The death of the animated GIF has been exaggerated. Despite the onslaught of faster and more versatile technologies like Flash, the web is still festooned with the blinking things, often employed for banner ads. Use sparingly!

Now firmly established as the most popular web vector animation format, Flash (.swf) supports tweening, streaming and scripting. As the program gains more power with each release, so does its complexity, although beginners should have no trouble knocking out simple animations. If the budget's tight, check out the very capable Swish which has a simpler interface and many of the features.

Macromedia Shockwave supports audio, animation, video, scripting and interaction although users will need the Shockwave plug-in to view files. Shockwave files are authored in Director and compressed for the web using a program called Afterburner.

Interactive panoramas can add real interest to a site, allowing users to scroll and zoom around a 360° vista. Popular panorama programs include QuickTime QTVR and MGI PhotoVista

Tip: always include links to specific software plug ins needed to view your site (e.g. Acrobat Reader, Shockwave).