player. Media Player comes bundled with Windows so practically everyone has it.

By following these two rules you will make your visitor's experience a positive one and they are sure to come back and visit again.

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