Some people see audio on a webpage as old-hat. Afterall, isn’t everybody using video these day?
Although some people do video, there are some issues that make audio more appealing in many cases. Audio doesn’t care if you have bad hair days. You don’t have any need to worry about lighting or background.
Finally, even if you have dial-up access to your computer, it is possible to create an audio file that can be heard in a matter of minutes. You should make sure your message is heard, especially since most internet users still use dialup.
It’s not difficult to see how audio can increase sales, sign-ups, and that it can be used to boost sales. But what I hear most from people who have audio on their sites is, “How do you make a soundfile that even dial-up users could hear without many stops and starts?”
Two factors account for the slow response time of dial-up customers. They’re using a slow line, and things aren’t going as quickly. A high bit rate audio file requires a high-speed connection. DSL or better is necessary for everyone (yeah! right!) You may need to make an audio file smaller Tubidy.
Let’s examine some of the ways we can do this. You should know that there are many audio editing programs available. The following will not be a step-by-step guide. This information should give you enough information to be able to make the right decisions regarding the software you are using.
There are two options available to you that you might want to change. They are usually called “sample speed” or “bit speed”. The numbers for sample rates are usually followed by the letters HZ or KHz. They range between about 8000 (or 8, depending on how the information is expressed in kHz), and 44100 (or 44.1kHz). The letters kbps usually follow bit rate numbers and range from 8 or 16 to 196 or higher. It doesn’t matter if there are only two or three options: 8, 16 or 32.
Sample rate should be at least 44,100 Hz for CD quality audio. But, since voice can handle so much more, you can set your sample speed to 11,025 HZ (or 11.025 KHz). For voice work, we can set our bit rate to much lower than 128 kbps. Most people will listen to music. You can also set the bit rate to very low to make dial-up subscribers happy.
You can set your bitrate to 16kbps and check if that works. If you are not happy with the result, increase your bit rate to 32kbps. You should remember that each step you make up the ladder won’t guarantee smooth audio streaming. For those with faster dial-up connections, 32kbps sounds should be possible. But, for those with slower connections, 16kbps files are fine. That case should satisfy most people.
While it may take some time to get to know your audio software, once you have that experience you’ll be able generate audio files the same way you create word processor docs.
If audio is not an option on your website, you should consider it. There are many good reasons to use it. Now that you know how, you can create audio.