Flash-based web sites have been around for the past few years, and as Adobe integrates more and more great features into Flash, we can only predict there will be more and more flash sites around the web. However, Flash based sites have been challenged as bloated and unnecessary. So where exactly do we draw the line? Here’s a simple breakdown.
The good:
Interactivity
Flash’s Actionscript opens up a vast field of possibilities. Programmers and designers have employed Flash to create interactve features ranging from really lively feedback forms to attractive Flash-based games. This whole new level of interactivity will always leave visitors coming back for more.
A standardized site.
With Flash, you don’t have to concern yourself with cross-browser compatibility. No more woes over how a certain css code displays differently in Internet Explorer, Firefox and Opera. When you position your site elements in Flash, they’ll always appear as they are as long as the user has Flash Player installed on their system.
Better expression through animation.
Using Flash, one can take advantage of its animating features to convey a message in a much more effective and efficient way. Flash is a lightweight selection for animation because it is vector based (and hence smaller file sizes) as opposed to real “movie files” that are raster based and hence are much larger in size.
The bad and the ugly:
The Flash player
People have to download the Flash player in advance before they can view Flash movies, so by using Flash your visitor range will diminish substantially because not everybody will be willing to download the Flash player just to view your site. You will also have to put in further work in redirecting the user to the Flash download page if he or she does not have the player installed.
Site optimization
If your content is presented in Flash, most search engines will not be able to index your content. Hence, you will not be able to rank well in search engines and there may will be less traffic heading to your site.
Loading time
Users have to wait longer than usual to load Flash content compared to regular text and images, and some visitors may just lose their patience and click the Back button. The longer your Flash takes to load, the more you risk losing visitors.
In Conclusion:
The best way to go is to use Flash only when you absolutely need the interactivity and motion that comes with it. Otherwise, use a variety of Flash and HTML or use pure text if your site is purely to deliver simple textual and graphical information.
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