No Comments Written by Andrew Bonar on November 13, 2008 – 6:01 am

Over the years, Flash-based websites have come in and out of fashion. At one point in the late 90’s it seemed like every website you visited had a gratuitous ‘flash’ movie or component as an obnoxious introduction. Thankfully those days are now over. If you are considering using Flash within your site design then you should give it careful consideration first.

Admittedly, Macromedia (now owned by Adobe) is increasingly cramming more functionality and incredible features into Flash and making it ever more attractive to web designers looking to create something a little different. However, it is important to remember that those ‘funky cool features’ come at a price, and I am not just talking about the 19 year old emo-flash-guru you hired at Elance, but the other factors you need to consider.

First however, before I get an onslaught of email from Fans of Flash, some of the benefits:

Interactivity

Flash’s Actionscript opens up a vast array of possibilities, including..

Animations - These include banner ads, online greeting cards, and cartoons. Many other types of Flash applications include animation elements as well.

Games - Many games are built with Flash. Games usually combine the animation capabilities of Flash with the logic capabilities of ActionScript.

User interfaces - Many website designers use Flash to design user interfaces. The interfaces include simple navigation bars as well as much more complex interfaces such as online hotel or airline reservation systems.

Flexible messaging areas - These are areas in web pages that designers use for displaying information that may change over time. A flexible messaging area (FMA) on a restaurant website might display information about each day’s menu specials.

Rich Internet applications - These include a calendar application, a price-finding application, a shopping catalog, an education and testing application, or any other application that presents remote data with a graphically rich interface.

A standardized site

With Flash, you do not have to worry about cross-browser compatibility. No more worries about how your carefully crafted css code will render in Internet Explorer, Firefox or Opera. Wherever you place a component or element in Flash, that element will always appear exactly as you intended long as the user has Flash Player installed.

Better expression through animation

In Flash, one can make use of its animating features to convey a message in a much more efficient and effective way. Flash is a lightweight option for animation because it is vector-based (information is saved as mathematical lines, not pixels, and hence are smaller file sizes) as opposed to real “movie files” that are raster-based and hence much larger in size.

But Remember . . .

The Flash player

People have to download the Flash player in advance before they can view Flash movies. If you utilize Flash as the only means for accessing your site, you will notice a drop in visitor numbers.  Not everyone is willing or able to download the Flash player. You’ll also have to put in additional work in redirecting the user to the Flash download page if he or she doesn’t have the player installed.

Site optimization

If your content was presented in Flash, most search engines wouldn’t be able to index your content. Hence, you will not be able to rank well in search engines and there 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.

To Flash or Not to Flash?

Unless you absolutely need the interactivity and motion that comes with Flash, avoid using it, especially if you are more concerned with search engine optimization. If you want some interactive graphical elements, use a combination of Flash and HTML with alternatives for those users that do not have Flash. If you wish to create an exciting interface but are worried about Flash, there are great alternatives, such as utilizing AJAX programming (asynchronous JavaScript).

Flash is excellent as a stand-alone program within your site. If you own a paint store and wish your users to experience a virtual showroom where they can paint their walls online, Flash is perfect for this. If you have an automotive showroom, using Flash to showcase your models in 3-D is another great idea for Flash.

As always, consider your audience. If your website is aimed at 25 year old web designers in New York, it is a fair bet they have flash installed and will be accessing your site using broadband or better, so go for it . . .

Flash is like any other tool. Used wisely, you can have an excellent and stylish website. Used wrongly, and you will only frustrate and turn away your online visitors.